tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17401524567497914122024-03-12T22:53:51.528-07:00The Grrr Can't Help ItCaseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-23749063068015305652016-06-10T18:14:00.002-07:002016-06-10T18:19:37.371-07:00THE TRIAL OF MARY DUGAN (1929 & 1941)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Trial of Mary Dugan </b>(1929) was Norma Shearer's talkie debut (with sound recorded by her brother, MGM's chief sound engineer, Douglas), and considering the dramatic fireworks surrounding the title character, it must have been a naturally powerful choice for one of MGM's biggest leading ladies to sink her teeth into. The original play of the same title, starring future RKO star Ann Harding as Mary Dugan, ran for one year on Broadway from 1927-1928 before MGM bought the rights and produced their film version. The finished product is faithful to the source material, almost slavishly so, and for those who love courtroom dramas, this one lives up to its title, as the meat of the movie focuses squarely on the trial of a woman caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.<br />
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Mary Dugan is the real name of "Mona Tree", a Follies showgirl carrying on an affair with wealthy married businessman Edgar Rice. As the film opens, police rush to Mary's apartment and find her weeping over Edgar's cold dead corpse, a knife jutting out of his back as she wails for a mysterious Jimmy. Mary is arrested and quickly put on trial for the murder, her passionate lawyer Edward West (Judge Hardy himself, Lewis Stone) butting heads with district attorney Galway (Jesus in DeMille's <b>King of Kings</b> (1927), H.B. Warner). We see a parade of witnesses, including the coroner, the arresting officer at the murder scene, flirty blonde party girl Dagmar Lorne (the always interesting Lilyan Tashman, who died far too young), and the widow Rice (Olive Tell, best-remembered for <b>The Scarlet Empress </b>(1934)) before learning who Mary's beloved Jimmy is: her lawyer brother (Raymond Hackett), who valiantly rushes into the courtroom to defend his sister.<br />
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Like many early talkies, <b>Mary Dugan </b>is a challenge to sit
through, especially with an almost two-hour running time. Even the conclusion is a dud. While it may
have historical value for its place in Shearer's run as one of MGM's
leading stars, it suffers from the expected creaky antique nature of
sound film production in 1929, a novelty that wears thin rather quickly.
Contributing to the film's stagy feel is the fact that it was directed
by the original Broadway play's author, Bayard Veiller. Veiller had
directed a handful of silent films for Metro Productions before its
merging and morphing into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and would never direct
another film after this one (though he did migrate to Paramount to
produce some B-pictures for Adolph Zukor). Viewing his handiwork here, it's not
entirely surprising. Outside of some visually inventive moments (the
dazed confusion of Mary as she enters the courtroom, for instance), this
is your standard early talkie layout: stationary camera, long takes
(with flubbed lines left in), limited sets and locations. In fact,
virtually the entire film takes place in the courtroom, which greatly
contributes to the static mise-en-scene and languid pacing. Later films,
including legal dramas, have taken place largely or entirely in one
room (1957's <b>12 Angry Men </b>is probably the most recognized), but they've been successful as the sum of their parts, namely the performances, script, direction, and editing. None of these elements are effective in this staid courtroom mystery. In the case of <b>Mary Dugan</b>, while there are moments of interest, it's ultimately a vintage curio that remains difficult to see for a reason.<br />
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The sole reason for anyone to see this film is Shearer, though I imagine only the most devoted of her fans would consider this an essential piece of her filmography. In her introductory scene, the first time an audience heard her, Shearer whines and weeps hysterically, her scenery-chewing painful to watch and listen to. It's hard to believe that the very next year she would be winning the Best Actress Oscar for <b>The Divorcee </b>(1930), though, to be fair, that performance is a vast improvement over her display here. Thankfully, her big scene on the stand, which lasts an impressive 25 minutes, hints at the greatness to come for Shearer in the 1930s. She's not surrounded by any other terribly memorable performances, though Warner makes for a compelling villain, even with his multiple flubbed lines. Besides Shearer, pre-Code fans may also enjoy several instances of early Hollywood salaciousness, including much talk of Mary having multiple lovers before becoming a kept woman, including when she "sold herself" for $100.<br />
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12 years after the profitable release of Shearer's <b>Mary Dugan</b>, MGM decided to pull the play out of mothballs for a remake starring Laraine Day, one of the studio's most underrated dramatic actresses. Today, Day is best-known for an assignment off the MGM lot for independent producer Walter Wanger, in Alfred Hitchcock's <b>Foreign Correspondent </b>(1940), and she also made strong impressions in <b>Mr. Lucky </b>(1943), <b>I Married a Communist </b>(1949), and particularly <b>The Locket </b>(1946), all for RKO, where she would deliver arguably her best performances over the course of her career. However, at her home studio, despite being voted the most promising new star for 1941 in a national theatrical exhibitors' poll, Day seemed to be constantly struggling to be given A-material typically reserved for brighter shining stars like Joan Crawford, Hedy Lamarr, and Greer Garson. Metro got the most out of her by casting her as the love interest to Lew Ayres in his <b>Dr. Kildare </b>series, ensuring steady employment as long as audiences turned out for the popular series, but, like those films, all of her subsequent star vehicles were strictly of the B category. <b>And One Was Beautiful </b>(1940), <b>A Yank on the Burma Road </b>(1942), and <b>Fingers at the Window </b>(1942), while genuinely entertaining and highly recommended viewing, are not any indication of MGM having much faith in a promising young actress like Day. Even <b>Journey for Margaret </b>(1943) casts her in the shadow of little Margaret O'Brien.<br />
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From the very first scene, the 1941 <b>Mary Dugan </b>is a completely different beast from its predecessor. For one thing, it's cinematically dynamic. The MGM studio machine was, by 1941, a well-oiled entertainment assembly line, so even a moderately-budgeted effort like this one was produced by exceptional technicians, journeyman directors known for solid meat-and-potatoes seat-fillers (like this film's Norman Z. McLeod), and casts filled with stars on the rise or memorable character actors given substantial material to do their best with. This is one polished film considering its lack of prestige. But of course, it's an MGM production! Making things more interesting is that the stage-bound courtroom theatrics of the original play and film have been transformed into a soap sudsy women's picture. Ten years earlier, this particular script would have made a gangbusters Joan Crawford rags-to-riches tale. Story-wise it has nothing in common with the original play or film except the title. We open at a girls' reformatory and meet young Mary, imprisoned by the juvenile authorities for grand larceny and given six more months of detention on the very day she's supposed to be released for throwing an ink bottle at cruel instructor Miss Matthews (Sara Haden, always a great sourpuss). Our feisty heroine refuses to accept the additional sentence and escapes, hoping to reconnect with her father John, himself an ex-con whose past crimes have haunted him to the present day. Tragedy strikes when dad is killed in an auto accident as he rushes across the street to reunite with Mary, leading her to seek a pseudonymous existence as "Mary Andrews", working as a secretary for the man who mowed her father down, wealthy industrialist Edgar Wayne (Tom Conway, sounding identical to his brother, George Sanders). Wayne's lawyer, Jimmy Blake (Robert Young, another MGM player who generally fared better at other studios), takes a romantic interest in Mary, but when he proposes marriage and bringing her to Chile with him for a new job, she begs off to keep her identity a secret, naturally leaving a sour taste in Jimmy's mouth. Leaving her for greener pastures in South America, Mary seeks solace in the arms of Wayne, who's known her secret for years and is conveniently unhappily married to an ice queen (Frieda Inescort, easily the worst actress of classic Hollywood). Flashing forward a year, Jimmy returns from Chile and reads in the newspaper of a sensational murder trial surrounding his former paramour, accused of stabbing Wayne to death.<br />
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Here is a rare example of a low-budget remake of a popular A-level studio picture that exceeds the quality of the original on its own considerable merits. Using the title and basic skeleton of Veiller's story, an entirely new screenplay is erected and anchored by a compelling central performance by Day. Where the 1929 <b>Mary Dugan </b>is a much more vivid example of a courtroom drama, the 1941 film is largely melodrama, no doubt influenced by enforcement of the Production Code erasing Mary's promiscuous lifestyle as a showgirl and the nature of her affair from a 1940s version of the script. The titular trial comes 35 minutes after the first third of the film has established the relationships between Mary and the men in her life, however predictable they may be. As with any good B-movie, the story moves along at a brisk pace and the cast is aces, capably holding your attention for 90 minutes. What makes this grand departure from the original story so satisfying is that we learn to love and root for Mary. Shearer's Mary Dugan is viewed almost entirely in a courtroom, with her story embellished by lengthy monologues giving us backstory in static close-ups. Day's Mary Dugan is a much richer and developed character with a clear journey we follow visually and thematically. Gone is the gallant brother Jimmy Dugan swooping in to save the day, replaced instead by romantic interest Jimmy Blake, giving added emotional weight to her defense. While the last two-thirds of the film involves the trial, we leave the courtroom to follow Jimmy's investigation into the crime and trying to prove Mary's innocence, expanding the scope of the melodrama beyond the walls of the courtroom and into the lives of those involved with the trial. The final twist remains the same, but it's considerably more effective than the rather goofy denouement of the Shearer version.<br />
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Is the 1941 <b>Mary Dugan </b>a great film? Not at all, but it's head and shoulders above the 1929 original, and fascinating as an example of economical filmmaking on the lot of the greatest classic Hollywood studio, where even a B-picture was given A-level affection. It also helps that the cast is made up of infinitely more interesting performers than the 1929 film. The marvelous Marsha Hunt, vocally grateful for her time at MGM where she played a wide variety of different roles, yet never became a star (though she seems to have wanted it that way), is Mary's best friend Agatha, first seen in her original ravishing brunette hairdo before reappearing in a platinum blonde wig after landing a gig as a Follies showgirl. John Litel, replacing Lewis Stone as Mary's original lawyer, is a welcome presence, as are Marjorie Main doing her blustery hillbilly routine as a helpful landlady and an uncredited Ian Wolfe as the county coroner. Young and Day would reunite for the aforementioned <b>Journey for Margaret </b>and, as there, are a playful, endearing couple with special chemistry here.Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-78430733309218115972015-01-12T17:04:00.000-08:002015-01-12T17:07:53.232-08:00Favorite TV of 2014<b>Runners-up: <i>The Walking Dead </i></b>gets the award for overall most improved show, with the second half of season 4 really amping things up and the current season 5 being the best the show has been since its first spellbinding season. <i><b>My Mad Fat Diary </b></i>is a British show that needs airtime over here; its second season was almost as strong as its first. <i><b>Silicon Valley </b></i>offered a grand new sitcom universe that stars more interesting and less predictable geeks than the continually abysmal "Big Bang Theory". <i><b>Game of Thrones</b></i>, with its surprise deaths and compelling character arcs, continues to impress. <i><b>Girls </b></i>was an improvement on previous seasons, and finally featured an episode where all the girls have their flaws pointed out in brilliant form. <i><b>Key and Peele </b></i>has some of the sharpest and funniest sketches on TV right now. And <i><b>Shark Tank </b></i>keeps its crown as the best network reality show, a consistently entertaining hour of business proposals and negotiations.<br />
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<b>15. <i>Veep</i></b></div>
By the third season, shouldn't we be sick of Selina Myer and her staff? Not when they deliver quality laughs week after week, leaving us wanting more. Bless HBO for bringing this show to us each season, but also curse the network for its limited series runs. 10 episodes simply isn't enough time to spend with this lovable band of buffoons. In season 3, we followed Selina as she prepared to run for president, going through a series of public relations snafus, a handful of variably qualified campaign managers (narcissistic Dan somehow ends up being the worst of them, suffering a nervous breakdown in the process), and somehow finds time for a ludicrous affair with her personal trainer (guest star Chris Meloni brings the funny). Creator Armando Iannucci's acidic political humor is still as sharp and clever as ever, while also letting this incredible ensemble engage in old-time sitcom scenarios, as in "Crate", when the gang has to figure out how to delete incriminating comments from a reporter's digital recorder he accidentally leaves behind.<b><i> </i></b><br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Detroit", with Selina's pacifist daughter punching out a gun rights protester who threatens to get physical with Selena / "New Hampshire", where Selina and worshipful assistant Gary (Tony Hale) share the best moment in the series upon learning some astonishing news / "Clovis", where Selina & Co. visit a tech company (shades of <i>Silicon Valley</i>) while also dealing with Jonah, now a popular political blogger whose viral video about Selina provides another thorn in the campaign's side.<br />
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<b>14. <i>Bob's Burgers</i></b></div>
This far into the series run (five seasons and still strongly funny), creators Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive have perfected this little show that could, and it's now the strongest show on Fox's Sunday night lineup. In fact, it might be the strongest and most consistent show on Fox, PERIOD. The Belchers (dad Bob, mom Linda, and children Tina, Gene, and Louise) are a wild family, each character with their own weird quirks and personalities, providing the show with a great variety of directions to go in with each new episode. Tina<i><b> </b></i>Belcher, the eldest of the children and, in her early teens, a swirling mix of ennui, has become a pop culture icon and, voiced by male actor Dan Mintz, a source of countless perfect sound bites. I also have a soft spot for mom Linda, voiced by another male actor, John Roberts, and always a laugh riot. If you're not on-board with this show yet, it's not too late. The beauty of the sitcom is that you can pretty much jump in anywhere, though I'd suggest you start with season 1's "Sexy Dance Fighting" and go from there.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "I Get Psy-chic Out of You", where Linda believes she is psychic and gets involved in solving a local crime spree with no-nonsense Sergeant Bosco (Gary Cole) / "Tina and the Real Ghost", where Tina finally gets a boyfriend...who's a ghost trapped in a shoebox / "Dawn of the Peck", the Thanksgiving episode with a town-wide attack by killer turkeys, ducks, and geese (it's as crazy as it sounds)<br />
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<b>13. <i>Looking</i></b></div>
No doubt a controversial choice, considering its polarizing effect on the gay community, <i>Looking </i>bested other gay-themed dramas for me with the first episode. As viewers complained about the lack of identifiable characters and implausibility of some of the story arcs, I had zero clue what they were talking about. The show will not represent the gay experience for everyone, nor does it aim to. In fact, the least interesting thing about these characters is the fact that they're gay. All three of the central characters (Patrick, Agustin, and Dom) deal with issues of self-exploration that many viewers will identify with, gay or straight, and even if you don't, the show is well-written, solidly acted, and very compelling. Count me in the "love <i>Looking</i>" camp and I look forward to the new season, starting in January, especially because season 1 was merely 8 episodes.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Looking for the Future", the best episode of the series so far which follows Patrick and his romantic interest Richie as they spend the day together wandering San Francisco and getting to know each other / "Looking for a Plus-One", with Patrick's mother telling it like it is at his sister's wedding/ "Looking Glass", the finale, with intriguing and open-ended conclusions to each of the leads' story lines<br />
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<b>12. <i>RuPaul's Drag Race (+ Untucked)</i></b></div>
All season long, I had to endure fans complaining that this season of RuPaul's addictive drag competition show wasn't as compelling as the season before it. Oh come on, people! Sure, it was rather obvious from the get-go that Bianca Del Rio was going for the gold and had little competition for the crown, but that didn't drag things down in the slightest, especially after the previous season's irritating Rolaskatox alliance and manufactured Coco-Alyssa rivalry. Bianca, one of the best insult comics I've ever seen, was given prime targets to sink her teeth into, and ended up becoming friends with many of them after all was said and done. The polish of Courtney Act, the sloppy exuberance of Adore Delano, the ditzy accidental humor of Joslyn Fox (the rightful Miss Congeniality), the whiny nightmare of Laganja Estranja, the gender-fuck of Milk, the clueless fish Gia Gunn, the surprising transformation of Trinity K Bonet, the divinely old school Vivacious. No question about it: this was a great season.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Snatch Game", for obvious reasons / "Glamazon by Colorevolution", with some of the funniest challenge sketches from the queens this season / "Drag Queens of Comedy", where we finally see Bianca Del Rio in her element, but also some surprisingly excellent work from other contestants [note: all the corresponding <i>Untucked </i>episodes are also excellent and required viewing]<br />
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<b>11. <i>True Detective</i></b></div>
Some of you may be surprised this didn't rate higher. Blame it on the pretension.<b><i> </i></b>For all of its mind-blowing cinematography and practically flawless performances, there was a lot of potential in <i>True Detective</i> without the follow-through. Multiple hints at something larger, something more substantial, in the mystery of the show fizzled by the conclusion of this mini-series. That said, what a ride! There's a reason it's at #10 on my list. Cary Fukunaga, who I greatly admired from his debut feature film <b>Sin Nombre </b>(2008), brought a visual style to the show that was virtually unparalleled, and kept things interesting even when Matthew McConaughey became so wrapped up in his monologues that they often lost any sense of logic or reason. Speaking of McConaughey...such a tremendous performance, one filled with conflict and depth, though it would be unfair to slight Woody Harrelson, given a less-interesting but still solid character to play. The pair play mismatched partners investigating a murder and its ties to the thickly atmospheric Southern community where the men live. If the show had one memorable, intangible thing going for it, it's the atmosphere. It's perfect Southern Gothic, rich with unease and potential violence, a history of evil and disturbance. Shadows and swamp people aplenty. <i>True Detective</i>, while not entirely successful as a whole, was an experience unlike any other on television. Season 2 has huge shoes to fill.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Who Goes There", with the epic tracking shot during a violent attempted robbery in a dangerous neighborhood / "Haunted Houses", where the split between Cohle and Hart is illustrated vividly and uncomfortably / "Form and Void", the finale<br />
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<b>10. <i>Orange is the New Black</i></b></div>
The second season of Netflix's surprise hit was somehow even better than the first, perhaps because we didn't spend as much time with Piper going nuts over Alex (absent for most of the season) and instead got a chance to revel in more of the women's prison politics, character development, and the strongest and most diverse ensemble cast on TV we've come to know and love.<b><i> </i></b>As season 2 opens, Piper has been transferred to another prison following her assault of Pensatucky, but is soon back with the regular group of inmates a few episodes in. The major addition to the cast this season is Vee (the always excellent Lorraine Toussaint), the mother figure from fan favorite Taystee's past who vies with old partner-turned-enemy Red (Kate Mulgrew, still amazing) for power status among the younger inmates. We also get major back story, at last, for intriguing characters like Black Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore), Gloria (Selenis Leyva, always a favorite), and Morello (Yael Stone). This show continues to startle and delight as the best binge watch Netflix has produced yet, and also had the very best final scene of any show this year. It's hard to pick MVP's among the cast because everyone is so, so good. This is when one wishes the Emmy Awards just had a best ensemble cast award so that everyone here could have a shiny statue on their shelf. Season 3, cannot wait!<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "A Whole Other Hole", revealing Lorna's back story while also featuring a great competition between Boo and Nicky / "You Also Have a Pizza", featuring Poussey's flashback, with an astonishing performance from Samira Wiley / "Appropriately Sized Pots", focusing on Rosa as she continues to undergo cancer treatment and looking into her past<br />
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<b>9. <i>The Comeback</i></b></div>
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Lisa Kudrow's Valerie Cherish made an incredible return to HBO, almost a decade after the first season of "The Comeback" came and went. The show, though, became a cult sensation and Kudrow and show co-creator Michael Patrick King were just as surprised and pleased as the fans to be asked back by HBO to update us on what's happening with the self-aware sitcom has-been we all know and love at this point. The greatest surprise of all? This season managed to raise the bar. Unlike, say, the fourth season of "Arrested Development", a bizarre train wreck best left forgotten, this long-awaited second season of "The Comeback" brought us a more mature and thoughtful look at the price of fame and the fickle and unusual ways of Hollywood stardom. How Kudrow didn't get a second Emmy nomination for her work here is a mystery, and a crime, if you ask me. The two seasons are so wildly different from one another, and it's not fair to say one is better than the other, but they complement each other in many wonderful ways.</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Valerie Makes a Pilot", the first episode of the new season that gives us a little of the old with a refreshing hint of the new to come / "Valerie Faces the Critics", with Valerie and husband Mark having one of the most gripping and honest couples' confrontations on television / "Valerie Gets What She Really Wants", the hour-long finale that was practically perfect, with laughs, tears, and perhaps the best final scene of television all year<b><i></i><br /></b></div>
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<b>8. <i>Louie</i></b></div>
Louis C.K. tried something different this season, following a few different story arcs over the course of multiple episodes, and it was, of course, very rewarding, funny, and moving. How the man has avoided winning a Best Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy for so many seasons is a frustrating mystery.<b><i> </i></b>In season 4, Louie accidentally punches a model, goes shopping for sex toys, and braves a hurricane to save his family. And those are just the "B stories"! The three individual plots flowing through the season follow Louie as he and his ex-wife struggle to address young daughter Jane's flights of fancy that are getting a little out of hand, as he courts the immigrant niece of an upstairs neighbor (Ellen Burstyn, perfectly cast), and as he deals with the sudden return of Pamela, his lost love who just pops up out of the blue to complicate his emotions all over again. All three stories are beautifully done pieces of comedy and drama, up to the usual excellence the show has exhibited during its entire run so far. While I have loved the show since Pamela's departure (Adlon merely moved behind-the-scenes rather than continue appearing on-screen), it definitely lost something when she took off for Europe. The two have undeniable chemistry, developed so strongly from the actors working together for years, so the direction Louie's relationship with Pamela takes after her reappearance is totally satisfying. And it also gives us more C.K. nudity, which is always a major plus. <i>Louie </i>can do no wrong.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "So Did the Fat Lady", which gave guest actress Sarah Baker, playing a larger woman interested in Louie, a major career boost / "In the Woods 1 & 2", an hour-long flashback to Louie's youth and his first experiences with drugs; Devin Druid (as young Louie), Jeremy Renner (as a charming but dangerous drug dealer), and <i>Transparent</i>'s Amy Landecker (as Louie's mom) give three of the best performances the show has ever seen / "Pamela Part 3", the finale with one of the best and warmest final scenes of any show this year<br />
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<b>7. <i>Outlander</i></b></div>
Where <i>Downton Abbey </i>has failed in its period piece melodrama this season, <i>Outlander </i>has successfully mixed the classic political intrigue and fantastic elements of <i>Game of Thrones </i>with the romance of paperback novellas to create superior "chick flick" entertainment that exceeds that confining label. The show is based on a series of very popular books, like <i>GoT</i>, Former model Caitriona Balfe stars as Claire, a young former nurse in post-WWII England who travels with her estranged fiancee to a small village, where he can research his family tree. There, through the magic of the local ruins, she is whisked back to the 18th century, a time of conflict between England and Scotland, where she falls in with a Scottish clan who hold her a captive "guest", distrusting her English roots. To betray too much more would detract from the joy of experiencing this show for yourself. The fact that it airs on Starz means its audience isn't as big as it should be, but when it returns in the spring for the second half of its debut season, you should be watching. Play catch-up on-demand!<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "The Gathering", as Claire attempts to escape her hosts, with a great boar-hunting sequence / "The Wedding", where almost the entire episode is spent in the bedroom of bride and groom as they explore and get to know one another / "Both Sides Now", the mid-season finale<br />
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<b>6. <i>Inside Amy Schumer </i></b></div>
Amy Schumer, after making a splash with her stand-up specials and roast appearances several years ago, has really broken out as one of the best comedians working today, and her show is giving established funny men (and women) a run for their money. Her cheeky brand of humor tends to revolve around the sexual and the scatological, but she also isn't afraid to tackle hot button issues like rape in the military and the misuse of the word "feminist" by today's eager-to-label generation. <i>Inside Amy Schumer </i>is funny and gross, brave and brilliant. There is no excuse to not be watching this show. You're missing the boat otherwise.<br />
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "I'm So Bad", where Amy learns about military protocol while playing a video game and she and her friends beautifully play those women you love to hate...for good reason / "Allergic to Nuts", where Amy lands a great gig voicing an animated cartoon character and finds herself mysteriously attracted to a magician / "Slow Your Roll", with a therapy session most young people can completely identify with<br />
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5.<i> <b>Mad Men</b></i></div>
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Like "RuPaul's Drag Race" (maybe the only comparison one could make between these two shows), this season of "Mad Men" was bemoaned by viewers who were uncertain if the show was good anymore, wondering if the fire had gone out. I can say unequivocally that it hasn't and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the final 7 episodes. Which leads me to why this show isn't listed higher, considering I love it so much: splitting the final season into two parts isn't new ("The Sopranos" did it), but giving us just seven episodes and then disappearing for a year was a pretty great disservice to the fans. Rather than the standard 13-14 episodes per season, maybe Matthew Weiner could have super-sized things to 16-18, giving us a few extra shows per half-season. In any case, this year saw more provocative Peggy stories, veering from Lucille Ball-style misunderstandings to moving reflective moments, Roger encountering the dark side of his love affair with the counterculture, and Don paying his dues all over again while juggling his crumbling marriage to Megan (still Team Megan here, no hate). We only saw Betty briefly, which is a plus, and she is still a frustrating character; some good Bob Benson material; Pete somehow has landed a California Real Estate Barbie for a girlfriend; and Ginsberg, oh Ginsberg.... "Mad Men" is a show I revisit in its entirety once every year. It's a show I've loved since the beginning and will continue to love after it exits the screen.</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Field Trip", with the most awkward day at the office for Don, as he awaits a partners' meeting to OK his return to work / "The Strategy", with the best Don and Peggy moments since "The Suitcase" / "Waterloo", with the moon landing, the loss of a beloved character, and Don passing the baton to Peggy<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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4. <i><b>Please Like Me</b></i></div>
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A slowly developing cult following has built around this Australian sitcom, the product of 28-year-old wunderkind Josh Thomas. He is sort of the gay male Lena Dunham, the young alternative voice of a certain generation. Take that however you wish, but don't let it stop you from watching this show. This year saw the second season, with more episodes than the debut season, and Josh has upped his game in terms of storytelling, characterization, and humor laced with pathos. His best friend Tom is still a mess, he is still navigating the messy waters of dating after coming out, his mom has gone from an amusing nutcase to a full-fledged mental home patient, and his dad and stepmother have welcomed a new baby into their home. Enter new characters Patrick, the new gorgeous roommate Josh has a crush on, and Arnold, a troubled potential love match. Where the show excels are in its dialogue scenes, where characters interact believably and have engrossing conversations where they discover more about themselves as we, the audience, are as well. The show should still be available on demand and it's a pure pleasure to discover for yourself.</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Ham", with a birthday party for Patrick gone wrong / "Scroggin'", where Josh and Mum go on a camping-trip (this is one of the best not-quite-a-bottle-episode's I've ever seen) / "Truffled Mac and Cheese", where Josh locks Tom in his room for stealing Josh's special mac and cheese and the two guys share an amusing and revelatory afternoon with old friend Claire</div>
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3. <i><b>Masters of Sex</b></i></div>
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When "The Affair" won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, I was shocked that Showtime had campaigned so hard for its new show, which is decent, and had apparently thrown its crown jewel to the wolves. If possible, season 2 of "Masters of Sex" was better than the first, pursuing the relationship between Virginia and Bill in unexpected ways, revealing another surprising side of Libby, delving into the sham marriage of Betty and her meal ticket, and following the Masters and Johnson team as they jump from place to place in search of an accepting environment for their "sex study". Perhaps most poignant was the storyline of Lillian DePaul, the hard cancer researcher facing her own mortality each day, with Virginia, a woman she clashes with constantly, as her only confidante. Betsy Brandt ("Breaking Bad") also made a major impression as a sexually dysfunctional patient in a role that should have been given more attention come awards time, and comedienne Artemis Pebdani gave another wowza recurring performance as a diet pill huckster. This season moved quickly, even jumping forward in time around mid-season, and each episode continued to build and grow the show into something truly spectacular. "Masters of Sex" was easily the best drama on TV this year, and it's just a shame that more people haven't recognized that.</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Fight", most of which is a bottle episode in a hotel room with Bill and Virginia discussing their relationship, but also features a moving subplot about a hermaphrodite baby / "Blackbird", with Lillian and Virginia's final clash / "Mirror, Mirror", with new patient Barbara reaching a psychological breakthrough about her dysfunction (Betsy Brandt, you are a revelation here) / "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", the gripping finale which must have been Lizzy Caplan's "for your consideration" episode</div>
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2. <i><b>Transparent</b></i></div>
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Amazon has its first big hit on its hands, winning Best Actor and Best Comedy Series at the Golden Globes, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it deserves all of its accolades. There has never been anything like "Transparent" on television before, not just in terms of its focusing on the transitional period for transgender men and women, but in its interplay between such an unusual and compelling, though not entirely likable, family. You'll also be hard-pressed to think of another openly Jewish family on television today, but this show revels in the Jewish lifestyle and traditions of the Pfefferman household. Take that, "Goldbergs"! All of the press about this show is true. Tambor is mesmerizing and brilliant as Maura (formerly Morton), who has decided to take the long-awaited steps towards transitioning into the woman he has always been; the show's humor is dark, but genuinely funny and true, as the Pfefferman family recognizes Maura, but also takes the opportunity to re-examine their lives; the entire cast is perfect, including Gaby Hoffmann (long overdue for this career renaissance as of late), Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Judith Light, Melora Hardin, Rob Huebel, Carrie Brownstein, Kathryn Hahn, and Bradley Whitford, they're all giving career-best performances here. It's fun to see Holly Woodlawn and Alexis Del Lago, drag legends from the New York scene, in cameos at the LGBT retirement community where Maura lives, as well as footage of the late great Crystal LaBeija (in footage from 1968's <b>The Queen</b>) under the show's title card. I cannot wait for season 2!</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Pilot", one of the best and practically perfect pilots I've ever seen / "Moppa", where Ali and Sarah go on a field trip with Maura / "Best New Girl", a flashback revealing Morton's previous friendship with a cross-dresser named Mark and their journey to a transvestite summer camp</div>
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1. <i><b>Broad City </b></i></div>
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My favorite of the year, without question, was "Broad City".<i><b> </b></i>It's a show I've watched over and over, with ease, as it only lasted eight episodes. It's the best show about young millennial life, the best show about living in New York, and it features the strongest and most enjoyable friendship on television at the moment (RIP Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins). Springing forth from their popular YouTube series of the same name, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have created what has become affectionately known as the "anti-Girls", a show that follows twenty-something women in New York with raucous humor often hiding the commentary on millennial lives. Most importantly, "Broad City" isn't as concerned with selling its message to the viewers...it's a show that wants you to laugh at and with these two wild and crazy gals. And how could you not? The upcoming season will hopefully be just as good, if not better, as Abbi and Ilana navigate their way through the streets of the city in search of their next big adventure together. Best show of 2014, hands down.</div>
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<u>Best Episodes</u>: "Working Girls", the first masterpiece of the season where Abbi has to go to great lengths to get her neighbor's package after she misses the delivery window / "Fattest Asses", where the girls go all out for a rooftop party and have a hilarious encounter with a pair of douchebag DJ's / "Destination Wedding", where the girls and their group hop all over town trying to find a way to Connecticut to make an old friend's wedding / "The Last Supper", the season finale where the girls' posh dinner for Abbi's birthday goes horribly wrong</div>
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<br />Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-85033086552995902452014-12-11T17:30:00.002-08:002014-12-20T11:01:17.771-08:00The Charming Delights of Charles Walters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the publication of a long overdue biography of unsung (and openly gay) musical director Charles Walters by airing practically his entire filmography throughout the month of December. Andrew Sarris included him in his "Lightly Likable" category, and wrote, with a mere hint of praise, "If the adjective 'nice' could be defined with any precision, it would apply to most of his films. At the very least, his films almost invariably turn out being more entertaining than their subject and title would indicate." Uh, thanks, Andy...? There might be a certain sense of shame in enjoying the films of Charles Walters, but the time for sheepish admissions of the joy in watching his work is long over. Walters, who died in 1982 of lung cancer, doesn't seem to have had the chance to experience the renewed interest in his oeuvre as a result of the "auteurist age" of film study. Interviews with him are scarce and while other musical auteurs like Vincente Minnelli, Stanley Donen, and Busby Berkeley have their defenders and biographers, Walters has been largely overlooked, despite his being responsible for some of the most beloved MGM musicals of classic Hollywood. I simply must pick up the Walters bio, or better yet, perhaps some kind soul among my family or friends will get it for me for Christmas. Until then, there are the films, being shown every Friday night this month by TCM, and I am having a ball revisiting some and seeing others for the very first time.<br />
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The 1930s saw a surprisingly large number of college-based musicals hitting theaters, but the trend disappeared after a few years. Walters' debut feature, <b>Good News </b>(1947), harkens back to these early genre efforts, which isn't surprising considering the source material was a Broadway play from 1927, which was then turned into a long-forgotten musical in 1930 (in which future director Delmer Daves played musclehead Beef!). It somehow feels vintage and fresh at the same time, and is one of the most purely entertaining musicals, from start to finish, to come from any of the Hollywood studios of the era. I'll go out on a limb and say that it's practically impossible to dislike <b>Good News</b>. The project was initially planned as yet another Judy and Mickey "put on a show" musical in the pre-war 1940s, specifically as a sequel to 1939's <b>Babes in Arms</b>, but it didn't go before the cameras until after the war, when Judy and Mickey had definitely outgrown this kind of material. Walters had proven himself a more than capable director and choreographer of song and dance as part of the Freed, Cummings, and Pasternak musical units on the MGM lot, assisting on musical numbers for films by other directors after making an impression as a dancer on-screen in films like <b>Girl Crazy </b>(1943) and <b>Presenting Lily Mars </b>(1943). His audition piece as official director was the black-and-white MGM short <b>Spreadin' the Jam</b> (1945), a test he ably passed; a second audition in Technicolor appeared in the form of a segment in <b>Ziegfeld Follies </b>(1946). Apparently still not convinced of his abilities as a director, MGM assigned him to remake one of their not-so-golden oldies, with no real bankable musical stars. Even with Technicolor on his side, the cards looked to be stacked against the success of Walters' debut outing. But his magic touch made the film a hit, even with its lame-o story of a college football star learning French to woo a spoiled gold-digger and falling in love with his tutor.<br />
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There is an almost unprecedented energy level in this film; the songs are performed at break-neck speed, and it seems every kid on this college campus has an endless supply of pep flowing through their systems at all times. It's easy to overlook the simple threadbare story when it's been replaced by the kind of vibrant performances on display here. While the film was a hit, <b>Good News </b>really developed its cult following in later years as fans and admirers ignored the lack of musical star power (no Judy, no Fred, no Eleanor, or anyone else of major note) and instead focused on the sheer breathless exuberance captured by Walters and his ace team of performers, technicians, and musicians. June Allyson, who MGM claimed at this point to be considerably younger than she really was, became a star because of this film, and she personally held it as one of her favorite films. As the lovable librarian who goes through heartbreak before getting her man, it's not any surprise that the movie-going public fell in love with her, too. Peter Lawford is a thoroughly average singer and dancer, but he has presence and personality, that's for sure, and for a time was doubtless the best-looking guy on the MGM lot. It should be illegal to be as handsome as Peter Lawford. Considering his lack of musical training, his snappy duet with Allyson, "The French Lesson", is doubly impressive. Threatening to steal the movie out from under everybody is Joan McCracken, an incredibly endearing comedienne and singer wooed away from Broadway for this, one of her only Hollywood films. She has two major spotlighted numbers, the comic "Lucky in Love" and the major production "Pass That Peace Pipe". She later married Bob Fosse, who left her for Gwen Verdon, and died prematurely of a heart attack at 43. You'll wish she'd done more after seeing her in this! Popping up is jazz vocalist Mel Torme, who I remember most fondly as the heavy in <b>Girls' Town </b>(1959), as a seductive crooner with a smooth highlighted solo number, "The Best Things in Life Are Free", leaning on a piano. Say what you will about his looks, but Mel had a voice like butter. The rest simply doesn't matter. And I have to mention Connie Gilchrist's masterful performance as Cora the sorority house cook, asked in the final act to play-act with Allyson and landing laughs with her solid wood line readings of a prepared script. It takes talent to play someone without any! It's hard to pick highlights of the musical action, as every moment is a winner, but in addition to the aforementioned numbers, the closer "Varsity Drag" is a breathless production up there with the best of them. According to biographer Phillips, Walters choreographed every musical sequence except for "Pass the Peace Pipe" and "Varsity Drag", which were the work of Robert Alton, another Broadway transplant to Hollywood who would die merely 10 years later, though not before choreographing the next film to be discussed.<br />
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Originally conceived as a Vincente Minnelli-Judy Garland pairing to follow their previous collaborations (1944's <b>Meet Me in St. Louis </b>and 1948's <b>The Pirate</b>), <b>Easter Parade </b>(1948) was a surprisingly prestigious second outing for Walters, reuniting him with Garland after being her dance partner in two films before he began directing. To go from June Allyson and Peter Lawford to Judy Garland and Fred Astaire? Nuffsaid. In fact, <b>Easter Parade </b>is a film notorious for its many replacements: in addition to Walters stepping in for Minnelli, Astaire replaced Gene Kelly and Ann Miller replaced Cyd Charisse, as both the original performers were injured before production began. This was, oddly enough, the sole pairing of Garland and Astaire, but considering their very different work ethics, it's perhaps appropriate that they weren't subjected to each other more than once. Astaire is Don Hewes, a legendary dancer whose partner (Ann Miller) has decided to pursue a solo contract, leaving Don in the lurch when he has a contract to fulfill as a duo. The solution appears in the form of Judy Garland as Hannah Brown, a chorus girl Don drunkenly invites to be his new dance partner, not realizing he is going to have to teach her everything he knows in order to capably fill Miller's shoes. Sound familiar? That's because <b>Dirty Dancing </b>basically lifted the premise wholesale. Peter Lawford reunites with Walters to play a decidedly dull part as a pal of Astaire's who is pursued by Miller, but has his eyes on Garland, and his vocal duet with Judy is a low point of the film. A highlight, though, is the opening number, following Astaire strolling, singing, purchasing an Easter hat from singing models (including Lola Albright and Joi Lansing!), and then performing a mind-blowing routine to "Drum Crazy" in a toy shop, beating on drums, a xylophone, every surface in the place! This is pure Astaire, while his other solo spotlight number, "Stepping Out With My Baby", with its choreography and visual story, seems much more obviously designed for original star Gene Kelly; Astaire still nails it, as usual.<br />
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So what of Garland and Astaire, in their one cinematic pairing? Well...Astaire's strength was his athletic dancing, and Garland's strength was her vibrant, soulful singing...these two talents don't necessarily mesh well when combined for musical numbers. Astaire's dancing was on a level of its own, so he was forced to simplify things when performing with Garland, who was perfectly acceptable as a dancer, but nothing more. In fact, Garland's singing isn't even that impressive in this effort; where she excels is in her comic timing in dialogue and stage sketch scenes. Garland got precious few opportunities to demonstrate she could do more than sing. <b>The Clock </b>showed she could be a melodramatic leading lady (to those who actually bothered to see it). <b>Easter Parade </b>reveals the rarely seen physical comedy talents of Garland, when she isn't caught in a pretty by-the-numbers romantic triangle. It's interesting to note that while <b>Easter Parade </b>is a step up in star power, budget, and musical pedigree (plentiful Irving Berlin standards), it was a major step down in energy and visual storytelling. The aforementioned "Drum Crazy" number bubbles and explodes with the vivacious thrills of <b>Good News </b>at its best, as does "Steppin' Out With My Baby". Ann Miller dazzles with her astonishing tap dancing, natch, and while dancing sultrily (twice) with Astaire to "It Only Happens When I Dance With You". But the rest of the film's musical sequences don't live up to the promise Walters exhibited in his previous feature. "A Couple of Swells" has become the film's signature performance and it's sure amusing, but for sheer camp value, "The Girl on the Magazine Cover" is priceless and much more memorable, like a Busby Berkeley showpiece, MGM-style. <b>Easter Parade </b>isn't a full-blown sophomore slump, as it's still one of the key Freed unit films and there's more than enough here to please died-in-the-wool musical fans. It's just not a favorite of mine. Asides: Character actor Clinton Sundberg, who had a memorable bit in <b>Good News</b> for Walters, returns for the director as a world-wise bartender here, and the very amusing Broadway musical star Jules Munshin steals his scenes as a snooty waiter.<br />
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The success of <b>Easter Parade </b>led MGM to pursue another film bringing Walters, Astaire, and Garland together again. Thus <b>The Barkleys of Broadway </b>(1949) was born. However, Garland's personal problems ensured she would not be appearing in this film, giving Arthur Freed the inspired idea to reunite Fred and Ginger in their first film together in 10 years. Many of the songs were removed from the initial production after Judy's departure, leaving more room for dancing by the most famous dance team in film history. Imagine being a fan of Fred and Ginger, thinking Ginger had departed musicals for good and you would never see them dance together again...and then MGM releases this hotly-anticipated reunion, and in Technicolor to boot! With that kind of potential audience excitement surrounding the project, it's a relief that it lives up to expectations. The magic is still there while watching Fred and Ginger dance, trade barbs, and get romantic as Josh and Dinah Barkley, a famous dancing team threatened with a split when Dinah develops a desire to try being a dramatic actress. It's hard to believe that the script wasn't written for Fred and Ginger initially, as this is exactly what happened to split up the pair 10 years earlier. Ginger departed the musical genre and won an Oscar almost immediately for <b>Kitty Foyle </b>(which I don't feel she deserved, especially not for that film when she was much stronger in the same year's <b>Primrose Path </b>for her <b>Stage Door </b>director Gregory LaCava). Here, she is inspired by the snooty encouragements of a French theatrical director who loathes musical comedy and envisions Dinah as the perfect Sarah Bernhardt in his next play about the great thespian's early life. Following the split, Astaire performs one of his signature pieces, the "Shoes with Wings On" number, proving he doesn't need Ginger at all, really, shown to be true in film after film without her. But naturally this will never do and the two must reunite; he tries to win her back to the tune of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (calling back to their previous film <b>Shall We Dance</b>(1937) before a more bombastic "Manhattan Downbeat" finale. Sigh, swoon, it's lovely. Walters is clearly having the time of his life directing this legendary duo, whom he had adored and admired for years.<br />
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Funny, romantic, and with a more balanced bunch of musical numbers, <b>Barkleys </b>is a marked improvement on <b>Easter Parade</b> and an all-around much more satisfying musical experience. The script was penned by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also wrote <b>Good News</b>' screenplay. Is it a coincidence that both films are essential Walters pictures and MGM musicals? Not at all. Their future screenplays include <b>On the Town </b>(1949), <b>Singin' in the Rain </b>(1952), and <b>The Band Wagon </b>(1953). Their films just got better and better. Clearly this was a powerhouse pair in the genre, just as important as any director on the lot. The established Fred and Ginger chemistry is improved by clever marital squabbles, playing to both their strengths as actors, and by Robert Alton's dance choreography, which took into account Ginger's decade away from the genre, yet still gave her ample opportunity to show she had the hoofing skills to make her routines with Astaire look effortless. Adding to the fun is the supporting cast. Oscar Levant is, as always, hilarious as the couples' wise-cracking composer friend, and even gets to show off his astonishing pianist skills. Hans Conreid, unbilled, is very amusing as pretentious artist Ladislaus Ladi, who creates a portrait of Dinah as a pancake in a frying pan shaped like Josh's head. Billie Burke, given very little to do, makes the most of yet another dizzy socialite role, the type which she could do in her sleep at this point. Cult horror icon George Zucco is seventh-billed yet has one brief scene in the Sarah Bernhardt play, hidden behind a fake mustache. And of course Walters' apparent favorite character actor (lover? fellow gay?) Clinton Sundberg is back in a bit as the producer of the Barkleys' show.<br />
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Fred and Judy were <i>again </i>supposed to have teamed for <b>The Belle of New York </b>(1952), though MGM had planned that pairing way back in 1943. Judy had been canned from the studio in a very publicized severing of ties with the troubled actress, so there wasn't a chance in Hell she would return for this Walters picture. Not even she could have saved it. This is one of my least favorite musicals of the period for a variety of reasons. One is Vera-Ellen, who apparently Walters was unhappy with as well. Vera-Ellen, a pretty terrific dancer of the era, was hardly an actress and has her singing voice dubbed by Anita Ellis, which is not a good sign for a musical (though it didn't hurt Eleanor Powell in the 1930s). She always struck me as cold and aloof in her screen performances and this film is no exception. Where were Jane Powell and Kathryn Grayson, two other MGM musical players? Either would have been a far more appropriate and striking leading lady in this part. But then again, the script is so weak that it's doubtful anyone, regardless of talent or screen appeal, could have saved this from derailing soon after the credits.<br />
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The titular belle is Angela Bonfils, a beautiful blonde welfare worker courted by apparently every man in town, as seen in the opening sequence where she is serenaded at the window by a street full of crooning gentlemen. Enter Charlie Hill, played by Astaire in a role for which he was far too old. Hill is a wealthy playboy with a long list of lovers and fiancees who sees Angela and decides she's the one. Of course she's not interested, except by the possibility of reforming him of his sinful ways. The concept of a conservative religious dame reforming an immoral city boy was tackled much more successfully in <b>Guys and Dolls</b>, both the play and the film. The pair have zero chemistry, even when the script practically demands them to, and if that core romance is a failure, the rest of the film can't help but follow suit. Even the musical numbers aren't as enjoyable as they should be in a Walters film. The idea of Astaire dancing on the Washington Square monument must have seemed great on paper and in preparation, but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. It's clearly attempting to echo Astaire dancing on the ceiling in <b>Royal Wedding </b>the year before, but lightning rarely strikes twice in the musical genre, especially with something as unique as that set piece. I liked the visual style of the Currier and Ives picture postcard montage, especially the skating on the ice in winter, and that's about it. Vera-Ellen's atrocious dubbing mars what should have been an enticing number ("Naughty But Nice"). All of the film's best moments come from the wonderful supporting cast of character actors, but even they are mostly wasted. Marjorie Main does her trademark blustery schtick as the leader of the welfare organization who just so happens to be Astaire's aunt. Alice Pearce, best-known for her later work in television as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz on "Bewitched", is probably the funniest thing about the picture as Vera-Ellen's earnestly singing co-worker. She gets the very few genuinely hilarious lines and a very funny comic song sequence. She sadly died prematurely of ovarian cancer in 1966. Keenan Wynn, always reliable but criminally underused, is Astaire's exasperated lawyer. And yet again, Clinton Sundberg pops up. I hope Phillips' biography delves into just who Sundberg was and why Walters cast him in practically everything.<br />
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Before the train wreck of <b>Belle of New York</b>, Walters departed from his musical roots and made a sprightly, amusing comedy starring Jane Wyman, <b>Three Guys Named Mike </b>(1951). It's perhaps the first film to focus on the exciting life of a stewardess, in this case Oscar-winner Wyman in a role that some actresses would consider slumming, especially considering it was written for June Allyson, someone perhaps more suited to romantic comedies. But playing a woman juggling three male suitors isn't your typical B-picture studio assignment. Perky (but thankfully not too perky) Marcy Lewis is one of the new graduates from American Airlines' stewardess school and, despite her first flight being a comedy of errors at 37,000 feet, she develops a rapport with the pilot Mike (Howard Keel, the hunkiest heart-breaker at MGM). It isn't long before she also makes a strong impression on a scientist passenger who moonlights as a bartender, also named Mike, this one played by Van Johnson, whose boy-next-door good looks certainly do give Keel competition. Yet another passenger, an advertising salesman, played by Barry Sullivan, becomes her third suitor. The trio finally meet when they all assist Marcy in moving into her new house, and it's only then that she realizes she's snagged three Mikes!<br />
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If this all sounds silly, it is, but in the hands of Walters, it's also charming, snappy, and often laugh-out-loud funny. Here is a studio B-picture serving as A+ entertainment, with a very solid cast and plenty of hearty chuckles thanks to reliable screenwriter Sidney Sheldon. As Hollywood was dealing with the threat of television, studios began focusing most of their budgets on extravagant spectacles while also producing modest little programmers like this one. This wasn't an unusual production system; in fact, every major studio had adopted the production unit format of moviemaking decades earlier. But in the early 1950s, it took on slightly greater importance as cinema butted heads with TV. In 1951, for example, the year Dore Schary replaced Louis B. Mayer as MGM's studio head, larger films like <b>Quo Vadis</b>, <b>An American in Paris</b>, <b>Show Boat</b>, and <b>The Red Badge of Courage </b>took the lion's share (pun intended) of the studio's attention, while smaller films like this one, <b>Cause for Alarm</b>, <b>Bannerline</b>, <b>Angels in the Outfield</b>, and <b>Too Young to Kiss</b><b> </b>kept contract players and directors busy and delivered product to theaters anxious to draw audiences out of their living rooms. For my money, the smaller films are more interesting to view today; they're often unassuming entertainments without pretensions or lofty ambitions, yet are able to provide engrossing stories with underrated performers. Sometimes they were produced independently and simply picked up for distribution by studios like MGM, making them slightly more interesting for being made outside of the system. Walters seems an odd choice for this picture, with his established pedigree in Technicolor musicals, but his experience with romantic comedy in rather ridiculous scenarios surely makes him the right man for the job. Look fast for "Leave It to Beaver" mom Barbara Billingsley as the head instructor at the stewardess school, and 30 years before she spoke jive in <b>Airplane!</b> (1980), too! No Sundberg this time around, how strange...but you do get Phyllis Kirk (<b>House of Wax</b>) and Jeff Donnell (<b>In a Lonely Place</b>) as two of Marcy's stewardess pals. And King Donovan (<b>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</b>) is a riot in a two-scene bit as the airlines' passenger agent.<br />
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Before Walters struck out on his own as a director, he tested the waters as a dance director on various films, first for RKO before moving over to MGM, where he spent the majority of his career. The first film he ever worked in any capacity was <b>Seven Days' Leave </b>(1942), the unofficial entry in what would become a long-running series featuring Harold Peary as "The Great Gildersleeve", a character he made famous on the radio show "Fibber McGee and Molly". RKO had several radio personalities they brought to movie screens; maybe the most noteworthy was Kay Kyser. In fact, the radio plays a huge role in this film, as it did in many RKO features. The Gildersleeve films are mildly amusing when seen today, but this is easily the highlight of the series because it works as a stand-alone film. Victor Mature stars as playboy soldier Johnny Grey, who learns that he has inherited the estate of a long-lost relative. However, there is one catch found in the will: he has to marry a member of a specific family with a history of feuding with the Greys, in this case Lucille Ball as Terry Havelock-Allen, whose engagement to another throws a wrench into the money-seeking courtship.<br />
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The Walters-choreographed sequences kick off near the opening, as Mature and company look over the shoulder of heart-sick soldier Arnold Stang as he writes a letter to a guy back home, begging him to "leave my girl alone". This turns into a song-and-dance number as they transform his letter into a catchy tune, which seems ridiculous, but in the hands of Walters this is a grand spectacle that is hard to resist and ranks as the musical highlight of the picture. Mature was always the last person one would expect to see in a song-and-dance number, but he's in several here and is surprisingly good in all of them. Stang's patented goofball schtick is often legitimately funny, 16-year-old Marcy McGuire makes a strong impression as Ball's jazz-singing baby sister, Wallace Ford (<b>Freaks</b>) is a no-nonsense sergeant, Peter Lind Hayes (as Mature's second banana) does dynamite Ronald Colman, Lionel Barrymore, and Charles Laughton impressions to lure Ball's fiancee away so Mature can move in for the kill, and band-leaders Freddy Martin and Les Brown and their orchestras contribute some swingin' numbers. You also get to see radio personality Ralph Edwards and a recording of his show "Truth or Consequences" involving Ball and Mature, as well as dancers Lynn, Royce, and Vanya in a comic ballroom dance sequence (courtesy of Walters).<br />
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Walters was brought over to MGM by Arthur Freed for <b>Du Barry Was a Lady </b>(1943), which reunited the director with Lucille Ball in a film that is decidedly less brazen comic fun than <b>Seven Days' Leave</b>, but has plenty of memorable Technicolor moments of music and whimsy. This was also the first film featuring Lucy with her trademark flaming red hair, courtesy of MGM hairstylist Sydney Guilaroff, and photographed lushly by the accomplished Karl Freund. Red Skelton stars as Louie, a hat and coat check clerk at a swanky nightclub. Ball, as nightclub star May Daly, is the objection of his affections, but her heart beats for sincere but poor singer and pianist Alec Howe (played by Gene Kelly, breathlessly sexy as ever, in one of his first MGM musicals). Comic relief is supplied by a pre-<b>Producers </b>Zero Mostel as Rami, a fake Swami (his Charles Boyer impression is spot-on and hilarious), criminally unsung comedienne and singer Virginia O'Brien, with the best deadpan in the business since Buster Keaton, as cigarette girl Ginny, who pursues clueless Louis with proposals of marriage, and former boxer Rags Ragland as a hot-tempered telegram delivery boy. Things begin looking up for Louis when he wins the lottery (this being wartime, he makes sure to buy war bonds with his acquired dough) and proposes marriage to May, who begrudgingly accepts for her financial security. In a variation on "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", Louis is knocked out and wakes up as French monarch Louis XV, with all the people in his life appearing as other characters in a costume masquerade, most notably May as Madame Du Barry.<br />
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This picture represents pretty beautifully what classic movie devotees love about MGM films, especially the studio's color musicals, and it's one of my very favorites. All of the music is dynamite, Kelly dances up a storm and you naturally can't take your eyes off him, the costumes and sets are extravagant, and the laughs come regularly from a gang of talented performers and a fine script. Just about the only place where the film falters badly is in the romantic department. The love triangle between Skelton, Ball, and Kelly just feels half-hearted, and how could it not when there's so much mouth-watering Technicolor entertainment surrounding it? Typical for MGM musicals, the story is secondary to everything else, which is fine by me when it all looks and sounds this good. Ball is dubbed by Martha Mears for the title song, but she also gets some good comic business in her costuming for the opening number, and does legitimately sing during the fun "Friendship" finale. It must have been interesting for Walters to work with Kelly as his dance director, considering Kelly's reputation not only for his talent and perfectionism, but his headstrong ego. Also take into consideration that Walters played Kelly's part in the original 1939 Broadway version of <b>Du Barry</b>! Walters and Kelly worked together only one other time, on the very troubled <b>Summer Stock </b>(1950). Most of the dance numbers are simple efforts, considering the talents of the performers in other departments. Louise Beavers, in another domestic role, is typically stellar, and even gets to dance a little with Gene Kelly! Clara Blandick, best-known as Auntie Em in <b>The Wizard of Oz </b>(1939), appears in one of many uncredited and hilarious character parts as a world-wise old biddy on the subway with Skelton and Ball. Lana Turner appears as herself as a fun punchline to the spectacular "I Love an Esquire Girl" number, which also features the marvelous Pied Pipers (with Jo Stafford) splendidly vocalizing as 12 gorgeous gals represent the calendar months in centerfold-type poses. The Pied Pipers return for "Katie Went to Haiti" in Versailles. I also really enjoyed The Three Oxford Boys, singers who resemble The Chad Mitchell Trio from the later folk movement; in addition to rather standard vocal harmonizing, they also do impressions and the mimicking of Tommy Dorsey's trombone segues into Dorsey and his orchestra playing in a nicely done sequence. MGM musicals are some of the best places to see popular musical groups of the swing and jazz era, and Dorsey's group, including drummer Buddy Rich, really scorches here! The film stops cold for their lengthy performances and you almost wish there was an entire concert film of them somewhere.<br />
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<b>Broadway Rhythm </b>(1944) is another Technicolor Roy Del Ruth effort, and a considerable step down from <b>Du Barry Was a Lady</b>. Not only is the star power diminished, but some of the music and practically all of the comedy simply isn't up to snuff. The production history of this misfire reveals it features musical numbers intended for other aborted projects and began as a new installment of the <b>Broadway Melody </b>series. Perhaps this explains why so little of the film works, and at almost 2 hours it really starts to drag. It opens with a number by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, getting things off to a rousing start. But as soon as we're introduced to the film's hero, we're in trouble. George Murphy, not one of MGM's top stars, is Broadway producer Johnny Demming, desperate for a famous name to star in his new show. He ignores the talents of his kid sister Patsy (Gloria DeHaven, another second-tier MGM musical performer) and opts to pursue superstar Helen Hoyt (Ginny Simms, serviceable but most likely cast because she was Louis B. Mayer's mistress at the time). That's basically the whole story, and there are precious few great musical numbers to distract from a lacking script. Ignoring the racism of seeing her perform at the Jungle Club (groan),
Lena Horne is pure magic as always; weirdly enough, the "Jungle Boogie" number wasn't meant for this film, inserted here after <b>Broadway Melody of 1943</b>'s production fell apart. The sultry "Somebody Loves Me", contrary to popular opinion, was obviously shot for this film's production, as she actually interacts with the film's cast. Her MVP title is seriously challenged by the Ross Sisters, a trio of backwoods girls who perform "Solid Potato Salad" before breaking into one of the most jaw-dropping gymnastics-filled routines I've ever seen. Walters sure must have had fun with this one! Jazz pianist Hazel Scott dazzles with her orchestra, ripping apart her piano with delicious fury! Scott actually briefly had her own television show on the doomed DuMont network in 1950. These guest performances are all marvelous...but any time the three leads show up, it's snoozeville.<br />
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Character actor great Charles Winninger is the best part of the picture as Murphy's dad with roots in vaudeville. He even gets to sit in with his trombone in the opening Dorsey performance, joins Dorsey again for a duet, and basically holds the whole movie together. Bold and brassy Nancy Walker, years before Bounty paper towels and "Rhoda", is shot in particularly unflattering lighting and makeup in comparison to her other female co-stars. Sure, she's supposed to be the comic relief, but surely Del Ruth and crew didn't mean for her to look like Lou Costello in drag. Thankfully her big number "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" is pretty fabulous. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson is wasted in a throwaway part, considering his popularity on the "Jack Benny Show" on the radio at the time, not to mention his starring role in the studio's <b>Cabin in the Sky </b>two years prior. At least Ben Blue gets some noteworthy moments as stage manager Felix, but the less said about "impressionist" Dean Murphy the better. Otherwise, this is one to skip. It's a disappointing MGM musical and, as far as Walters' input, it's all about the Ross Sisters, nothing more.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nsTVe08RnU4" width="420"></iframe>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-31582956202052701922014-12-10T14:01:00.000-08:002014-12-20T11:01:40.861-08:00TCM Star of the Month: Cary Grant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Of all the male superstars of classic Hollywood, Cary Grant has endured as my very favorite. He's ridiculously good-looking, effortlessly charming, and one of the most versatile actors of the period, feeling right at home in ribald romps or earnest melodramas. His bisexuality off-camera naturally adds extra appeal to me, but when examining the stars of golden age, it's their on-camera persona that's most important in evaluating their lasting popularity. Grant possessed impeccable comic timing, a talent which took some time for Hollywood to notice before he became the virtual face of screwball comedy in the 1930s and 1940s. He could play cads, family disappointments, and suspected murderers and still charm the pants off the audience, which could possibly also be seen as a hindrance to his career. By the 1950s and 1960s, Grant's graying but still very good looks kept him working in romantic comedies opposite women considerably younger than him, but unlike others of his era like Gable and Cooper, one could understand why younger ladies would fall head over heels with Cary. He had that voice, that smile, those dimples, those sincere eyes. I'm hard-pressed to think of a film in which I didn't fully love Cary Grant, even if the film itself was a dud, and that's one of the great signs of a star.<br />
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With my shameless gushing wrapped up, let's get down to business. TCM has selected Cary Grant as their Star of the Month for December, programming pretty much every single gem of his career over the course of four Mondays this month. I could not be happier with their choice of spotlighted superstar! The first selection highlighted some of Grant's earlier work, before 1937's <i>The Awful Truth </i>truly made him a star to be reckoned with, though some later-period Grant did pop up in the wee hours of the morning. It's rather surprising that it took so long for Grant to become a superstar, especially because his first studio put a considerable amount of publicity into building him into a matinee idol. The problem is one that plagued several stars during the first years of their careers: the studio developed the concept of the star persona without necessarily taking all the star's talents and interests into consideration. Watching his early films, one can see Grant's comic sparkle, but only in bits and pieces. His dashing British <br />
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Born Archibald Leach in 1904 in Bristol, England, Grant took to show business at an early age, assisting magicians in his adolescence and leaving school to join a vaudeville troupe in his teens. It was there where he learned the arts of pantomime and dialogue-free performance, talents he brought with him to the silver screen (his facial expressions, especially in comedies, were always peerless), as well as theatrical acrobatics, seen in his more athletic performances. This stage experience is what brought him to America in 1920, where he took up residence in New York and toured with several different theatre troupes before hitting Broadway and making strong impressions with his performances in musicals for Arthur Hammerstein and the Shuberts. His first screen test was for Fox Film Corporation in 1929, which he failed, but after appearing in a 1931 short subject for Paramount (<b>Singapore Sue</b>), the studio offered him a contract and put him to work immediately upon signature.<br />
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Grant liked to pretend <b>Singapore Sue </b>didn't exist, preferring to acknowledge <b>This is the Night </b>(1932) as his first film. Being cast in the second romantic lead in his debut feature indicates Paramount's strong faith in his audience appeal and hopes for box office success with their new star. Shot at the same time was <b>Sinners in the Sun</b>; Grant went back and forth between sound stages during his first weeks at the studio, hitting the ground running as Paramount rushed to push him into stardom. Other than functioning as Grant's first feature film, <b>This is the Night </b>also has an interesting opening, tinted blue (all of the night scenes are) and knowingly ripping off the musical comic confections of Paramount's own Ernst Lubitsch and Rouben Mamoulian. Nothing like a major studio cannibalizing its own. Grant makes his first cinematic entrance singing off-stage, entering the screen carrying javelins and singing his first lines to Charles Ruggles. It's certainly a memorable debut, and Grant projects sexual thrills from the get-go. Unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn't quite live up to the somewhat promising start, which is oddly similar to Grant's later, far better <b>Awful Truth</b>. In the film, our Cary plays the husband of Thelma Todd, who is indulging in an affair with Roland Young (seriously? she'd ditch <i>Cary Grant </i>for Roland Young?). When the two are almost found out, he hires ingenue Lili Damita to play his wife and throw Grant off the scent of infidelity. Damita takes a bit to warm up, but when she indulges in a clothes-ripping tease number and her character's name inspires some good Ruggles business, sparks fly and you get the makings of an enticing pre-Code classic. It's only when the film tries to mime Lubitsch/Mamoulian that it spirals into embarrassing territory. Director Frank Tuttle nails the naughty innuendo, but the musical motifs simply draw poor comparisons to his other studio contemporaries. As asides: Grant and Young would reunite five years later in the very enjoyable <b>Topper</b>, to be discussed later in the month; Damita would later become the first Mrs. Errol Flynn, after being married to director Michael Curtiz from 1925-1926; and of course poor Todd would die prematurely and very mysteriously a mere four years after this film's release. She is regrettably given little to do here. It's really Damita's show.<br />
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<b>She Done Him Wrong </b>(1933) was the first of two films pairing Grant with Mae West, the studio's controversial bombshell who was to Paramount in the 1930s what Clara Bow was to the studio in the 1920s: guaranteed sexy box office. Bow was, as I've maintained for some time, peerless, but then so was West, in a very different way. While Paramount had two other notable blonde femmes under contract, brassy (Carole Lombard) and exotic (Marlene Dietrich), both of whom also co-starred with Grant, West was in a class by herself, translating her famous titillating Broadway shows and persona into a series of films allowing her to be both a vamp and a comedienne. This combination was rarely attempted and never equaled by Paramount, or any other studio, for that matter. Legend has it that West personally requested Grant be her romantic lead in this film after "discovering him" as an extra on the lot. While West was a one-woman powerhouse with unheard-of control over her projects, even within the studio system, this is a story that Grant vehemently denied, and the truth is less interesting: Paramount's B.P. Schulberg thought Grant's smooth persona and the bodacious West would be a good match. He wasn't necessarily right. Grant makes no impression at all as a goody two-shoes mission captain trying to save West from her decadent existence in the Gay Nineties. The rest of the film finds West caught between a swarthy Latino gigolo, her escaped convict ex-boyfriend, and Grant's offer of moral redemption, and soon mixed up in an accidental murder. Wait until you see what she does with the body!<br />
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Directed by actor Lowell Sherman, whose career both on- and off-screen was cut short by an early death of pneumonia in 1934, this is one of the quintessential pre-Code comedies. Mae West's Lady Lou is one of the dirtiest broads the cinema has ever seen, and you love her balls and bravura every second she's on-screen. She slithers all over any available man in sight, disrobes for costume changes often, and revels in her sinfully slutty lifestyle, no rules, no regrets, until of course a body turns up and she ends up in a prison potentially worse than the one with bars. Surprisingly, this film, which functions solely as a Mae West vehicle with barely any story surrounding her (it was essentially a retread of her stage show "Diamond Lil"), received a Best Picture nomination! It's interesting to see Clara Bow's husband, Gilbert Roland, playing here opposite his wife's obvious bombshell replacement at Paramount, and the same year as her final film, <b>Hoop-la</b>, over at Fox Films. I also greatly enjoyed seeing Rochelle Hudson, ever underrated, as the young ward of Lou's who is saved from a suicide attempt and turned into a showgirl (in the original play she was sold into white slavery!), and Louise Beavers is fabulous as always, even stuck in thankless domestic roles as she often was.<br />
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<b>I'm No Angel </b>(1933) reunited Grant and West for the second and last time. As might be evident by their interactions in both of their pairings, there was no love lost between the two superstars. West, at 40, was desperately clinging to her youth with caked-on makeup that she would continue to use well into her 80s, and Grant didn't care for her brazen artificiality. She was all image, the Lady Gaga of her time. This doesn't detract from her accomplishments, of course; Hollywood was built on its stars and their personae. In the case of West, it simply becomes difficult to separate the woman from the illusion, and she clearly wanted it that way. <b>She Done Him Wrong </b>did such stupendous box office, often credited as saving Paramount from bankruptcy that year, that this next star vehicle was released not long after. West is Tira (pronounced Tyra, as in Banks), a carnival tramp who sings and struts on-stage for packs of thrill-seeking gents. Her stage act is touted as "the only show on earth where the tickets are made of asbestos," and you better believe that hoop-la. Speaking of <b>Hoop-la</b>...this bears a striking resemblance to Clara Bow's film of that name made this same year. But I digress... if it's possible, West's stage show in this film is even more salacious and packed with leering pervs than in her previous feature. But the fun and games are over when her seedy boyfriend busts in on her turning a trick and brains the Texas rube with a bottle, sending her scurrying for money to skip town. She earns it by sticking her head in a lion's mouth, earning her fame, fortune, and a ticket to New York where, once again, she finds herself sandwiched between two potential suitors. Where <b>She Done Him Wrong </b>had no plot, <b>I'm No Angel </b>is almost too plot-heavy for a West vehicle. That said, it's also possibly even more fun than the preceding film. But wait...where's Cary Grant in all this? The same place he was before: in the dull romantic interest role, competing with handsome Kent Taylor for Mae's affections. Another vastly underrated character actress, Gertrude Michael, is a welcome addition to the cast, as are character greats Edward Arnold and Gregory Ratoff, plus muscle hunk Nat Pendleton, perhaps the sexiest beefcake of 1930s cinema. No Louise Beavers this time, but Hattie McDaniel has a bit as a manicurist, giving no hint of being a future Oscar-winner.<br />
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Yet another unsatisfying role for Grant is found in <b>The Eagle and the Hawk </b>(1933), a quite good war picture that really offers Fredric March, who won the Oscar the year before for the studio's <b>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</b>, more promising material than anyone else. Paramount had won one of the industry's first two Academy Awards for Best Picture (for <b>Wings</b>; the other went to Fox Films for <b>Sunrise</b>), and while this WWI saga is not at all up to the level of Wellman's silent classic, there are some moving and well-done moments once the film gets going. This is primarily because of March, one of the screen's finest thespians of the era, playing the hero to Grant's semi-villain. The two butt heads in flight training before March is stationed in France and Grant is grounded indefinitely as a result of March reporting his unpreparedness for battle. That, of course, changes when March loses five flight observers in two months before Grant requests the chance to work with his nemesis. It's hard enough fighting the enemy without a partner gunning for you, too. The film has obvious similarities to Howard Hawks' <b>The Dawn Patrol </b>(1930), and some of the war footage is lifted from <b>Wings</b>, as Paramount was known to do (who can blame them? it's astonishing stuff), but this is entertaining enough to recommend, with a truly shocking pre-Code conclusion. Grant tries his hardest in a role unlike anything he had played to date, but Carole Lombard, as a vamp with no name, doesn't really fit into this picture at all. Paramount clearly still didn't know what they had in either of them. At least March would get to comically spar with her in Wellman's <b>Nothing Sacred </b>a few years later, and Grant got his Lombard fix a short while later in <b>In Name Only</b>. Third-billed Jack Oakie provides the laughs here, though he did better work later in the decade. Little Douglas Scott is memorable as a rather bloodthirsty British tyke. Kenneth Howell, as a young whippersnapper observer, is surprisingly effeminate and looks like he's wearing make-up. Future unsung director Mitchell Leisen receives prominent billing as the film's "associate director"; he would prove to be one of Paramount's hidden gems behind-the-scenes.<br />
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<b>Hot Saturday </b>(1932) is one of Grant's more interesting early programmers because it co-stars him with his longtime companion Randolph Scott, his most publicly acknowledged male lover who had actually been living with him for some time when production started on this picture. Rumors swirled around the lot that the pair were cast together to dissuade any gossipy publicity about their, ahem, roommate situation. The two are on opposite sides here, Grant playing a notorious ladies' man in a small town (who makes his entrance in a blinding white suite) and Scott a knight-in-shining-armor geologist come home on the train to visit. Caught in the middle of this manwich is Nancy Carroll, virtually forgotten today despite her Oscar nomination for <b>The Devil's Holiday </b>(1930). At the time of this production she was reportedly receiving the most fan mail of any star in Hollywood, though that may just be typical studio-era hoop-la. She wouldn't last long at Paramount after this, though she did one more movie with Grant, <b>Woman Accused</b>, in 1933; her contract expired that year and her demands for better material led the studio to not renew her option. She must not have been the box office draw that fan mail story would imply, but is still pretty darn wonderful in everything I've seen her in. Carroll's character is youthful, fun-loving, and carefree, but has her limits, and through a series of misunderstandings involving Saturday date Edward Woods and notorious Grant, the whole town thinks she's tramped it up with the worldly lover. Quel scandale! Small town gossip will getcha. Upping the gay quotient of the film substantially is character actor Grady Sutton, a robust Dom DeLuise type who was often cast as chubby Southern-fried comic reliefs with no luck in the lady department (shocking, I know); you may remember him as the rich simpleton Carole Lombard claims to be engaged to in <b>My Man Godfrey </b>to inspire jealousy from William Powell. Sutton was, like Edward Everett Horton and Franklin Pangborn, one of several unashamedly homosexual character actors working in the studio era; unlike Grant and Scott, Sutton was never a star, sometimes appearing in films without receiving any credit, and didn't give the studio any sleepless nights about covering up his personal activities. Jane Darwell, a decade before her Oscar win for <b>Grapes of Wrath</b>, also appears as Carroll's exasperating mother. As a Grant picture, it's a no-go, though this was one of the first movies to really capture the persona we all know and love. As a pre-Code studio picture, it's worth your time, especially with that great triumphant finale celebrating decadence over chastity. It's appeared on DVD as part of a Pre-Code Hollywood Collection of other Paramount classics, including another Grant pre-Code feature,<i> </i><b>Merrily We Go to Hell </b>(1932). In one of the kinkiest pre-Code scenes of the era, Carroll finds her sister (Rose Coghlan) has taken a pair of her undershorts without asking and wrestles her down to rip them off of her. It's this kind of scene that would appear in 8mm fetish shorts projected at stag parties for the next few decades.<br />
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<b>Suzy </b>(1936) matched Grant with yet another blonde bombshell comedienne, in this case MGM's only superstar of that type: Jean Harlow. One can tell it's going to be another female star vehicle by looking at her co-stars, in this case the underwhelming Franchot Tone and Grant, still in search of a star persona. By 1936, Harlow had done bombshell schtick for some time and <b>Suzy </b>feels like a departure for her while also feeling mildly familiar, an odd sensation to be sure. As the title character, she is a flighty American chorus girl in pre-WWI London who decides to quit the show when it leaves town in the hopes of landing a rich aristocrat as a husband. Enter Tone (whose silly accent comes and goes), who hits her with a borrowed Rolls-Royce, giving her the impression she's hit the jackpot. Naturally she hasn't, as he is a struggling inventor, but love is love...for some reason; Tone has never appealed to me and I find it hard to believe he ever did to women like Harlow and, off-screen, Joan Crawford. Their brand-new romance is tested when it's discovered that Tone's office is a front for German spies; he is seemingly gunned down for knowing too much, Suzy is accused of the deed, and she flees to Paris where she shacks up with gal pal Maisie (Inez Courtney, superb), develops a nightclub act (apparently laying low wasn't on her itinerary), and falls for smarmy French pilot Grant (with no accent) after WWI breaks out. It all becomes a little soap sudsy and melodramatic for my tastes, which is saying something considering what a sucker I am for women's pictures of the era. Harlow is the right girl for the part, but the script feels slightly undercooked and neither romance gels satisfactorily. At least we get a taste of the Grant we know and love, the irascible rapscallion with a sharp tongue, a teasing nature, and a veneer of smarm that is still somehow lovable.<b> Suzy </b>was one of the last films Grant made while on his Paramount contract (loaned out here to MGM) before not renewing his option and pursuing freelance work, a risky move in the studio era. He was one of the first stars to take the plunge into this relatively uncharted territory, and while he wasn't entirely a free agent (he signed a three-year contract with Columbia allowing him to pick and choose outside projects as he wished), it proved a wise decision on his part. But more on that later... Even after the Code began being enforced, there were still a few eyebrow-raising scenes in films of the era. Here, Harlow spends a large part of a conversation topless (hidden) in her dressing room, making you forget this was 1936 and not 1933. Una O'Connor, the go-to actress for British kook parts, is a lot of fun as Suzy's landlady in a one-scene appearance.<br />
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<b>The Toast of New York </b>(1937) brought Grant to RKO, arguably the least of the Hollywood major studios, and reunited him with his <b>Eagle and the Hawk </b>co-star Jack Oakie. RKO is where Oakie flourished as a comic actor and box office presence in delightfully watchable pictures like this one. Here, he and Grant are rather equal in their support of Edward Arnold in a rare leading role as Jim Fisk, the real-life opportunist who profited on cotton smuggling during the Civil War and pulled fast ones on wealthy targets until he climbed into control of the nation's gold market. I won't go into the factual inaccuracies in the film, as classic Hollywood was not known for sticking to the truth without embellishing some elements of a person's biography and ignoring others. The first half of the film, with a quick pace and a great sense of humor as we follow the trio of con men successfully scheming to line their pockets with cash, is superior to the second half, which becomes bogged down by a love triangle between Grant, Arnold, and Frances Farmer (before her breakdown) as aspiring actress Josie Mansfield. The story becomes needlessly confused and tough to follow, making one pine for the simple pleasures of the film's enjoyable first act. RKO spent a considerable amount of money on the film, but alas didn't recoup its investment when the film bombed at the box office. It's certainly a confused narrative, but is far from a complete failure and wouldn't be a waste of your time. Anyone with an appreciation for classic Hollywood would find something to enjoy in this picture. In addition to the very capable leading men, some of Arnold's fellow character actor greats of the era contribute their fair share of memorable moments, including Donald Meek as stingy Daniel Drew, Clarence Kolb as cocky Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Billy Gilbert as a flustered German photographer.<br />
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<b>Night and Day </b>(1946) doesn't fit in at all with the films preceding it, as it was produced by Warner Brothers a full decade after the rest of them. That said, it is one of Grant's more enduring fan favorites, shot in beautiful Technicolor (a rarity for Grant in the 1930s and 1940s) and featuring lots of Cole Porter music. Frankly, it's one of my least favorite Grant pictures, but there's no denying its importance in his filmography. Preparing to play Cole Porter in this film was stressful for the actor, who hadn't worked for a year when the production of the biopic began, but it wasn't only the studio who wouldn't take no from him for an answer. Porter himself insisted that no one else play him! How interesting that a closeted actor was tapped to play a closeted version of a gay composer's life. Yale 1914: Cole Porter has decided to abandon his studies and become a composer, joining forces with Monty Woolley (playing himself) in putting on stage revues. WWI takes him to France before he returns, begins composing again, marries the society lady who nursed him back to health, and encounters the age-old conflict of love vs. career.<br />
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As with <b>Toast of New York</b>, don't come to the table expecting a solid biography of Porter's real life story (see <b>De-Lovely </b>for that). If you want a swoon-worthy Grant, shot for only the second time in Technicolor (the first was for the 1935 MGM short <b>Pirate Party on Catalina Island</b>) and plentiful music, then you won't be disappointed. One can't complain too much about the state of the the facts in the script. Porter himself worked with director Curtiz and his three screenwriters in bringing his story to the screen, and must have realized that his magnificent adventures as a gay composer in America were not going to be embraced by Hollywood or the public, so settled on having his favorite movie star play him in a fabricated tale of romance and songs. Three writers, Curtiz, and Porter came up with this nonsense? The film's production was not a pleasant experience for Grant or seemingly anyone else, save Alexis Smith who got to kiss her youthful matinee idol crush while playing Porter's wife...before he screamed at her for almost getting body make-up on a British-made suit he couldn't get replaced during wartime. Personal problems at home with his then-wife, Barbara Hutton, might have inspired his outrageous diva behavior on the set. Grant demanded and got final cast, costume, and set approval, giving him power superseding studio professionals with years of experience under their belt. He clashed with Curtiz regularly, complaining about the script (which was rewritten regularly during production), insisting on multiple retakes after revising the script himself on the spot, going into fits over what he perceived to be incorrect set dressings or historically inaccurate costumes on extras, whining about the film's three (!) cinematographers and their color photography of him, firing a child actor and sending him crying from the set, etc., etc. Jack Warner himself had to intervene to guide the ship to shore! Did Grant not realize the entire story was a fabrication? None of it really happened except in Hollywood dreamland. Smith believes he was irritable the entire time because he had gone from working with acclaimed playwright Clifford Odets and an Oscar nomination for <b>None But the Lonely Heart </b>to making this pointless biopic garbage; others theorized he was taking out his frustrations with Hutton on everyone else around him. I might lean towards the former. It may have been all worth the nightmares on-set if the film were any good; the final product is strictly average, maybe even worse.<br />
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Grant later called his performance "inept", which is unfairly self-critical but not entirely wrong, either. It's hard to play a true-life character in entirely fictional scenarios. The conflict as an actor must have been quite something. There are a few memorable sequences, like a stage audience gradually emptying during a performance when news of the Lusitania's sinking spreads, and the supporting cast has some nice surprises. Eve Arden hams it up with a French accent in a typically fun Arden part. It's easy to forget Jane Wyman began her ingenue career as a blonde; after her Oscar win for <b>Johnny Belinda </b>in 1948, she rarely deviated from the brunette look. She's a personal favorite with any hair color. Woolley was a great presence in all of his film work, and is lucky to have survived the shoot. He was suffering from a bladder infection during most of the production, and had to rush to complete his scenes before undergoing an important operation to save his life.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
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<br />Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-69503457378712821822014-03-12T14:02:00.001-07:002014-03-12T14:02:14.846-07:00Oscar Yay's and Nay's: 1930<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>1930 Best Picture</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Their vote: <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">My vote: <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>1930 Best Director</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Their vote: Lewis Milestone, <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">My vote: Lewis Milestone, <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>1930 Best Writing Achievement</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Their vote: Frances Marion, <i>The Big House</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">My vote: George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson & Del Andrews, <i>All Quiet on the Western Front<b> </b> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Academy rebounds from the previous year's disastrous Best Picture choice (<i>The Broadway Melody</i>) by properly acknowledging the best film of the year here. Not only is it a monumental technical achievement of the early sound era, it still stands the test of time today. I'm not entirely sure how Lew Ayres avoided being nominated for Best Actor, considering the large amount of nominees in the category (eight, three of them for two performances each). His performance as a youthful patriot lured to the battlefields of WWI and transformed into a sad, jaded veteran through his horrific experiences is not like the stage-bound work of other actors of the same period. The Academy wisely also awarded Lewis Milestone his second Oscar for direction; his only real competition was Ernst Lubitsch for <i>The Love Parade</i>, though Lubitsch would do much more accomplished work in later years. A misstep occurred by awarding the creaky men-in-prison melodrama <i>The Big House </i>the Best Writing award. While it is noteworthy for being the first award given to a woman in a filmmaking category, the film itself has more than its fair share of ludicrous moments that a better script would have smoothed out before going into production. In fact, the other nominees in the category suffer similar issues: Julian Josephson's <i>Disraeli </i>is dull and talky; John Meehan's <i>The Divorcee </i>takes unsatisfactory turns in its tale of infidelity; Howard Estabrook's <i>Street of Chance </i>is a cliched story warning against the thrills of gambling, old hat even by 1930. The three-man job on <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i>, on the other hand, adapts the original book strikingly well and helps to make the film the first great war picture of the sound era. Its success would lead to other films of its type over the years, but few can compare to the original.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> </i><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1930 Best Actor</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Their vote: Lionel Barrymore, <i>A Free Soul</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My vote: NONE</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is, for my money, the sorriest bunch of Best Actor nominees in Oscar history. Not one of them gives a performance worthy of the gold statuette. First up, you have winner Lionel Barrymore. Barrymore was always one to go hamming, and I quite enjoy his later work in films made after he became wheelchair-bound. However I firmly believe Louis B. Mayer bought this Oscar for his favorite actor, who he kept under contract until his death despite not being a recurring box office favorite. His supposedly spectacular final courtroom scene, done in one take, Jackie Cooper nominated for <i>Skippy </i>and ignored for his much better performance in <i>The Champ</i> a year later? There is no justice. Richard Dix has always been a personality, not an actor, and his heroics in <i>Cimarron </i>are standard Dix. Fredric March's drunken antics in <i>The Royal Family of Broadway </i>are strictly in a supporting role, a category that had not yet been introduced, and further more he would do far better work. By the same token, Adolph Menjou's work in <i>The Front Page </i>is also a supporting job; Pat O'Brien, always so good, should have been nominated instead. Considering his competition here, I would have given him the gold. But any race that discounts James Cagney in <i>The Public Enemy</i>, Charlie Chaplin in <i>City Lights</i>, or Peter Lorre in <i>M </i>is already severely handicapped.</span></span></span>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-90438314577439097842014-03-01T01:15:00.000-08:002014-03-01T01:22:20.481-08:00Independent Spirit Awards 2014<b>Best Supporting Male</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u><i>: </i>Michael Fassbender, <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; Will Forte, <i>Nebraska</i>; James Gandolfini, <i>Enough Said</i>; Jared Leto, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i>; Keith Stanfield, <i>Short Term 12</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>James Gandolfini, <i>Enough Said</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For one of his final performances, Gandolfini deserves the gold, and not just because it's the last time we'll be able to honor him for his consistently good work. This is a Gandolfini you've rarely seen before. It's impossible to not fall in love with him in this film. While Leto or Fassbender will probably win this one (though savvy voters would do better to stick with nominees not acknowledged by the Oscars), there was really no competition here for me. It's Gandolfini all the way.</span><br />
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<b>Best Supporting Female</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: Melonie Diaz, <i>Fruitvale Station</i>; Sally Hawkins, <i>Blue Jasmine</i>; Lupita Nyong'o, <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; Yolonda Ross, <i>Go for Sisters</i>; June Squibb, <i>Nebraska</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>No Vote</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unfortunately, there is no way for me to see John Sayles' new film <i>Go for Sisters</i>, so I can't weigh Ross' performance against her fellow nominees. Of the other nominations I've seen, I would have to pick <span style="color: orange;"><b>June Squibb</b></span>, who steals every scene she's in. Hawkins is very good, and Diaz has great emotional scenes in her film's final act, but Squibb gives the most consistent and best performance of the group.</span><b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Best Director</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: Shane Carruth, <i>Upstream Color</i>; J.C. Chandor, <i>All is Lost</i>; Steve McQueen, <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; Jeff Nichols, <i>Mud</i>; Alexander Payne, <i>Nebraska</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>Alexander Payne, <i>Nebraska</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A pretty strong category overall, with some clear frontrunners. Nichols won the Robert Altman Award, which honors a director and his cast for their collaborative work, making it easier to exclude him from this race. McQueen does a fine job, especially in the film's scenes of horror. Carruthers' narrative is best served by his editing, which is another category, and Chandor is able to make a compelling film with minimal dialogue using a very fluid director's touch, though Redford's directorial background makes me wonder how much of his performance and the film itself was influenced by his creative input. That leaves Payne, who I think does wonders with a great script, a dynamite cast, and a number of non-professional actors. He also brings out surprising dramatic chops in "SNL" vet Will Forte, which always impresses me.</span><br />
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<b>Best Screenplay</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: Woody Allen, <i>Blue Jasmine</i>; Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, <i>Before Midnight</i>; Nicole Holofcener, <i>Enough Said</i>; Scott Neustadter & Michael D. Weber, <i>The Spectacular Now</i>; John Ridley, <i>12 Years a Slave</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, <i>Before Midnight</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The screenplay for <i>Before Midnight</i>, and in fact for all the films in the Linklater-Delpy-Hawke trilogy, is unique because it marks a fruitful collaboration between two actors and their director, molding their characters into living breathing human beings that their audience can relate to. With <i>Blue Jasmine </i>warming over a Tennessee Williams classic, Holofcener's screenplay taking a very unusual (for her) sitcom-y detour midway through, <i>Spectacular Now </i>producing a vapid romance where the lovers say "awesome" in every other sentence, and a decent adaptation of a classic slave narrative filling out the category, there is no real competition here.</span><b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b>Best First Screenplay</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: Lake Bell, <i>In a World...</i>;<b></b><b><i></i></b> Joseph Gordon-Levitt, <i>Don Jon</i>; Bob Nelson, <i>Nebraska</i>; Jill Soloway, <i>Afternoon Delight</i>; Michael Starrbury, <i>The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: </span><b><span style="color: orange;">Jill Soloway, <i>Afternoon Delight</i></span></b><br />
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<i> </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Truth be told, there are very few worthwhile nominees here. <i>In a World </i>is half a good script, half awkward improv with no real stakes in its conflicts; <i>Don Jon </i>blew an opportunity to say something a tad more profound on porn culture; and <i>Mister and Pete </i>sets the classic "kids abandoned by irresponsible parents" storyline into the Brooklyn projects. Even <i>Nebraska</i>, also Oscar-nominated, treads familiar territory made fresh by its performances and direction.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> While Soloway's script is not perfect, with some discomforting moments involving a sex worker, it has so much quality dialogue and so many beautifully drawn characters (brought to life by a cast primarily made up of comedians) that it's easily the finest piece of work in this category. Soloway is someone to watch!</span> (seen in above picture top far left)<br />
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<b>Best Cinematography</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: Sean Bobbitt, <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; Benoit Debic, <i>Spring Breakers</i>; Bruno Delbonnel, <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i>; Frank G. DeMarco, <i>All is Lost</i>; Matthias Grunsky, <i>Computer Chess</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>Sean Bobbitt, <i>12 Years a Slave</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are really three strong contenders here: the retro video photography in <i>Computer Chess</i>, one of the key factors to its success; the claustrophobic and underwater photography in <i>All is Lost</i>; and the beautiful composition of the tableaux in <i>12 Years a Slave</i>. For some reason, Bobbitt wasn't acknowledged by the Oscars in a category I think the film deserves to win, so I'm giving him the award here.</span></div>
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<b>Best Editing</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: Shane Carruth & David Lowery, <i>Upstream Color</i>; Jem Cohen & Marc Vives, <i>Museum Hours</i>; Jennifer Lame, <i>Frances Ha</i>; Cindy Lee, <i>Una Noche</i>; Nat Sanders, <i>Short Term 12</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>Shane Carruth & David Lowery, <i>Upstream Color</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm surprised that Shane Carruth's mesmerizing enigma didn't receive more nominations, as it's the type of film that the Independent Spirit Awards loved before they started being invaded by larger-budget star-studded "indie" blockbusters.<i> </i>The only other films that impressed with their editing were the similarly micro-budgeted <i>Museum Hours </i>and Lame's striking work with montage in <i>Frances Ha</i>. However, Carruth and Lowery's work is what pieces together the puzzle of <i>Upstream Color</i>. The narrative and character developments all depend on the editing structure so beautifully assembled here. It will be a crime if they don't win.</span><br />
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<b>Best Documentary</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: <i>20 Feet from Stardom</i>; <i>After Tiller</i>; <i>Gideon's Army</i>; <i>The Act of Killing</i>; <i>The Square</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: </span><i><b><span style="color: orange;">The Square</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another surprise, considering that I feel <i>The Act of Killing </i>is the best documentary of the year...but the Academy will likely recognize that as well, leaving me free to select one of the other four superb films nominated here. Which leads to another surprise, considering <i>20 Feet from Stardom </i>was one of my favorite films of last year. But now that I've seen <i>The Square</i> on Netflix, I think this riveting document of the social unrest surrounding Egypt's leadership richly deserves the honors here<i>. </i>For the record, you should see all of these. This was the second-strongest category this year, presenting five nominees of the highest quality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><i><br /></i></div>
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<b>Best Female Lead</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: Cate Blanchett, <i>Blue Jasmine</i>; Julie Delpy, <i>Before Midnight</i>; Gaby Hoffmann, <i>Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus</i>; Brie Larson, <i>Short Term 12</i>; Shailene Woodley, <i>The Spectacular Now</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>Gaby Hoffmann, <i>Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I know, a surprise, right? Cate Blanchett gave the performance of the year with <i>Blue Jasmine</i>, yes...but she's a clincher for the Oscar, the ultimate acting achievement in the industry. This is an overall strong category, except for the inclusion of Shailene Woodley's doe-eyed dullard in <i>Spectacular Now </i>somehow kicking Greta Gerwig's sublime <i>Frances Ha </i>performance out of the race. <i>Crystal Fairy </i>was probably the least-seen film in this category, and as the title character, Hoffmann goes from bizarre and grating to lovable and fascinating. Her performance also <u>makes</u> the movie. If not Hoffmann, I think Brie Larson's <i>Short Term 12 </i>performance should bring her more substantial film work, though she loses points for being stuck with a ridiculous third-act home invasion scenario that took me completely out of the film. Even she couldn't save it.</span><br />
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<b>Best First Feature</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: <i>Blue Caprice</i>; <i>Concussion</i>; <i>Fruitvale Station</i>; <i>Una Noche</i>; <i>Wadjda</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <i><b>Wadjda</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What a wonderful film! Filmed in Saudi Arabia by a female director, and focusing on the experiences of a young girl looking for a way to buy a prized bicycle and her mother struggling with her husband's desire to marry another (legitimate in Saudi law), this is a special kind of female empowerment in film. <i>Fruitvale Station </i>may be the more popular choice here, but for me it pales in comparison to the adventures of spunky Wadjda in a land with the cards stacked against her.</span></div>
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<b>Best International Film</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: <i>A Touch of Sin </i>(China); <i>Blue is the Warmest Color </i>(France); <i>Gloria </i>(Chile); <i>The Great Beauty </i>(Italy); <i>The Hunt </i>(Denmark)<br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>No vote</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another category that I can't vote in because one of the films, <i>A Touch of Sin</i>, is unavailable for review. It comes to U.S. video and presumably download later in March. Of the others, my heart belongs to <span style="color: orange;"><i><b>The Hunt</b></i></span>, one of the most thrilling and unnerving experiences I had in a theater last year, though I also appreciated all the Fellini love to be found in <i>The Great Beauty</i>.</span><br />
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<b>Best Feature</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; <i>All is Lost</i>; <i>Frances Ha</i>; <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i>; <i>Nebraska</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <i><b>Frances Ha</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A no-brainer. <i>Frances Ha </i>was my favorite film of the entire year, so it beats all these nominees into the ground pretty much automatically. The only other real contender for me is <i>Nebraska</i>, which has received considerable Oscar love this year, so <i>Frances </i>it is.</span></div>
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<b>Best Male Lead</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: Bruce Dern, <i>Nebraska</i>; Chiwetel Ejiofor, <i>12 Years a Slave</i>; Oscar Isaac, <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i>; Michael B. Jordan, <i>Fruitvale Station</i>; Matthew McConaughey, <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i>; Robert Redford, <i>All is Lost</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE:<i> </i><b>Bruce Dern, <i>Nebraska</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Where Cate Blanchett is pretty much a sure thing for the Oscar, Bruce Dern's Oscar nom for <i>Nebraska </i>is more of a token of appreciation for decades of great acting often overlooked by the Academy. For some reason, while the female lead category was restricted to five nominees, the male leads were permitted to add one more to make an even six. My back-up choice here would be Michael B. Jordan's star-making turn in <i>Fruitvale Station</i>...but it's Bruce Dern all the way for me this year.</span><br />
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<b>John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $50,000)</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: <i>Computer Chess</i>;<i> Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus</i>; <i>Museum Hours</i>; <i>Pit Stop</i>; <i>This is Martin Bonner</i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <i><b>Pit Stop</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The most difficult category this year!! All five of these films are wonderful minimalist films that I cherish, some more than others, obviously. <i>Computer Chess </i>is my least favorite, and <i>Crystal Fairy </i>is, I think, made great because of Gaby Hoffmann and its great final act. <i>Museum Hours </i>is photographer Jem Cohen's masterpiece, with so many memorable moments, and the very overlooked <i>Martin Bonner </i>was a marvelous surprise when I saw it at IFC Center. However, Yen Tan's <i>Pit Stop </i>continues his winning streak of producing quality character studies of gay men that has become his trademark in the indie film scene. It's the type of quality film the LGBT crowd needs more of, and Tan is overdue for recognition of his unique and welcome point of view.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><i><br /></i></div>
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<b>Truer Than Fiction Award (Someone to Watch - Documentary Filmmaker)</b><br />
<u>Nominees</u>: <i>A River Changes Course</i>; <i>Let the Fire Burn</i>; <i>Manakamana</i><br />
<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>No vote</b></span><br />
<i><br /></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Terribly frustrated that two of the films in the category are unavailable at this time. <i>Let the Fire Burn </i>is on iTunes, and I still need to see it.</span><br />
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<b>Someone to Watch Award</b></div>
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<u>Nominees</u>: <i>Newlyweeds</i>; <i>My Sister's Quinceanera</i>; <i>The Foxy Merkins</i><i></i><i> </i></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MY VOTE: <b>No vote</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The one film in this category I was able to see, via Netflix streaming, was <i>Newlyweeds</i>, which I thought had some good ideas and performances but was ultimately a mere fraction of a good film. Perhaps in that regard it deserves a "Someone to Watch Award" because the director could be capable of producing something better in the future. The other two films are pretty much impossible to see at this time.</span></div>
Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-56200633092087965152014-01-22T07:59:00.002-08:002014-01-22T07:59:25.232-08:0050 Great Performances by Actresses You May Have Missed<u>Dramatic</u><br />
Barbara Stanwyck, <b>Ladies of Leisure </b>(1930) <br />
Ann Dvorak, <b>Three on a Match </b>(1932) <br />
Bette Davis, <b>In This Our Life </b>(1941)<br />
Ella Raines, <b>Phantom Lady </b>(1944) <br />
Loretta Young, <b>Cause for Alarm! </b>(1951)<br />
Marie Windsor, <b>The Narrow Margin </b>(1952)<br />
Rosalind Russell, <b>Picnic </b>(1955)<br />
Vera Miles, <b>The Wrong Man </b>(1956) <br />
Nargis, <b>Mother India </b>(1957) <br />
Constance Towers, <b>The Naked Kiss </b>(1964)<br />
Diana Sands, <b>The Landlord </b>(1970) <br />
Delphine Seyrig, <b>Daughters of Darkness </b>(1971) <br />
Kitty Winn, <b>Panic in Needle Park </b>(1971)<br />
Ana Torrent, <b>The Spirit of the Beehive </b>(1973) <br />
Andrea True, <b>The Seduction of Lyn Carter </b>(1974) <br />
Sarah Nicholson, <b>Abigail Lesley is Back in Town </b>(1975) <br />
Shelley Duvall, <b>3 Women </b>(1977)<br />
Sharon Mitchell, <b>Skin Flicks </b>(1978)<br />
Lili Taylor, <b>Dogfight </b>(1991)<br />
Lauren Velez, <b>I Like It Like That </b>(1994) <br />
Marisa Peredes, <b>The Flower of My Secret </b>(1995)<br />
Jurnee Smollett, <b>Eve's Bayou </b>(1997)<br />
Carly Schroeder, <b>Mean Creek </b>(2004) <br />
Anamaria Marinca, <b>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days </b>(2007) <br />
Mahie Gill, <b>Dev D </b>(2009)<br />
<br />
<u>Comedic</u><br />
Una Merkel, <b>They Call It Sin </b>(1932) <br />
Katharine Hepburn, <b>Holiday </b>(1938)<br />
Claudette Colbert, <b>Midnight </b>(1939) <br />
Ginger Rogers, <b>The Major and the Minor </b>(1942) <br />
Jayne Mansfield, <b>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? </b>(1957)<br />
Bette Davis, <b>The Anniversary </b>(1968) <br />
Jackie Curtis, <b>Women in Revolt </b>(1971)<br />
Darby Lloyd Rains, <b>Naked Came the Stranger </b>(1975) <br />
Annette O'Toole, <b>Smile </b>(1975)<br />
Candice Rialson, <b>Summer School Teachers </b>(1975) <br />
Shari Eubank, <b>Supervixens </b>(1975) <br />
Geraldine and Mary Smith, <b>Andy Warhol's Bad </b>(1977)<br />
Susan Tyrrell, <b>Andy Warhol's Bad </b>(1977) <br />
Samantha Fox, <b>Jack 'n Jill </b>(1979)<br />
CCH Pounder, <b>Bagdad Cafe </b>(1987) <br />
Faye Wong, <b>Chungking Express </b>(1994) <br />
Jennifer Elise Cox, <b>The Brady Bunch Movie </b>(1995) & <b>A Very Brady Sequel </b>(1996)<br />
Natalie Portman, <b>Beautiful Girls </b>(1996)<br />
Reese Witherspoon, <b>Freeway </b>(1996) <br />
Parker Posey, <b>Clockwatchers </b>(1998) <br />
Marisa Tomei, <b>Slums of Beverly Hills </b>(1998) <br />
Jennifer Jason Leigh, <b>Skipped Parts </b>(2000) <br />
Ileana Douglas, <b>Dummy </b>(2002)<br />
Milla Jovovich, <b>Dummy </b>(2002)<br />
Loren Horsley, <b>Eagle vs. Shark </b>(2007)Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-34600803960604096062014-01-22T07:57:00.000-08:002014-01-22T07:57:06.146-08:00Adventures in Downloading!! Vol. 6: THE FEMINIST AND THE FUZZ (1970)<u></u>While the ABC Movie of the Week is probably best-remembered today for its horror and sci-fi offerings that made strong impressions on young viewers, the program also delivered a number of very stupid comedies, like <b>Gidget Grows Up </b>(1969) and this wannabe hip attempt by director Jerry Paris. A former actor who soon moved behind the camera for a number of bad big-screen movies and mildly enjoyable small-screen ones, Paris is in over his head with this story of hippies, feminists, and sexist cops that has some mildly amusing moments, but is overall kind of a washout.<br />
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San Francisco, 1970, a city where finding an apartment is as difficult as finding one in New York City, or so says policeman Jerry Frazer (David Hartman, future "Good Morning America!" host). When he learns of an apartment recently vacated by a hippie and his buddies, he swoops in but runs into equally desperate doctor Jane Bowers (Barbara Eden, soon after the cancellation of "I Dream of Jeanie"). Bowers, a staunch feminist but with no clear philosophy on the subject, butts heads with smart-ass Frazer, but the two tentatively agree to pose as a couple to share the place. You'd better believe they'll find love before the 75 minutes are up.<br />
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Predictable as hell, <b>Feminist and the Fuzz </b>is about as bone-headed as its title, sort of like a supersized sophomoric soapbox episode of "Three's Compay". Of course part of the joy of TV movies, even garbage like this, is spotting all the familiar faces and names of the era. Eden hams it up accordingly and Hartman is one handsome, tall block of wood, but keep an eye on the people around them. Eden is joined at the hospital by Roger Perry (the <b>Count Yorga </b>films and <b>Thing with Two Heads</b>) as a sexist fellow doctor and loud-mouthed Jo Anne Worley ("Laugh-In" and "Match Game") as her equally feminist best friend who also happens to have a black belt in karate. Eden's dad comes to visit and he's played by Harry Morgan ("Dragnet" and "M*A*S*H*"). Hartman's girlfriend is Farrah Fawcett in another of her pre-"Charlie's Angels" dimbulb performances. She is, as per usual, just dynamite, introduced giving her boyfriend a framed portrait of herself in a Playboy bunny outfit as a housewarming gift. Howard Hesseman ("WKRP") is the hippie whose apartment eviction is the catalyst for the story, and very busy character actor John McGiver is the apartment building landlord. Julie Newmar is just terrific as a prostitute who aspires to be in porno movies, and she is actually the best thing about the entire telefilm. When Eden throws a women's lib meeting in the apartment, the gals include Penny Marshall (before "Laverne and Shirley"), Patti Chandler (all those AIP teen movies from <b>Bikini Beach </b>to <b>Ghost in the Invisible Bikini</b>), and Sheila James ("Dobie Gillis"). The ladies hold a protest at the Playboy Club in what is maybe the best scene of the movie. You haven't lived till you've seen Jo Anne Worley in a bra on-stage yelling that women are not property!Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-46511331950422623082014-01-21T20:36:00.001-08:002014-01-24T10:05:19.515-08:002013 Gay Adult Video Honor Roll (viewer discretion advised)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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My annual survey of the year in gay porn is something I work on all
year. However, it's nowhere near as hard work as all these guys did over
the course of the 2013 calendar year. Here are the best of the best,
the cream of the crop, the best performers in gay adult video of 2013. <i>Please consider any of the links included in this blog entry to be NSFW.</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Top 17 Performers of 2013</u></div>
<i>These performers appeared in 10 or more superb scenes in the 2013 calendar year. In order of excellence:</i><br />
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<b>1. Trenton Ducati</b><br />
The best performer of 2013. For the second year in a row, Trenton Ducati takes the top prize as a
performer who is guaranteed heat in everything he does. After rocking my world for two straight years, I can only hope he continues to bring it 100% for a good long while. His real life
story, from gay cowboy to porn star, is a fascinating one, and he recently started the inspirational #KillMeth campaign. There is little more than can be said except: he's The Best.<br />
<a href="http://trentonducati.com/home-page/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/trenton.ducati.7" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/trentonducati" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.xbiz.com/articles/161551" target="_blank">Interview </a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpKkngRJc9Y" target="_blank">Interview (YouTube)</a><br />
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<b>2. Tommy Defendi</b><br />
<b></b>Tommy
has been around for quite some time, but has probably never been as active as he
was this year, getting his versatile groove on for just about every
company under the sun and rarely, if ever, disappointing. He identifies
as bisexual, with leaning towards women in his personal life, and it's a
testament to his dedication to the gay adult industry that you could
never imagine he doesn't live for men by watching his work. Special mention must be made of his seductive bedroom eyes and surprising acting ability.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialtommydefendi" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyDefendi" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://foxygirlsblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/eating-strawberries-with-tommy-defendi/" target="_blank">Interview</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92En5xDf7w" target="_blank">Interview (YouTube)</a><br />
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<b>3. Jessy Ares</b><br />
#9 on last year's honor roll moved up to #3.<b> </b>That cheeky devil with the mischievous grin, dashing accent, and really stepped up his game even more this year, accelerating from an already admirable stud muffin to one of the very best of 2013. He's been making impressive appearances in videos for the past two years, first as a Titan exclusive and now making his way through only the best companies, from Men at Play to Lucas Entertainment. Jessy has also been hard at work on his musical career, and you can find his albums on iTunes.<br />
<a href="http://www.arestirado.com/?lang=en#" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/arestirado" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AresJessy" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1wynA4kpGc" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>4. Paddy O'Brian</b><br />
#7 on last year's honor roll moves up to #4 this year, and he honestly has gotten that much better since 2012. "Straight boy" Paddy is one of few tradey types in porn today who actually delivers the goods. He knows what his fans want and what it takes to make a splash, and his long-awaited bottoming debut for Men.com paid off in spades. I love his thick accent, cheeky grin, and all of his physical attributes, and can only hope that his flip-flopping on video doesn't mean he will be leaving us soon.<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/paddyobrian86" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kde9sLK0oE" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>5. Connor Kline</b><br />
Possessing the best award-winning buns in the business, Connor Kline made a surprise entrance into the industry in 2012 with Sean Cody and then twink-centric Helix Studios, but exploded in popularity over the past year. He even worked under the alias "Brice Banyan" before settling on the name of a superstar, working with only the best studios. An ever hard dreamboat, Connor is also to be commended by raising the level of heat in scenes with many a "gay-for-pay" performer, something only a truly talented sexual creature can do. Consistent heat with Connor, and his "Born This Way" tattoo is a noteworthy trademark.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/connor.kline.90" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/connorklinexxx" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://thesword.com/gay-porn-star-connor-klines-exclusive-sword-interview-my-ass-is-natural.html" target="_blank">Interview</a><b><br /></b><br />
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<b>6. Tim Kruger</b><br />
Dropping from #4 last year to #6, Ginger German dreamboat Tim Kruger still continues to wow with his exclusive website, Tim Tales, which keeps him so busy he doesn't have time to work for any other studios. That suits me just fine, though, as Tim Tales is one of the most consistently hot websites around. As its star centerpiece, Kruger breaks in a number of newcomers monthly, many of whom only make one video just to experience The Tim. Lucky buggers. My heart swoons when he smiles, which I wish he would do more often. But in any scenario, Kruger is the tops (literally).<br />
<a href="http://timtales.com/" target="_blank">Website</a><b> </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TimKrugerXXL" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TimKrugerXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgCiliCdaIs#t=82" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>7. Colby Keller</b><br />
Here is the gay adult video star you want to take home to Mom, or go to the opera with, or discuss queer theory with over coffee and croissants. Colby Keller's immense appeal is in his ability to be several different things to a variety of viewers. His smarts are a turn-on, as are his physical attributes. 2013 marked his eight-year anniversary of working off and on in the industry, and he's worked with only the best, from Randy Blue to Joe Gage at Titan to his recent reign as one of Cockyboys' most memorable performers. I was so honored that Colby published a piece I wrote on director Arch Brown this year on his essential blog, Big Shoe Diaries. One of these days I hope to bump into him at one of the several art/queer/culture events we both seem to frequent. The Colby Cult will no doubt continue for some time. And don't forget to check out his Manhunt Daily video blogs!<br />
<a href="http://bigshoediaries.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bigshoediaries/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/colbykeller" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phillip-m-miner/colby-keller_b_4343795.html" target="_blank">Interview</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A7C215A22708E70" target="_blank">YouTube</a><br />
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<b>8. Lucio Saints</b><br />
Swarthy<b> </b>Lucio has made great strides in 2013. He was a runner-up on the honor roll in 2012, but accelerated his output this year and damn near all of it was stellar! Surprisingly versatile and always delivering at the top of his game, this tattooed Lothario possesses a dynamite set of bedroom eyes that vividly illustrates he means business. He's now started his own website, which is off to a strong start and will hopefully grow in stature in the new year. Interviews with Lucio are scarce, so I look forward to learning more about him.<br />
<a href="http://luciosaints.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lucio.saints" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Lucio_Saints" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <br />
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<b>9. Dale Cooper</b><br />
Another 2012 runner-up, Dale Cooper reminds me so much of Colby Keller, but he's also someone very singular and unique in the gay porn world. His mustache is delightfully retro, as is his complete investment in the sexual chemistry of a scene. That kind of energy is severely rare today, making all of his performances refreshing and white hot. Like Keller, he has become a favorite of both Cockyboys and D/G Mutual Media (Ray Dragon and Joe Gage's partnered company), and has developed a sizable cult following, if not bona fide superstardom. Cooper, for a time, had a nice Facebook presence before vanishing from the social networking site, transitioning to his website, which reflects his distinctive sense of smarts and study of gay sexuality. Gay porn does not define him, it's merely one aspect of a multifaceted man. <i>That </i>is sexy. He's another gay adult video star I would really enjoy accompanying to a museum or talking the arts with over brunch. I mean, the guy's porn name is borrowed from David Lynch's "Twin Peaks". Marry me, Dale.<br />
<a href="http://www.daledoesporn.com/" target="_blank">Website</a><b> </b><a href="https://twitter.com/DaleDoesPorn" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2013/08/bodies-commerce-complicity-porn-star-dale-cooper" target="_blank">Interview</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dale-cooper/" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a><br />
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<b>10. Scott Hunter</b><br />
British bottom extraordinaire Scott Hunter was #14 on last year's honor roll. He delivered so many astonishing and scorching performances this year he jumped right up to #10, and shows no signs of stopping in his seeming quest to represent the best the UK has to offer. Hunter's piggy on-screen reputation is nicely balanced by his smart and very sweet YouTube presence, where he interacts with fans and answers questions. A quite lovely chap...with a vibrant and insatiable streak of nastiness. The best of both worlds.<br />
<a href="http://www.scotthunter.xxx/" target="_blank">Website</a><b> </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/scott.hunter.v2" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottHunterXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/shunterxxx" target="_blank">YouTube</a><br />
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<a href="http://gaymensexblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Cazzo-Club-Kayden-Gray-and-JP-Dubois-Big-Cock-Muscle-Twinks-Fucking-Amateur-Gay-Porn-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://gaymensexblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Cazzo-Club-Kayden-Gray-and-JP-Dubois-Big-Cock-Muscle-Twinks-Fucking-Amateur-Gay-Porn-06.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>11. Kayden Gray</b><br />
Hot on the heels of Mr. Hunter is another British import who has made a tremendous impression over the past year, a versatile pretty boy with plentiful gravitas, and one of the few porn stars who pulls off the backwards hat look. He's worked for every major British studio and has made the leap to US videos with Lucas Entertainment, gracing perhaps the most memorable cover of the year, <b>Bangers and Ass</b> (great title). You also gotta love when someone as blessedly hung as Gray gladly flips over with relish.<b> </b>In fact, he seems to love challenging himself in the size department, meeting every one head-on and succeeding with flying colors. What does 2014 hold for this marvelous man?<br />
<a href="https://vine.co/u/1016118133070741504" target="_blank">Vine</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KaydenGrayXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.gaydemon.com/blogs/interview_with_kayden_gray.html" target="_blank">Interview</a><b><br /></b><br />
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<b>12. Colby Jansen</b><br />
It's like your burly rugby player dream come true decided to start doing porn. That's Colby Jansen all over, and the key to his enduring popularity. This former Marine broke out of the gate so hard it exploded, making a strong impression at Kink.com before finding a home at Men.com, where he's their most reliable and consistent exclusive. He made a solid bottoming debut this year, and flashes his 50-watt smile in almost every scene. Jansen used to be on Facebook, but has since kept his social networking reserved for Twitter, where he's very active and communicative with fans.<br />
<a href="http://colbyjansen.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/colbyjansenXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://menofporn.typepad.com/menofporn/2012/08/20-questions-with-colby-jansen-part-1.html" target="_blank">Interview</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp65jg7PGio" target="_blank">Interview (YouTube)</a><br />
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<b>13. Harley Everett</b><br />
The #1 performer in my 2011 honor roll slowed down his output in 2012, dropping to the honorable mentions, but is back at #13 with more memorable scenes where this engaging giant towers over his scene partners. He has maybe the best pecs in the industry, a dazzling galaxy of tattoos all over his body, and need I mention the accent? Everett now seems to be pursing a career in personal training, hanging up his "porn star" uniform, and is currently engaged. I wish him only the best in all his future endeavors.<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/harley_everett" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.gaydemon.com/blogs/interview_with_harley_everett.html" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>14. Derek Parker</b><br />
The #1 best newcomer on last year's honor roll makes #14 in this year's all-time best. A scruffy ginger beard, enticing tattoos and piercings, and a strong desire to please his scene partners help this eye-catcher stand out from the crowd. There's something rough and tumble about Parker that is balanced by a sweet side that I personally would love to see more of on video. In any case, he's a name that pretty much guarantees erotically charged viewing.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/joel.greenwood.5" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DerekParkerXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqSnW7gSI4" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>15. James Ryder</b><br />
The Garbo of my honor roll. This brooding tattooed young'un is like a ghost. He has very little web presence, which is like asking for extinction in this industry...or may just be a search for anonymity in a very public world. Ryder apparently started in porn several years back as Seth Adams (which I don't remember at all) and has an Instagram, but doesn't seem to have done any interviews. Maybe it's high time I asked him to finally do one! In any case, he's brightened so many scenes this year and is a name I've come to be excited about whenever I see it.<br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/itschristopherclark" target="_blank">Instagram</a><b><br /></b><br />
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<b>16. Mike De Marko</b><br />
1980s porn star Michael Christopher's cock was reborn in the person of Mike De Marko, whose appendage sticks straight out like a unicorn's horn. Surprisingly, considering the girth and length he wields, De Marko tends to end up on the bottom in duo and group scenarios, but that's the way he likes it and he excels in that department. An exclusive at Men.com until late last year, Mike is apparently now a free agent, so here's hoping we see more of him anywhere and everywhere. He's something special.<b> </b><br />
<a href="http://mikeydxxx.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mike.demarko.7" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MikedeMarko" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.gaydemon.com/blogs/interview_with_mike_de_marko.html" target="_blank">Interview</a><br />
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<b>17. Tate Ryder</b><br />
Dropping slightly from last year's #13 to #17, Tate Ryder also split from Trenton Ducati this year, which thankfully did not stop him from a feverish onslaught of superb videos demonstrating that he could do just fine on his own, thank you very much, even after a premature retirement announcement in March. The Aussie superstar is versatile and aims to please with every one of his scene partners, often bringing out the best in his co-stars. His Twitter and website have gone black, so uncertainty surrounds his future in the business. Here's hoping that whatever he decides to do, his path is a happy one.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TateRyder12" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Studio Exclusive MVP's</u></span></div>
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<b>1. Vander </b>(Chaosmen) - Last year's #1 exclusive retains his crown. A rare website exclusive who is openly gay, loves what he's doing, and has the talent to graduate to bigger studios. Chaosmen must suit him just fine, though, because he's been on there for a few years now with no sign of budging. Bring on more Vander!</div>
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<b>2. Quinn </b>(Corbin Fisher) - One of the few openly gay performers at Corbin Fisher, Quinn is someone who coaxes out the best in even his most uncomfortable partners. Versatile, passionate, mesmerizing: the three best attributes of any adult video performer. Corbin Fisher knows what gold it has in Quinn and casts him frequently.<b> </b></div>
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<b>3. Glenn </b>(Chaosmen) - Glenn has come a long way. He's not the perfect Chaosmen performer, and still shows hesitation in some areas...but is generally a reliable go-to to break in new talent.</div>
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<b>4. Ryan </b>(Sean Cody) - Did you ever want to see Lee Pace from "Pushing Daisies" do porn? This is the closest you'll get. Ryan is a dead ringer, with a gorgeous smile and genuine desire for his scene partners. The best Sean Cody performer. <a href="https://twitter.com/coltriversxxx" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<b>5. Blake </b>(Sean Cody) - A close second for best Sean Cody performer is Blake, another smiley bottom who brings out the best in his sometimes very wooden "gay for pay" co-stars. In a very short time he has shot to the top of the current crop of SC models.</div>
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<b>6. Mick Lovell </b>(Bel Ami) - For one shining year, stunningly gorgeous Utah Mormon Mick Lovell was the superstar face of Bel Ami. Now that he's gone on to a legitimate modeling career under his real name, 2013 will forever be the year of Mick Lovell. That an American beauty could draw such attention to an almost fully eastern European company says something about him.</div>
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<b>7. Austin Wolf </b>(Randy Blue) - Randy Blue's beautiful men are often defiantly "gay for pay". Not so Austin Wolf, who just might be the real deal. He's so present, so passionate that all of his scenes are must-sees. The best Randy Blue performer, bar none, and one I wish to see much more often. <a href="https://twitter.com/AUSTINWOLFFF" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<b>8. Kevin Warhol </b>(Bel Ami) - Bel Ami's second best performer, primed to take the title from Lovell next year. He even broke over to the US side and appeared on Cockyboys this year. A sexual dynamo like few others, and the star of his studio's current roster of guys.</div>
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<b>9. Aries </b>(Chaosmen) - Like Glenn, Aries has some work to do before he can even come close to Vander...but unlike Glenn, he is actually much more engaged and skilled in his performances. If he had done more videos this year, he would have likely one-upped Glenn on this list, and the same can be said of Solomon (who bubbled under the top 10).</div>
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<b>10. Diego Sans </b>(Randy Blue) - Another of RB's rare gay performers, a beautiful Hispanic guy who gives Austin Wolf definite competition for the title of best Randy Blue performer. Like Wolf, he's another passionate and dedicated performer who I wish would branch out to work for other studios so we could see much more of him. <a href="https://twitter.com/RB_DiegoSans" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>8 Best Newcomer<b>s </b>(2014 Watch List)</u></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></div>
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<b>1. Mike Dozer </b>- Big, burly, hairy, ever hard. So much more of him to love in 2014, I hope!</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MikeDozer923" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mikedozerxxx" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000776699318/c35e7a67c9010ee90b3e9c47e6c6af91.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000776699318/c35e7a67c9010ee90b3e9c47e6c6af91.jpeg" width="317" /></a></div>
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<b>2. Max Cameron</b> - A tattooed San Francisco boy with a taste for kink and a scruffy, sneering grin.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/XMaxCameronX" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/XXXMaxCameron" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.helixstudios.net/media/headshots/andy-taylor.1370551584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.helixstudios.net/media/headshots/andy-taylor.1370551584.jpg" height="320" width="274" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Andy Taylor </b>- The best twink up-and-comer. He's made quite an impression already!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Andy_TaylorXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </div>
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<a href="http://queermenow.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Fernando-Torres-Muscle-Gay-Porn-Star-Lucas-Entertainment-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://queermenow.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Fernando-Torres-Muscle-Gay-Porn-Star-Lucas-Entertainment-1.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Fernando Torres</b> - The best new Lucas Entertainment exclusive!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SxHyvdc_2c8/Uf-nj2u67WI/AAAAAAAAADs/1CoPKDMyW1Q/tumblr_lzb4df2mV81qisrkwo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SxHyvdc_2c8/Uf-nj2u67WI/AAAAAAAAADs/1CoPKDMyW1Q/tumblr_lzb4df2mV81qisrkwo1_1280.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>5. Boomer Banks </b>- In a very short time, Boomer Banks has made a giant splash in the industry. For good reason!</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/theRealBoomerBanks" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BoomerBanksXXX" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000475018038/da298f06ffa7aadfe58bd6efbb9c2a6b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000475018038/da298f06ffa7aadfe58bd6efbb9c2a6b.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<b>6. Asher Hawk</b> - Escalating from low rent sites to the top tier of Cockyboys, Asher Hawk is a primo performer who deserves the superstar status he will no doubt be reaching in 2014.</div>
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<a href="http://asherhawk.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/asherhawk" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/130128/09/5106b9364c9f1_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/130128/09/5106b9364c9f1_m.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>7. Donnie Dean</b> - A furry Canadian beauty who did far too few videos this year. More please!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/donniedean4" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNJAMVcCIAA4_3M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNJAMVcCIAA4_3M.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>8. Dato Foland</b> - A Stag Homme discovery, this Russian beauty has the most piercing eyes in porn, and shows off his versatile chops in scene after scene.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/FolandDato" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Runners-Up</u>:</span></div>
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<i>Any list would be incomplete without these marvelous men, who consistently give their all.</i> <i>They complete the 2013 honor roll of the best of today's gay adult video industry.</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Tomas Brand</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Hans Berlin</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Christopher Daniels </b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. Adam Herst</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. Adam Russo</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6. Adam Killian</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7. Damien Crosse</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8. Austin Wilde</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9. Duncan Black</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">10. Marcus Isaacs</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">11. Donato Reyes</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">12. Jake Genesis </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(likely an exit from this list, he retired and found religion soon after superstardom)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">13. Jesse Santana</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">14. Blue Bailey</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">15. Alessio Romero </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(his other half, Rogue Status, almost made it to the Best Newcomers list)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">16. Shawn Wolfe</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">17. Darius Ferdynand</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">18. Ray Diaz</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">19. Dolan Wolf</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">20 (tie). Diego Lauzen & Wagner Vittoria </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(this real-life couple is dynamite, together and apart)</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Top 5 Most Consistent Online Studios</u></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Sean Cody</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Chaosmen</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Tim Tales</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. Raw Fuck Club</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. Cockyboys</span></div>
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<u>Top 12 Feature Videos (in alphabetical order)</u>:</div>
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<b>1. After Hours </b>(Titan Media) <i>Dir: Paul Wilde</i></div>
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<b>2. Arschgeil </b>(Cazzo Film) <i>Dir: </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jörg Andreas</i></div>
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<b>3. Dad Gets Into Trouble </b>(D/G Mutual Media) <i>Dir: Joe Gage</i></div>
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<b>4. Grind </b>(Titan Media) <i>Dir: Jasun Mark</i></div>
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<b>5. The Horseman </b>(Rock Candy Films) <i>Dir: Nica Noelle</i></div>
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<b>6. In der Fleischfabrik (Meat Factory) </b>(Cazzo Film) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dir: Jörg Andreas</i></div>
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<b>7. Joe Gage Sex Files Vol. 13: Off-Duty Cops </b>(D/G Mutual Media) <i>Dir: Joe Gage</i></div>
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<b>8. Lovers in Paradise </b>(Lucas Entertainment) <i>Dir: Christopher Crisco & Adam Killian</i></div>
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<b>9. Original Sinners </b>(Lucas Entertainment) <i>Dir: Marc MacNamara</i></div>
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<b>10. A Priest's Confession </b>(Rock Candy Films) <i>Dir: Nica Noelle</i></div>
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<b>11. Timberwolves </b>(Raging Stallion Studios) <i>Dir: Steve Cruz</i></div>
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<b>12. Water Logged </b>(Rascal Video/Channel 1 Releasing) <i>Dir: Chi Chi LaRue</i></div>
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Honorable mention: <i>An American in Prague: The Remake </i>(Bel Ami), <i>Armed Forces Physical </i>(D/G Mutual Media), <i>Cock Tease </i>(Raging Stallion Studios), <i>Forever Lukas </i>(Bel Ami), <i>Heretic </i>(Raging Stallion Studios), <i>On Tap </i>(Titan Media), <i>Sands of Time </i>(Kristen Bjorn), <i>Stag </i>(Titan Media), <i>Sun Kissed </i>(Falcon Studios)<i></i></div>
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<i><u>In Memoriam</u></i></div>
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John Bruno (1967-2013) </div>
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Karim (1961-2013)</div>
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Wilfried Knight (1978-2013)</div>
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Arpad Miklos (1967-2013)</div>
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Alex Stone (1960-2013)</div>
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David Thompson (1965-2013)</div>
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Bobby Williams (1982-2013)</div>
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Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-9147737357432660692013-11-02T11:23:00.000-07:002013-11-02T11:23:11.584-07:00Last Night on TCM...: Screwball Friday Nights Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The month of November, kicking off autumn with (hopefully) some chilly change of seasons, could do with some belly laughs to make the venture into the hibernation of winter more pleasant. Turner Classic Movies has stepped in to provide them, every Friday night, with a weekly spotlight on screwball comedy, that classic mode of hilarity that many have tried to duplicate since it went up in smoke after the Preston Sturges era (more on him later). Hosted by Matthew Broderick, an odd but somehow just right choice for the job, this is a series that is guaranteed to make your Friday nights this month much more fun.<br />
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Unwittingly, TCM has actually programmed a Friday night series that combines two comic genres and traces their beginnings from the 1930s into their demise in the 1940s: the screwball comedy and the romantic comedy. It's become commonplace for fans, scholars, and journalists to confuse the two; noted academic Stanley Cavell further complicates things with his branding of some films as "comedies of remarriage", several of which don't feature anything resembling remarriage in them. There are a few factors that make screwball and romantic distinctive from one another. Both were influenced by stricter enforcement of the Production Code, but in very different ways. <br />
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<b><i>Screwball comedy</i> </b>is typified by the struggle between the classes. The best screwball's feature a madcap family of rich yahoos, or in Frank Capra's inversion in <b>You Can't Take It With You </b>(1938), a family of working-class yahoos. These ridiculous comic characters clash with a more reasonable and down-to-earth character(s), the audience stand-in who laughs at the comic rich. 1934 is generally regarded as the beginning of screwball, with Howard Hawks' <b>Twentieth Century </b>(broadcast later on in the series). It's no coincidence that screwball began the same year the Code banished sex, violence, drug use, and various other immoral behaviors from American movie screens. One of these sensitive subjects was criticism of American institutions, like the church, banks, the news, and politicians. Within the witty confines of screwball, ivory tower targets could still safely be pummeled to a Depression-era audience's delight. Where glamorous melodramas romanticized the idea of being in love and wealthy, screwball comedies made the rich and powerful the butt of the joke. And of course it must be noted that the entire reason for a comedy being labeled "screwball" is its pacing. Dialogue flies fast and furious, characters yell and talk over each other, and everything feels much more urgent and engaging.<br />
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<b><i>Romantic comedy</i> </b>developed as more risque approaches to sex in comedy were jettisoned to avoid the censor scissors. These films generally seemed to feature two love interests from different social classes thrown together by some comic mishap, allowing for slight social commentary on the vanity of the rich, but also surrounding sexual pull between characters with comedy as a distraction from any potential questionable behavior. Unlike screwball, however, the emphasis in the romantic comedy is, of course, the romance. Laughs are important, but the guy and the girl getting together is the end goal. This is the chief difference between the two genres, making it slightly simpler to categorize them. Of course differentiating screwball comedies from romantic comedies is difficult; the two subgenres overlap so often that many films could be cited as examples of both. But it's important to note the distinct differences between them in any discussion of either genre. Some films labeled "screwball" are in fact better categorized as "romantic", and vice versa. In any case, when done right, you'll get priceless laughs whichever you choose.<br />
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All the comedies shown on the first night of the series were related to the newspaper business, as you'll notice during the rundown. TCM kicked off its November Friday night spotlight with <b>It Happened One Night </b>(1934), the grand-daddy of romantic comedy. The genesis of modern romance in comic scenarios is fully present in Frank Capra's little movie that could, a film that no one was very enthusiastic about while making it but swept the Oscars and made a fortune at the box office. Claudette Colbert was better known for her glamorous dramatic roles at her home studio of Paramount. Clark Gable was gaining momentum as a romantic lead at his home studio of MGM. Ironically, both stars won their only Academy Awards for loan-out work at Columbia, then one of the smaller studios in Hollywood really only known for its Capra features. <b>It Happened </b>features a central theme of screwball, namely social commentary on the over-privileged upper class elite, but it is slight compared to the core romantic development between a down-on-his-luck reporter and an heiress on the run. There isn't much more that can be said about this film that hasn't already, which richly deserves its classic status and then some. It's simply one of the greatest films ever made, still as fresh and funny as it was in the 1930s. Next year will be the film's 80th birthday, and it's mighty impressive that a film nearly a century old can make practically anyone and everyone who watches it fall in love with it. One for the permanent collection, and still a great date night movie.<br />
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The whiplash-inducing dialogue of Howard Hawks' <b>His Girl Friday </b>(1940) ensures you can't watch this film any old time. It's a film that requires your full attention, or you'll miss some true comic gems of dialogue as characters speak lines over each other and under their breath. Once it gets going, it never lets up, making for an exhausting but hilarious viewing experience. Pairing Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as a divorced couple, he an unscrupulous newspaper editor, she a gutsy newspaper reporter trying to retire and remarry milquetoast Ralph Bellamy, was a stroke of genius. One can't imagine anyone else playing these parts so perfectly, and having such divine chemistry as they trade barbs and outwit each other. In fact, the entire picture is splendidly cast. Hawks always had affection for character actors, so he populates the news and press rooms with the perfect people to handle his lightning-paced script. It all takes place in one night, which seems insane to consider when you think about everything that happens in the picture. Grant works overtime to keep Russell and Bellamy apart, Russell rushes around the press room trying to juggle a pip of a story and her fiancee's whereabouts, and surrounding the pair are a mentally unfit death row convict with a gun (John Qualen), his misunderstood lady friend (Helen Mack), a gang of the funniest reporters you've ever heard (Roscoe Karns, Regis Toomey, Ernest Truex, Frank Jenks, and Cliff Edwards), the sheriff (Gene Lockhart) and the mayor (Clarence Kolb) trying to cover their incompetence, a mischievous gangster (Abner Biberman), and a goofy delivery man (Hal Roach favorite Billy Gilbert, stealing every scene he's in). I credit the cast because they deserve attention.<br />
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MGM, a studio more at home with glamour than comedy, actually made one of the best, yet underrated and underseen classics of the genre, Jack Conway's <b>Libeled Lady </b>(1936). Clearly influenced by the runaway success of <b>It Happened</b>, this is a film that still manages to stand on its own as a breezily paced masterwork of 1930s romantic comedy. The star power certainly helps to blur the similarities, too. The studio "with more stars than there are in the heavens" delivers on its promise, casting four of its biggest names perfectly: Spencer Tracy, engaged to feisty Jean Harlow, accidentally publishes a slanderous newspaper piece claiming socialite Myrna Loy is cheating on her fiancee, so to avoid a lawsuit he hires world-wise reporter William Powell to woo her into infidelity. It is a situation ripe for comic mishaps and, of course, the opportunity for romance to bloom amidst the laughs. In fact, love did blossom between two of the stars, Powell and Harlow, who had a well-publicized affair before her untimely death a year later. By 1936, Powell and Loy were an established dynamite team thanks to the <b>Thin Man </b>films, and they would continue to make beautiful magic together in several films into the 1940s. In my opinion, Tracy was always a better comic actor than a dramatic one, and this is one of his funniest performances.<br />
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David O. Selznick, after proving his mettle in the studio era working for the roaring lion of Louis B. Mayer at MGM and the odd-man-out major studio RKO, struck out on his own with Selznick-International, the first major independent film studio of the sound era. Determined to make a big splash from the get-go, Selznick pulled out all the stops to produce two lavish Technicolor films, at a time when color films were still quite uncommon. <b>Nothing Sacred </b>(1937) is the first (only?) color screwball comedy, and the added tones and hues don't have much to do with its laughs. Now, I've never been a huge fan of <b>Nothing Sacred</b>. As a small town girl incorrectly diagnosed as terminally ill who capitalizes on public sympathy by becoming the darling of New York City, Carole Lombard is simply not as good as she was in the previous year's <b>My Man Godfrey</b>, an Oscar-nominated performance. Fredric March, better known for his dramatic work, especially his Oscar-winning Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the 1932 film version, feels miscast at times as the reporter who brings Lombard to the city and splashes her face all over the front page. I initially thought it was because all of the public domain versions of this Technicolor marvel look like they've been used as toilet paper and then transferred to DVD, but having now seen it from a Library of Congress restored print at Film Forum and the new Kino transfer aired on TCM, I'm still not enamored of Wellman's comedy. Its sister film, <b>A Star is Born </b>(1937), is very different, but far more satisfying. <b>Sacred </b>is not without its moments of charm and hilarity, but it's also a film you almost can't wait to be over. One of the tricks of screwball is making traditionally unlikable characters acceptable enough to an audience to want to follow and laugh at or with them. <b>Friday </b>is able to do<b> </b>this. <b>Sacred </b>isn't.<br />
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Part of the fun of watching one screwball comedy after another is recognizing the rich community of character actors that made classic Hollywood films so much more special. Smart alecky Roscoe Karns is seen back-to-back as the cackling bus passenger in <b>It Happened...</b> and then as a wisecracking reporter in <b>Friday</b>. He's great in everything. In supporting the stars, some of these familiar faces threatened to steal the show out from under the big guns. Case in point: Charles Winninger in <b>Sacred</b>, as the boozy doctor who misdiagnoses Lombard. Don't confuse him with Gene Lockhart, another rotund uncle type who is so bumbling and funny as the sheriff in <b>Friday</b>. In <b>Sacred</b>, you will also recognize snooty helium-voiced Walter Connolly<b> </b>from two films shown earlier tonight, <b>It Happened... </b>(playing Colbert's desperate father who turns over a new leaf in the finale) and <b>Libeled Lady </b>(as another rich father, this time to Loy). If a film couldn't feature Connolly as a put-upon comic foil, his mirror image, lovable bullfrog-voiced Eugene Pallette, would typically turn up in the role (as in <b>My Man Godfrey</b> and <b>The Bride Came C.O.D.</b>). A general piece of advice when watching screwball or romantic comedies, or any studio-era picture: pay attention to the supporting players. You will be startled and delighted to see familiar faces who become reliable old friends during your journey through classic movies. Pallette practically feels like my great-uncle at this point.<br />
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Barbara Stanwyck, soon to become a screwball/romantic comedy legend for <b>Ball of Fire </b>and <b>The Lady Eve </b>(both 1941, a good year), actually kicked off her genre appearances with the unjustly neglected <b>The Mad Miss Manton </b>(1938), a film that also paired her with <b>Lady Eve </b>co-star Henry Fonda for the first time. In a wildly different scenario from the Sturges film, Stanwyck plays the title character, a flighty socialite who stumbles upon a body late one night that mysteriously vanishes when the police arrive. She enlists her gang of giddy high society do-gooders to investigate the crime, much to the frustration of dedicated newspaperman Fonda, who finds himself falling for the amateur sleuth. This is no lost screwball classic, but it has enough zingy one-liners and delightful characters to make it well worth your time. Stanwyck never gave a bad performance, ever, but it's always a surprise to see her in a role like this. Her self-possessed confidence would seem to threaten her chances at successfully playing a slightly goofy lady, but she imbues Miss Manton with both strength and vulnerability, a rare feat considering the nature of the character. Fonda, often looking uncomfortable in comedies, seems looser and to be having more fun here than usual. It must be that Stanwyck-Fonda connection. While not as full of great character actors adding welcome giggles to the proceedings (other than <b>Friday</b>'s Qualen), Hattie McDaniel, a year before her Oscar win for <b>Gone with the Wind</b>, is the funniest, sassiest maid you've ever seen in a classic Hollywood film. No warm-hearted Mammy this Hattie!<br />
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The evening concluded with the weakest of the bunch, <b>The Bride Came C.O.D. </b>(1941). A film pairing Warner Brothers' two biggest and best stars, Bette Davis and James Cagney, should have been dynamite. Of course, while Cagney had demonstrated his ability to jump from gangster action flicks to tap-dancing musicals, and everything else in-between, Davis was practically untested in the comic genre. By 1941, she had won two Oscars for her dramatic work, so <b>C.O.D. </b>must have seemed like a nice departure for the actress, who was always clamoring for more challenging work at her home studio. The influence of <b>It Happened</b>... is still felt almost 10 years later, as commuter plane pilot Cagney kidnaps eloping heiress Davis to return her to her father. Sound familiar? Just wait, it gets more obvious. The plane crashes and the two have to hit the road together. The undefinable chemistry between Gable and Golbert just isn't there for Cagney and Davis, and it's no surprise. The two had worked together previously on the B-movie cheapie <b>Jimmy the Gent </b>(1934) and were not terribly fond of one another. Ironic, considering both went on strike at Warners in protest against the shabby roles they were being given. Maybe they were just too similar to get along. That delightful screwball comedy blowhard Pallette is perfectly cast as Davis' father, and is easily the best thing about the movie. Warner Brothers' premier handsome character actor of the 1940s, Jack Carson, is also memorable as Davis' bandleader fiancee, but like Pallette, he was always a guaranteed casting slam dunk. So were Harry Davenport and William Frawley (even before "I Love Lucy"), trying to keep things lively and stealing scenes from the stars almost effortlessly. In fact, everyone comes away from this mess pretty nicely except for Cagney and Davis. The same year as this misfire, Davis gave two of her best performances in William Wyler's <b>The Little Foxes </b>and Edmund Goulding's <b>The Great Lie</b>. The following year, she made <b>Now, Voyager </b>and <b>In This Our Life</b>; Cagney won the Oscar for <b>Yankee Doodle Dandy</b> See those instead.<br />
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Next Friday, TCM's screwball comedy series continues with a group of films featuring what I'm going to call "marriages of misunderstanding", including another near flawless classic of the genre, <b>The Awful Truth </b>(1937), Hitchcock's very good and oft-neglected <b>Mr. and Mrs. Smith </b>(1941), and more Irene Dunne, Jean Arthur, Powell-Loy, and Ginger Rogers romantic comedy gems.Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-85426406905340468072013-08-12T16:37:00.000-07:002013-08-12T16:37:32.043-07:00Movies viewed in February<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">This month</span></span><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span></b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">was TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, which is the perfect time to catch up with award-winning or nominated classics that have eluded my mesmerized gaze over the years. Almost all of the films I watched in February were Oscar winners or nominees, not all of which were great, but the following are the ones I fell in love with. Because TCM's schedule this month liked to lump together films by studio, I've decided to do the same, even when I viewed the film outside of the 31 Days of Oscar program.</span></span><br />
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<u>Columbia</u><br />
<i>Perhaps the most underrated studio in classic Hollywood history is Columbia, never considered one of the majors yet it has survived well into the 21st century after being acquired by Sony, outliving larger contemporary entities like MGM and RKO. For a studio that created the films of Frank Capra, Rita Hayworth, and plentiful Oscar-winners and trend-setters, it's interesting that Columbia hasn't really been recognized for the consistent quality of its product. Even the B-movie quickies churned out for the bottom half of double features were surprisingly capable in the writing, acting, and production departments. Much like Warner Brothers, I will give anything from Columbia a chance, because more often than not I'm surprised and entertained.</i><u> </u><br />
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<b>Holiday </b>(1938) - George Cukor reunites <b>Bringing Up Baby </b>stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in a less frenzied, but just as funny comedy, combining class-based laughs with a vividly felt romance.<br />
<b>Only Angels Have Wings </b>(1939) - Howard Hawks' thrilling tale of planes, women, and salvation in South America. Rita Hayworth and her unnecessary character are the sole sore spots in an otherwise superb film anchored by Cary Grant as the no-nonsense owner of a delivery plane company, Jean Arthur (not as great as in the same year's <b>Mr. Smith</b>) as a showgirl titillated by his dangerous persona, and Richard Barthelmess in a shoulda-been-a-comeback performance.<br />
<b>All the King's Men </b>(1949) - Broderick Crawford's bulldozer performance is one for the ages.<br />
<b>The Harder They Fall </b>(1956) - Humphrey Bogart picked a doozy for his last film, playing a grizzled sports journalist lured into the sordid and corrupt world of boxing. Scorsese borrowed much of the look for his boxing scenes in <b>Raging Bull</b> from the Oscar-nominated photography here.<br />
<b>A Man for All Seasons </b>(1966) - The extravagant, well-written Best Picture winner has aged very well, with a beautiful Oscar-winning performance by Paul Scofield as a member of Henry VIII's court who refuses to endorse the king's divorce of Catherine of Aragon in order to remarry a woman who can birth him an heir.<br />
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<u>Independents</u><br />
<i>In addition to the familiar studios, films were distributed by a number of independent companies, including Allied Artists, . The largest of these was, without much doubt, United Artists, a company that both produced its own films in-house and acquired independent productions for distribution. The films of independent producer Walter Wanger, for example, were most often distributed through UA, with a few exceptions (i.e.,<b> The Best Years of Our Lives</b> through RKO). In fact, Wanger was responsible for a good deal of the indie studio classics I saw this month.</i><br />
<b>The Private Life of Henry VIII </b>(1933) - A sprightly comic version of Henry VIII's life, beginning with the execution of Anne Boleyn and continuing to his last wife. Charles Laughton deservedly won an Oscar for his bombastic portrayal of the monarch and Elsa Lanchester makes the greatest impression of the wives as the dotty Anne of Cleves.<br />
<b>Dodsworth </b>(1936) - One of the best and most mature early depictions of marital dissolution, with Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton, never better, as a husband and wife whose years of marriage are tested when he retires and she strives to cling to her youth by pursuing a superficial life in Europe.<br />
<b>Vogues of 1938 </b>(1937) - Walter Wanger's extravagant and costly Technicolor musical has never been available in a good quality version, but the version aired on TCM was decent enough. Wealthy heiress Joan Bennett (demonstrating her rarely seen and admirable comic talents) runs from the altar and decides to work as a model for the fashion house that designed her wedding dress, eventually falling for designer Warner Baxter.<br />
<b>The Four Feathers </b>(1939) - The Korda Brothers, UK producers of many eye-popping Technicolor treats, bring a vivid adventure story to life of an army officer who withdraws from duty and struggles to redeem his cowardly reputation after being given four feathers by his former comrades and fiancee. Shot on location in northern Africa and splendidly acted by John Clements (the hero) and Ralph Richardson (his best friend blinded by the desert sun).<br />
<b>Topper Returns </b>(1941) - My unpopular choice for the best of the <b>Topper </b>films, as it features neither Cary Grant nor Constance Bennett, instead bringing back Roland Young as the ghost-friendly Topper and pairing him with comic gold Joan Blondell as a girl murdered instead of her friend at the latter's family home. It's essentially a goofy old dark house murder mystery with comic elements, but a pure delight in spite of its unoriginality.<br />
<b>Stage Door Canteen </b>(1943) and <b>Tulsa </b>(1949), both from Wanger, have fallen into public domain Hell. I'm all for a continuing public domain for artistic works, but one of the benefits of a film remaining within studio ownership is that they will be cared for. While a few quality editions of <b>Canteen </b>exist, there has never been a nicely rendered transfer of the Technicolor splendor of <b>Tulsa</b>, home video versions being often culled from 16mm TV prints. It's a shame, too, because <b>Tulsa </b>is an unsung adventure romp, with one of Susan Hayward's finest and ballsiest performances.<br />
<b>The Lavender Hill Mob </b>(1951)<br />
<b>The Ladykillers </b>(1955)<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Room at the Top </b>(1959) <u><br /></u><br />
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<u>MGM</u><br />
<b>The Champ </b>(1931)<br />
<b>Mrs. Miniver </b>(1942)<br />
<b>Woman of the Year </b>(1942) <b> </b><br />
<b>Cabin in the Sky </b>(1943)<br />
<b>Lassie Come Home </b>(1943)<br />
<b>Thousands Cheer </b>(1943)<br />
<b>The Naked Spur </b>(1953) <br />
<b>The Sheepman </b>(1958) <br />
<b>Lolita </b>(1962)<br />
<b>A Patch of Blue </b>(1965)<br />
<b>Victor/Victoria </b>(1982) <br />
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<u>Paramount</u><br />
<i>Most of the classic Paramount titles currently belong to the Universal catalog, and oddly enough, Universal takes better care of its Paramount properties, releasing them pretty regularly to home video in nice editions, than it does its own home-made library titles! I had never seen this Preston Sturges film but just loved it. Sturges' best films were with Paramount, before he left after the failure of <b>The Great Moment </b>(1944) and never made another noteworthy film again. His cycle of Paramount films is perhaps the most successful and accomplished of any writer-director in the studio system.</i><u> </u><br />
<b>Hail the Conquering Hero </b>(1944)<br />
<br />
<u>RKO</u><br />
<i>Two Fred & Ginger movies (I've still not seen all of their work), two <b>Joan </b>movies, and the biggest comedy surprise I've seen in years, with equal parts laughs and tears. The dancing superstars' first film<b> </b>in 1933 only featured them in supporting roles, but the film is a shining example of the brilliance at work on the RKO musical stages. <b>Swing Time </b>has one of my favorite scenes between the two, where Fred pretends to not know how to dance for dancing teacher Ginger, and when she is threatened with losing her job, demonstrates to the boss what a great instructor she is by engaging in a dazzling number. <b>Joan of Paris </b>brought European actors Paul Henreid and Michele Morgan, on the run from the Nazi wave as it swept through the continent, to America, and paired them in a compelling WWII resistance story. Ingrid Bergman shines as the title character in <b>Joan of Arc</b>, sumptuously photographed in Technicolor and, despite being overlong, still the best version of the legendary saint's life story. Then there was <b>Stage Door</b>. There are no words. See this film. It is one of the greatest films ever made, still fresh and funny and engaging almost 80 years after its release.</i><u></u> <br />
<b>Flying Down to Rio </b>(1933)<br />
<b>Swing Time </b>(1936) <br />
<b>Stage Door </b>(1937) <br />
<b>Joan of Paris </b>(1942) <br />
<b>Joan of Arc </b>(1948) <br />
<br />
<u>20th Century-Fox</u><br />
<i>Of the major studios in classic Hollywood, 20th Century-Fox was, for my money, the most lavish and empty, even more so than MGM. Extravagant costume period pieces spilled out of the studio gates for decades, and proved to be the studio's bread and butter, especially with the added splendor of Technicolor in the 1940s and CinemaScope in the 1950s. Considering how I feel about the studio, it's surprising that so many of the great films I viewed this month came from Darryl Zanuck's movie factory. My opinion about Fox has softened a bit, though they are still the studio whose films I get the least excited about seeing.</i><br />
<b>On the Avenue </b>(1937)<b> </b><br />
<b>The Rains Came </b>(1939)<br />
<b>The Mark of Zorro </b>(1940)<br />
<b>Sahara </b>(1943)<br />
<b>Fallen Angel </b>(1945)<b> </b><br />
<b>Captain from Castile </b>(1947)<br />
<b>The Snake Pit </b>(1948) <br />
<b>Pinky </b>(1949)<br />
<b>No Way Out </b>(1950)<br />
<b>Three Came Home </b>(1950)<br />
<b>My Pal Gus </b>(1952) <br />
<b>Titanic </b>(1953) <br />
<b>Peyton Place </b>(1957)<br />
<b>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? </b>(1957) <br />
<b>Flaming Star </b>(1960)<br />
<br />
<u>Warner Brothers</u><br />
<i>For my money, the studio producing the most well-aged and consistently good films in the studio era was Warner Brothers. </i><br />
<b>The Life of Emile Zola </b>(1937)<br />
<b>The Treasure of the Sierra Madre </b>(1948) <br />
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><b>The Nun's Story </b>(1959)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"></span><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Adventures of a Young <span style="font-size: x-small;">Man </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1962)</span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alice Adams </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1935)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">All the Right Boys </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1985) [gay adult]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Americanization of Emily </b>(1964) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Bachelor and the Bobby-So<span style="font-size: x-small;">xer </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1947)</span> </span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">T<span style="font-size: x-small;">he <span style="font-size: x-small;">Barba<span style="font-size: x-small;">rian and the Geisha </span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1958<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>)</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Berkeley Squ<span style="font-size: x-small;">are </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1933)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The <span style="font-size: x-small;">Big Sky </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1952)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Black Rose </b>(1950) </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The <span style="font-size: x-small;">Black Swan </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1942)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Blo<span style="font-size: x-small;">ckade </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1938)</span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Blood and Sand </b>(1941)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Born Yesterday </b>(195<span style="font-size: x-small;">0)</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Th<span style="font-size: x-small;">e Boy Friend </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1971)</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Brave One </b>(1956)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Broadway Melody </b>(1929)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Butterfield 8 </b>(1960)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Cafe Metropole </b>(1937)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Captain Caution </b>(1940) </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Captain Fury </b>(19<span style="font-size: x-small;">39)</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The C<span style="font-size: x-small;">hamp </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1979)</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Daddy Long Legs </b>(195<span style="font-size: x-small;">5)</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Days of Wine and Roses </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1962)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Decision Before Dawn </b>(1951) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Destination Tokyo </b>(1943) </span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>East of Eden </b>(1955)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Far from the Madding Crowd </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1967)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>A Farewell to Arms </b>(1932) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The F<span style="font-size: x-small;">oxes of Harrow </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1947)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Fr<span style="font-size: x-small;">ancis of Assisi </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1961)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Friendly <span style="font-size: x-small;">Persuasion </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1956)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Geor<span style="font-size: x-small;">gy Girl </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1966)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Going My Way </b>(1944) </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Great Zieg<span style="font-size: x-small;">feld </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1936)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Growing Years </b>(1986) [<span style="font-size: x-small;">gay adult]</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The <span style="font-size: x-small;">Gunslingers </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1981) <span style="font-size: x-small;">[gay adult]</span></span> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Guys and Dolls </b>(1955) </span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Gypsy </b>(1962)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Here Comes Mr.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Jordan </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1941)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>A High Wind in Jamaica </b>(1965)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Highway <span style="font-size: x-small;">Hustler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1971) <span style="font-size: x-small;">[gay adult]</span></span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Hold Back the Dawn </b>(1941) </span><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang </b>(1932)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>I Remember Mama </b>(1948)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Ice Station <span style="font-size: x-small;">Zebra </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1968)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Informer </b>(1935) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Key Largo </b>(1948)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>King Solomon's Mines </b>(1950) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Kitty Foyle </b>(1940) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Little Women </b>(1933) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Locker Jocks </b>(1982) [gay a<span style="font-size: x-small;">dult]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Lost Patrol </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1934)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Lydia </b>(1941)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Man in the White Suit </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1951)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Mister 880 </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(195<span style="font-size: x-small;">0)</span></span> </span> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Mister Roberts </b>(1955<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>More Hot Rods </b>(1981) [gay adult]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>More Mind Games </b>(1984) [gay adult] </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Move Over Johnny<span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span> Here Comes Big Dan </b>(1985) [<span style="font-size: x-small;">gay adult]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Mu<span style="font-size: x-small;">tiny on the Bounty </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1962)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>My Favorite Wife </b>(1940) </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Nylon Noose </b>(1963)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Obs<span style="font-size: x-small;">ession: The Ultimate Experience </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(19<span style="font-size: x-small;">8</span>7) [gay adult]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Perils of Pa<span style="font-size: x-small;">uline </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1947)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Portrait of <span style="font-size: x-small;">Jennie </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1948)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Premium Rush </b>(2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Prin<span style="font-size: x-small;">ce Valiant </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1954)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Racers </b>(1955<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Rally Round the Flag, Boys! </b>(1958) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Robe </b>(1953)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Rookie </b>(1959) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The <span style="font-size: x-small;">Sandpiper<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1965)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sea Wife </b>(1957) </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Second Chorus </b>(1940)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Seven Days in May </b>(1964) </span></span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>She Wore a Yello<span style="font-size: x-small;">w <span style="font-size: x-small;">Ribbon </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1949)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Shoes <span style="font-size: x-small;">of the Fisherman </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1968)</span> </span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman </b>(1947)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sniper's Ridge </b>(1961)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Soldier of Fortune </b>(1955) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Spanish Main </b>(1945<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Spirit of St. Loui<span style="font-size: x-small;">s </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1957)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Susan Slept Here </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1954)</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>That Hamilton Woman </b>(1941) </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>That Uncertain Feeling </b>(1941) </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Three Coins in the Fountain </b>(1954<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Top <span style="font-size: x-small;">Hat </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1935)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Topper Takes a Trip </b>(193<span style="font-size: x-small;">8</span>) </span> </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Viva Zapata! </b>(1952)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Way Down South </b>(1939)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Way Out<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Wes<span style="font-size: x-small;">t </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span> 1937)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Westerner </b>(1940) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>What a Way to Go<span style="font-size: x-small;">! </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1964)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>What Price Glory? </b>(1952) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>When Ladies Meet </b>(1933) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Wilson </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1944)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Working Stiffs </b>(1989) <span style="font-size: x-small;">[gay adult]</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>You Were Meant for Me </b>(1948) </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>You Were Never Lov<span style="font-size: x-small;">elier </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1942)</span> </span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Zorba the Greek </b>(196<span style="font-size: x-small;">4</span>) </span> </span></span>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-43420281205554286382013-08-12T10:29:00.002-07:002013-08-12T10:29:30.288-07:00Adventures in Downloading!! Vol. 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>Open House </b>(1987)</u><br />
The first American film from Jag Mundhra, an Indian writer-director who would follow this with a series of progressively dumber sexual thrillers of the cheesy 90s variety, <b>Open House </b>is an intriguing title for horror and cult film fans because of its cast. How many movies bring together Adrienne Barbeau, Joseph Bottoms, Robert Miano, Mary Stavin, Tiffany Bolling, and Scott Thompson Baker? Truth be told, there is enough campy fun to be had with this film, but it falls short as a late-period slasher film.<u></u><br />
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In a pre-credits sequence, a troubled young woman who has been raped repeatedly by her father (Stacey Adams...whose father is Don Adams from "Get Smart") has a heated telephone conversation with on-air psychiatrist Dr. David Kelley (Bottoms) before blowing her brains out in the phone booth. Flash forward to...some time later, when the "Open House Killer" is brutally murdering real estate agents in their open houses. Det. Shapiro (Miano) is on the case. The Killer eats dog food while stalking the empty homes. The radio host's girlfriend, Lisa (Barbeau), works at one of the top real estate agencies in town, Grant Real Estate. She calls into his radio show as "Mary Lou", a nymphomaniac, and invites him to one of her empty homes for candle-lit sexual liaisons. When the Killer, calling himself Harry, begins calling into Kelley's radio program to rant about the victims deserving it, the doc and Shapiro team up to catch him before he strikes again.<br />
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Saddled with one of the stupidest scripts of any slasher film, one would think that would sink <b>Open House</b>. Just the opposite. Mundhra's stumbling through the writing and directing of an American slasher flick makes it one of the most distinctively bad examples of the genres, and at 98 minutes a virtual epic. There is not one moment to be taken seriously, as the film becomes a compelling exercise in camp storytelling. For example: the first discovery of a fly-infested bloody corpse in a shower goes on forever, with a screaming woman practically assaulted by the camera and quick cuts continually capturing blood spatter on the wall and the dead woman's face. It's deliciously over-the-top. Speaking of splatter, gore and grue fans will get the goods. In the most graphic sequence, a man's fingers are sliced off and left twitching on the carpet before he and his female companion (Miss World 1977 and Bond girl Mary Stavin) are sliced to death with a plunger handle equipped with razor blades! Let's not forget the killer's crazed motive and his not one, but two falls to his death, a horrendous synth musical score that really kicks into cheese overdrive during a climactic fight scene, the screamingly gay radio technician Toby (Page Mosely), cartoonishly chauvinistic real estate nemesis Barney Resnick (Barry Hope) and his repulsive S&M date, and the dynamite cinematic pairing of 80s porn star Robert Bullock and 70s drive-in starlet Tiffany Bolling as real estate agents doing an open house together. And wait till you get a load of the killer's motive. Those hoping for the standard slasher movie T&A will be rewarded with some choice Barbeau topless moments. Oh and there's a random male shower scene that comes out of nowhere.<br />
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<u><b>Evil Seducers </b>(1975)</u><br />
The Shaw Brothers, perhaps Hong Kong's most prolific film producers, were no strangers to the horror genre, releasing unique and bizarre classics like <b>Killer Snakes </b>(1974), <b>Black Magic </b>(1975), <b>The Boxer's Omen </b>(1983), and <b>Seeding of a Ghost </b>(1983). But for some reason, <b>Evil Seducers </b>has languished in obscurity over the years. It has never received a DVD release anywhere, perhaps because that it's simply not a very strong genre title compared to those skin-crawling favorites.<br />
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Mengyin Fang, an egotistical calligraphy artist, is persuaded by his friend Zi-an Li to wed the eldest daughter of the wealthy Jin family, but when he sees she is no ravishing beauty, he writes an offensive poem on a fan for her to break the union. He instead sets his sights on Liqing Zhou, a mysterious noblewoman with a beautiful servant after he sees the pair purchase a peony lantern in the marketplace. It turns out that they are neighbors, but after Mengyin spends a passionate night with Liqing, she is quick to rush him out of her home before daybreak. When Zi-an discovers the late night tryst, he confesses he saw Mengyin in the garden making love... with a skeleton!! Zi-an enthusiastically claims that Mengyin and her servant must be ghosts, but the truth is in fact more blood-curdling.<br />
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Much of <b>Evil Seducers </b>plays like an old-fashioned romance, or more specifically one of the Shaw Brothers' costume melodramas. It takes a full hour into the 91-minute film for anything of horrific substance to happen, instead developing the relationship between a romantic lead we don't like and a delicate young enigma. When the horror finally arrives, it is typical of Shaw Brothers genre efforts in its effective atmosphere and make-up effects, and in this case very evocative of 1960s Hammer films with its slow-mo effects, cobwebs n coffins n mist, and blood-dripping fangs. There are two very nice twists near the end, one including a wild "dance of the dead" sequence and the other predating <b>April Fool's Day </b>(1986) by 12 years. But the film really is nothing spectacular. There are no maggots or centipedes that would typify the Hong Kong horror film, but there is a priest who instructs Mengyin on how to eliminate the demonic spirits using talismans and ancient procedures. These kinds of traditional Chinese folklore and indigenous horror elements are what set apart western and eastern genre films, creating a distinct genre filled with shocks and surprises. That said, <b>Evil Seducers </b>is not a prime example of the pleasures to be had in exploring Hong Kong horror. It's an enjoyable curiosity, nothing more.<br />
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<u><b>The Green-Eyed Elephant </b>(1960)</u><br />
A year after writing and producing the colorful sci-fi oddity <b>The Angry Planet </b>(1959), Sid Pink made an unclassifiable quickie for Danish television that is perhaps the worst thing he ever made. Looking at the rest of his resume, that says a lot. Delphi Lawrence and Naura Hayden play Lisa and Sally, roommates in Hollywood who aspire for stardom. Sally is a bitter actress who is having trouble getting work, while Lisa (Hayden has the worst fake Southern accent ever filmed) is an empty-headed model. When the perfect part pops up for Lisa, but they want someone with Lisa's measurements, the two magically pull a <b>Freaky Friday </b>with the help of a pink elephant statue in their apartment who winks its green eyes at them. Not just bodies, but their voices are switched. The less said about this piece of garbage, the better. At least it's mercifully short at 70 minutes. While in Denmark, Pink was able to partially finance and produce another cult classic, <b>Reptilicus </b>(1961), which has much more enduring entertainment value than this experimental misfire.<br />
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Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-57061576057641593712013-08-08T21:12:00.002-07:002013-08-08T21:12:43.307-07:00Adventures in Downloading!! Vol. 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>Cruel Jaws </b>(1995)</u><br />
Arriving very late in the Italian <b>Jaws </b>rip-off genre, Bruno Mattei's TV movie version of the killer shark classic is widely reputed to be the worst of the lot. Shot on-location in Florida, and fully cast with atrocious local talent, the real reason everyone seems to dismiss <b>Cruel Jaws </b>is that it supposedly has no original shark footage, instead stealing scenes from the original <b>Jaws</b>, <b>Jaws 2 </b>(1978), <b>Great White </b>(1981), and <b>Deep Blood </b>(1990). While one can definitely spot a few instances of outright theft from <b>Jaws 2 </b>and <b>Great White</b> (very sloppily edited together to boot), I didn't notice any from the other two. If that weren't bad enough, the musical score steals shamelessly from the <b>Star Wars </b>theme.<br />
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Two scuba divers retrieving top-secret military information from a sunken vessel are trapped underwater by a crafty shark, who then takes out their boat and its skipper. When a body washes up on shore, youthful expert (on what? who cares?) Billy Morrison, on vacation with his girlfriend Vanessa, is called in to investigate. He concludes that a tiger shark is on the loose and the local coast is in grave danger. Meanwhile, Billy's old friend Dag Snerensen, the owner of a struggling SeaWorld-type park (who looks like a melting Hulk Hogan), is clashing with Samuel Lewis, an obnoxious hotel developer who wants the park's land for his new lavish project. The family conflict between the Snerensens and the Lewises takes up most of the film's "action" until a wind sailing race is disrupted by the man-eating nemesis.<br />
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Naturally there is not one original thing about <b>Cruel Jaws</b>. Francis is clearly modeled after Richard Dreyfuss' character in the Spielberg film, right down to the glasses, and sheriff Francis Berger is a poor Roy Scheider replacement; the shark's rampage is poo-pooed by Samuel out of concern for the tourist trade and the annual regata; a key character is eaten, making the pursuit of the shark personal; a buoy attached to the shark warns swimmers of its appearance; and of course the now-famous line, "We need a bigger helicopter!" This also being an Italian exploitation film, logic flies out the window at every turn. A cute little girl in a wheelchair can't walk, but her legs miraculously work well enough to swim around with dolphins. Vanessa and her friend Glenda call a bumbling horny male pursuer "Dickbrain! Dickbrain!", you know, like all American girls do. Vanessa, in fact, gets some of the choicest bits of dialogue: "Billy, I want you to find the tallest skyscraper you can, and then go throw yourself off...and then go fuck yourself!" Because of the stolen footage, the shark changes varieties from a tiger to a great white and back again. If Mattei's pastiche piece had a bit more lovable goofiness to it, it might be enjoyable, but instead it more than lives up to the brand of worst <b>Jaws </b>rip-off to date. It does, however, make me want to watch Castellari's <b>Great White</b> over and over again.<br />
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<u><b>The Seven Vipers </b>(1964)</u><br />
The late writer/director Renato Polselli is pretty much synonymous with the trashiest cinema Italy had to offer in the 1970s. <b>The Reincarnation of Isabel </b>(1973) is probably his most popular due to its constant presence on the American DVD market, but obscurities like <b>The Truth According to Satan </b>(1973), <b>Revelations of a Psychiatrist on the World of Sexual Perversion </b>(1973), and <b>Oscenita </b>(1980) continue to blow the minds of adventurous Eurocult enthusiasts. <b>Delirium </b>(1972) is perhaps his most coherent work, but it still lives up to the title. In the previous decade, the director bounced from genre to genre. His best-known 60s film is, predictably, another horror outing (<b>The Vampire and the Ballerina</b>), but this comedy of the sexes is not without its moments of amusement.<br />
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Shot on-location in Buenos Aires, our story follows Lorenzo and Erika Montesanto, a married couple who work together as executives in a factory. Following an accident at home involving their young son, Lorenzo mandates that Erika retire from her office job and stay home with the children, aiding their nanny Inge with their care. But Erika becomes restless. She's a modern woman, you know. To get even with Lorenzo, she plans to use Argentina's marriage laws and lawyer Emilio to divorce him and get half of his money and custody of the children. Sounds like a laugh riot, huh? After much melodrama and plentiful vicious behavior by the film's heartless women, nauseating Italian comic duo Franco and Ciccio show up as lawyers to deliver the final blow to the film's entertainment factor.<br />
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Written and produced by its star, the mysterious Vincenzo Cascino (rumored to be a wealthy businessman who just wanted to make movies), <b>Seven Vipers </b>refers to the seven women in the film, giving an indication of the misogyny to be found here. It's never terribly funny or clever, the many twists in the script aren't so much surprising as they are ludicrous, and all of the characters are thoroughly reprehensible save Lorenzo's saintly secretary Mitu. There may be some interest in the lovely female cast members, including Solvi Stubing (<b>Strip Nude for Your Killer</b>), Lisa Gastoni (<b>War of the Planets</b>), voluptuous Gloria Paul (<b>Three Fantastic Supermen</b>), Annie Gorassini (<b>Danger: Diabolik</b>), Valeria Fabrizi (<b>Women in Cell Block 7</b>), Nicole Tessier (<b>Demons</b>), and the very busy Carla Calo (<b>Diary of an Erotic Murderess</b>). UK writer Matt Blake liked the film far more than I did, and his review can be found <a href="http://www.thewildeye.co.uk/blog/reviews/le-sette-vipere/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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<u><b>Man without a Memory </b>(1974)</u><br />
Released as <b>Puzzle </b>in the US, this memory loss thriller bears a striking resemblance to Danny Boyle's latest misfire<b> Trance </b>(2013), but actually presents an involving mystery with characters you care about and genuinely surprising twists along the way. The impossibly good-looking Luc Merenda stars as Peter Smith, a psychiatric patient who has been living with amnesia for the past six months. He is surprised by a visit from an "old friend" who promptly punches him in the face, whips out a gun, and demands to know, "Where did you hide it?" The mysterious visitor is able to divulge three important pieces of information (Peter's real name is Ted Wollen, he is British, and is married to an Italian woman who lives in Portofino) before being shot in the back through the window of Peter's apartment. A perfectly timed telegram and airline tickets lure Ted to Italy, where beautiful Sara (Senta Berger, lovelier than ever) works as a swimming coach with at-risk youth. Her home has been invaded several times by a black-gloved figure who never steals anything, but is clearly searching for something. Upon Ted's arrival, he learns he was a negligent husband and vows to start over fresh with Sara, but then another figure from his past following him around town, George, threatens to remind him of just how bad of a guy he really was.<br />
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Imagine a more coherent and less frenzied version of Umberto Lenzi's <b>Spasmo </b>(released the same year), and you would have something similar to <b>Man without a Memory</b>, a very solid and undeservedly obscure entry in the giallo genre. Stylishly photographed and edited, and despite a deliberate pace never boring, director Duccio Tessari has put together a surprisingly effective giallo that avoids most of the cliches of the genre and delivers the suspenseful goods. Tessari is responsible for other memorable Italian cult films in various genres, from Eurospy (<b>Kiss Kiss Bang Bang</b>) to poliziotteschi (<b>No Way Out</b>) to spaghetti westerns (<b>A Pistol for Ringo</b>). Also writing most of his own screenplays, his resume is so peppered with superb films that I firmly believe he is a Eurocult auteur in sore need of some belated critical and fan attention.<br />
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The ensemble here is one of the all-around strongest casts I've seen in any giallo. Merenda, around the time he was starting to become a regular in Italian crime films, proves his mettle as an actor, transforming Ted from a blank slate into a fully formed character we care about, and as a stuntman, throwing himself into a rough and tumble fight scene. Berger, usually sexual window dressing in her many films, is given a chance to genuinely act in a very compelling role. The film really belongs to her, as she becomes an incredible "final girl" in the nail-biting final act, frantically struggling to start a chainsaw to defend herself against the psycho bursting through a locked door. Anita Strindberg, with her striking cheekbones and uncomfortable-looking implants, appears briefly as an important mystery woman from Ted's past. Bruno Corazzari is a suitably menacing George; one of his best scenes features him throwing lit matches at Sara, a scene borrowed from Stanley Donen's <b>Charade </b>(1963) (something George himself admits to). Even the little boy character, Luca, an archetype usually obnoxious and unwelcome in films like this, is an important part of the story, well-portrayed by Duilio Cruciani from Fulci's <b>Don't Torture a Duckling </b>(1972).<br />
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In summary: this is one of the best gialli you've never seen, one that has very quickly climbed onto my list of genre favorites. It's just that good. See it however you can. <i>Note: I watched the film in its original Italian with English subtitles. The trailer below is the English dub. It's fine...but try to see it in the original language. It makes it so much more effective.</i><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UbnPWuV_gTQ" width="560"></iframe>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-35985852397294052882013-08-06T19:56:00.001-07:002013-08-06T19:56:30.367-07:00Adventures in Downloading!! Vol. 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>The Lady of Scandal </b>(1930)</u><br />
Another early MGM pre-Code title, this time starring the incomparable Ruth Chatterton, on loan from her home studio of Paramount. Her career-best performance was later, in William Wyler's <b>Dodsworth </b>(1936), but at the time of this film, she was one of the stage's most illustrious actresses making the transition to film during the early sound period. The two-time Oscar nominee would develop the reputation of being a diva around the lot, perhaps justified but most likely because she had to compete for good parts within the studio system. After a "talent raid" on Paramount's talent pool in 1932, Chatterton found her talents used far better at Warner Brothers, where the studio's tough male-oriented house style meant very little competition for her type of parts. That said, her behavior made her difficult to work with and work dried up as the decade wore on. A shame, too, as she really was a superb actress, done in by her ego.<br />
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Chatterton plays Elsie Hilary, a glamorous stage actress bethrothed to John Crayle (oh-so-proper Ralph Forbes), whose wealthy family of snobs tries to pay her off so she will break the engagement. His cousin Edward (Basil Rathbone, dashing and youthful) is also causing a scandal by carousing with a married woman in public. After Elsie is humiliated when John brings her home to meet the family, Edward swoops in to solve the marriage problem. He proposes that the marriage be postponed for six months, claiming she will grow bored with John and return to the stage...but in fact believing she will win over the stuffy family. Little do Elsie and Edward expect to fall in love in the process.<br />
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Considering my feelings about MGM films in general, I quite enjoyed <b>Lady of Scandal</b>. The class politics melodrama was already a cliche, even in this early stage of film history, and would continue to be a storyline mined for box office gold throughout the Depression. But the cast is uniformly good, with personal favorites Chatterton and Rathbone particularly wonderful, and the aristocratic family include many familiar character actors, including Nance O'Neil, Frederick Kerr, Cyril Chadwick, and Herbert Bunston. Moon Carroll, who only made three official screen appearances, briefly makes a striking impression as kindly cousin Alice. There are equally potent moments of humor and romance, even with its silly flowery dialogue exchanges between Chatterton and Rathbone, plus the ending is completely unexpected, and that's more than can be said for most of MGM's films from this period. Watch for this one next time it shows up on TCM.<br />
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<u><b>Key Witness </b>(1960)</u><br />
We return to MGM 30 years later, a quite different studio on its last legs after the studio system began crumbling in the wake of television and other social changes. Dennis Hopper, between <b>Rebel without a Cause </b>(1956) and <b>Easy Rider </b>(1969), made some very unusual career choices, but he took what he could get considering he developed a difficult reputation rather quickly around town. Darn Method actors. The Hollywood hellion is the perfect actor for the chilly villain role in this Phil Karlson post-<i>noir</i> B-movie thriller from a former A studio.<br />
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A rather old-fashioned pre-credits text crawl by the California attorney general beseeches the audience to support law enforcement and be careful because the film's story "can happen to you now, in your town". Ill-fated Jeffrey Hunter stars as Fred Morrow, a Los Angeles businessman who stops at a juke joint in a slummy neighborhood to use the phone and witnesses a brutal stabbing (in one of the quietest and most awkwardly edited rumbles you've ever seen) at the hands of thuggish gang leader Cowboy (Hopper). It's all over a sexpot named Ruby (sultry Susan Harrison, so good in Mackendrick's <b>Sweet Smell of Success</b>). When he runs to the cops and the newspaper reports the crime has a "key witness", Cowboy and his cronies ensnare the neighborhood policeman to learn the witness' name and proceed to terrorize him, his wife (Pat Crowley), and their two kids (cute little Terry Burnham from <b>Imitation of Life </b>and Dennis Holmes).<br />
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None of <b>Key Witness </b>really works in the classic sense of gritty suspense and, mainly because of the dated Daddy-O lingo and the fact that these juvenile delinquents aren't particularly threatening. The same problem affected <b>Kitten with a Whip </b>(1964), but like that film, there is camp value to be found here. Karlson was in the middle of his spiral down through the dregs of cinema; it doesn't get any worse than an Elvis movie (<b>Kid Galahad</b>), two Matt Helm flicks (<b>The Silencers </b>and <b>The Wrecking Crew</b>), and...shudder...<b>Ben </b>(1972). His last two films, <b>Walking Tall </b>(1973) and <b>Framed </b>(1975), were a bounce back into the big time for both him and star Joe Don Baker. There are brief flashes of the Karlson responsible for nifty 50s thrillers like <b>Tight Spot </b>(1955) and <b>The Brothers Rico </b>(1957), but this mostly feels like a wannabe-hip super-sized episode of a TV anthology series. Naturally there's entertainment value to be had here, and the final 20 minutes really pop, but don't go in expecting anything that completely lives up to the potential of the story.<br />
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Never known for his champion acting talents, Hunter does an adequate job as the put-upon suburban father, but he is out-performed by Crowley, whose tearful hysterics are surprisingly effective. Hopper acts up a storm, yelling at his girl that he likes his hair "greasy" and never speaking plain English, tearing into his jive dialogue. Making up the rest of his gang are Johnny Nash, before he could "See Clearly Now", as good guy Apple, Hopper's <b>Rebel </b>co-star Corey Allen as Magician, and spastic Joby Baker as Muggles. The less said about Harrison, who in a mere three years since her last superb film performance seems to have lost roughly half of her thespian skills. Puerto Rican character actor Eugene Iglesias is uncredited as the murder victim, as is Ted Knight ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show") as Cowboy's lawyer (the same year he was uncredited as a cop in <b>Psycho</b>). The film, shot in CinemaScope, is only available in a partially letterboxed version.<br />
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<u><b>Dancing Mothers </b>(1926)</u><br />
For the longest time, my favorite silent film actress was Lillian Gish. That was until I saw the work of Clara Bow. Where Gish works beautifully in highly dramatic scenarios for directors D.W. Griffith and Victor Seastrom, Bow was the whole package. She could do comedy and drama, be sexy, sympathetic, sweet, vivacious, and vulnerable, sometimes at the same time, all through a natural untrained ability to inhabit the roles she played. Signed to a long-term contract by Adolph Zukor's Famous Players, soon to be absorbed into Paramount Pictures, Bow spent most of her career making her studio a fortune in mostly poor-quality films that never really captured her full potential. Her final two sound films for Fox Films, <b>Call Her Savage </b>(1932) and <b>Hoop-la </b>(1933), very nearly show her at the peak of her talents, but her best work will always be in the silents, even in hit-or-miss examples like <b>Dancing Mothers</b>.<br />
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Based on a play co-written by Edmund Goulding (soon to trek to Hollywood to become one of MGM's most attentive directors), <b>Dancing Mothers </b>follows the age-old story of mother vs. daughter. Catherine Westcourt (Bow), affectionately known as Kittens, is a flighty young girl who accepts gifts from one man while openly flirting with another. She has a special bond with her jet-setter father Hugh (Norman Trevor), even going so far as to cover for him while he has affairs with younger women. This kinship between father and daughter leaves poor Ethel (Alice Joyce), mother and wife, alone at home often, inspiring her to break free to enjoy some fun of her own. However, that fun includes stealing Kittens' paramour Gerald Naughton (Conway Tearle). When warned by her friend that she is playing with fire, she retorts, "I'm playing with life!"<br />
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Third-billed underneath Conway Tearle (who was so unimpressive in yesterday's <b>Should Ladies Behave</b>) and Joyce (an established star who retired soon after failing at talkies and married director Clarence Brown), our Clara very easily steals the film from everyone around her. One mere year before <b>It </b>made her a star, there is clear evidence of the winning persona that she worked hard to develop over the course of her career. While Joyce is quite good in a complicated role, the climactic confrontation between mother and daughter places the audience firmly on Kittens' side, solely because of Bow's moving performance. This is one racy little film, with father, mother, and daughter hopping into beds all over town, all blamed on "the Jazz Age", but manages to maintain some taste through it all. The ending takes an unexpected, pre-feminist path for Ethel, and it has aged very well. Tremendously underrated blonde bombshell Leila Hyams, who wouldn't really become a star until the talkie era, appears as brunette Birdie Courtney, Hugh's mistress, and Dorothy Cumming is quite good as Ethel's friend Mrs. Mazzarene, who encourages the married woman's reckless behavior. The claim that only an incomplete 54-minute version exists of the film is inaccurate; the version I saw was the complete 65-minute theatrical release.<br />
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<u><b>Urlaubsreport </b>(1971)</u><br />
Another West German sexploitation "report film", slightly better than yesterday's <b>Skihasen-Report </b>(1972), <b>Urlaubsreport </b>was directed by genre expert Ernst Hofbauer, with assistant direction by Walter Boos, so you have the two masters working together on one film. Released in America as <b>The Resort Girls</b> (the literal translation of the German title is <b>Vacation Report</b>), this report film follows the sexual adventures of people on vacation in a fun, swinging 70s atmosphere. It's a stark contrast to the rather dour goings-on in yesterday's report film. Like most report films, it is merely a series of vignettes connected by a common theme, in this case sexy vacationers.<br />
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Skiing beauty Paula rips a hole in the back of her pants and is rescued by handsome ski instructor Maxl (Hans Hass, Jr.) who whisks her back to his room for repairs. Her two nieces Krista and Uschi (Karin Götz and Juliane Rom-Sock) try to tag team him but are almost caught by their aunt, forcing Maxl to hide nude on the balcony in the snow. It turns out that Maxl's adventures are merely one story being related by a travel agent at a German travel agency run by , where various employees at a round table meeting relate similar stories. In Greece, vacationing girlfriends Margot Mahler, Elisabeth Volkmann, and Marianne Sock plan to seduce their very efficient, all-business travel agent/tour guide (Harald Baerow) by stealing his briefcase. Adorable secretary Andrea (very popular sexploitation starlet Astrid Frank) decides to take a scuba diving vacation in Costa Brava with her busty friend Karla (the peerless Nadine de Rangot), where the pair seduce their instructors Miguel (Laurence Bien) and Luis (Oliver Domnik). In Yugoslavia, three guys traveling in a van painted with "Make Love Not War" (including Gernot Möhner) pick up three girls on a pier, but lose one of their group to love with a local girl. A Bavarian interlude finds a horny married woman (Helen Vita) who, when her clueless husband (Ralf Wolter) ignores her sexual advances and goes on a hike, seduces the hotel manager (Wolf Harnisch). Lovely Evelyne Traeger and her girlfriend travel to Rome, where she confides in a traveling priest (Josef Fröhlich) about a disastrous computer dating match-up. Two young girls go on vacation to become models in Italy, hook up with two handsome agents with a boat, and one of them runs into her father having an affair with a buxom brunette chippie (Monika Rohde). Her mother is sleeping with a young fella in both of their absences. The biggest star in the film, Sybil Danning (before her 80s action star phase, billed as Sibylle Danning), plays Ina, a lovely blonde vacationing in Palma de Mallorca who relates a story of her hitchhiking days, when she fought off a rapist and was rescued by Jürgen (Horst Heuck). The pair get a hotel room and put up the walls of Jericho on the single bed, but they soon come tumbling down.<br />
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Sybil is the hands-down stunner of the entire cast, as in all the European films she made. Unfortunately, as with most German sexploitation, credits are spotty, and not everyone is credited. The great Peter Thomas contributes a catchy theme song, "Ich Will (I Want)". Only available in German. I'd love to see the American/English version.<br />
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<br />Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-87253968330868214882013-08-05T15:03:00.001-07:002013-08-05T15:03:10.038-07:00Adventures in Downloading!! Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>Disgraced! </b>(1933)</u><br />
Pre-Code films continue to be some of my favorite movies made during the classic Hollywood studio era, so when an obscure one pops up from a studio that doesn't readily make its catalog available (i.e., Paramount, Universal, Fox Studios), it's cause for celebration, even if the film is a disappointment. Paramount's <b>Disgraced! </b>actually stars a relatively disgraced star, Helen Twelvetrees, who fell from stardom shortly before this film was shot. A long-term contract player at Fox, she floated over to RKO and then Paramount for a handful of features after 1931, when she<span id="goog_499620273"></span><span id="goog_499620274"></span> was accused of trying to kill her suicidal husband. She rose to slight prominence in the early talkie period when she moved from stage to screen, as she had a proper voice for the new sound technology. But she never really made a huge splash in Hollywood and at 49 took her own life with a pill overdose. Here she plays a typical Twelvetrees role, a sprightly affluent blonde model named Gay. Bruce Cabot (in <b>King Kong </b>the same year) is freewheeling cad Kirk, engaged to boozy flirty Julia (Adrienne Ames, who steals the movie), but with his eyes firmly set on the alluring Gay, who he meets as she models the latest fashions for Julia. Their romance seems made in the heavens, especially when Kirk buys her a house on the beach. But it turns out that he intends to go through with his marriage to Julia, discovered by our heroine when she unwittingly models a wedding dress for the other woman! This is when things (finally!) heat up, as Gay goes gun crazy on Kirk and when he calls the police for help...the cop that shows up is Gay's father. Surprise!<br />
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This is not one of the better pre-Code offerings from Paramount, I'm afraid, but blame can't be placed squarely on Twelvetrees. She's done good 1930s sinful melodramas. This just isn't one of them. It's a brisk 63 minutes, but where films of that length at Warner Brothers are splendidly paced and overflowing with excitement and intrigue, this one suffers from both poor pacing and a cast of characters we care nothing about. Gay is too simple and naive for us to root for, Kirk is a slimy smooth talker, and there simply isn't enough Julia to save the film from the doldrums. Maybe if, say, Ruth Chatterton had been cast here instead of Twelvetrees...but then Chatterton was always a no-nonsense type, and couldn't have made Gay's doormat behavior any more believable. At least things get lively in the last 15 minutes, but that's a mere 1/4 of the film worth seeing. It's kind of fun to see Charles Middleton (aka Ming the Merciless in <b>Flash Gordon</b>) in a character role, and there are some nice swooping camera moves through the courtroom in the finale.<br />
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<u><b>Should Ladies Behave </b>(1933)</u><br />
Another obscure pre-Code film, this time from MGM, producer of some of the dullest and dated films of the 1930s. Try watching <b>The Divorcee </b>(1930) or <b>A Free Soul </b>(1931) sometime, and enjoy the ensuing nap. This one stars Louis B. Mayer's favorite actor, Lionel Barrymore, who was on the MGM payroll all the way up to his death, pairing him with always-wonderful Alice Brady (<b>My Man Godfrey</b>) as Gussie and Laura, a middle-aged couple with a beautiful daughter, Leone (Mary Carlisle), whose beau Geoffrey is fed-up with her naivete. We also meet Laura's sister Winkie (Katherine Alexander), who is having an affair with the stuffy Max. Max is the key figure in a not-very-believable love triangle (or is a square?) with Winkie, old flame Laura, and anxious-for-experience Leone.<br />
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The big problem with MGM pre-Code films is that the studio had a taste level that was considered high-class and extravagant. Dealing with sordid subjects such as drugs, gang violence, prostitution, and white slavery simply didn't mix with the established house style. The kind of proposed sophisticated romance among the rich seen here is typical of MGM in this period, the Thalberg era, and has aged poorly. For more lurid studio fare, one would do best to stick with Warner Brothers, and to a lesser extent Columbia, Paramount, and Universal. At least the cast is enjoyable, and the 30s gowns are fabulous (thank you, Adrian). Brady is marvelous, as usual, and Barrymore takes on his expected grumpy old man persona. As Max, however, Conway Tearle is nowhere near as enticing as a man who has three women wrapped around his finger should be. William Powell would have been a better casting choice.<br />
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<u><b>Mimsy were the Borogoves </b>(1970)</u><br />
The BBC made some stellar children's fantasy films in the 1970s and 1980s, including favorites like <b>The Box of Delights </b>(1984), <b>Children of the Stones </b>(1977), and <b>The Clifton House Mystery </b>(1978). Apparently the French were doing the same for their TV-watching children, as evidenced with this unusual low-budget telefilm. The 2007 non-hit <b>The Last Mimzy </b>is based on the same short story adapted here.<br />
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Brother and sister Philippe and Sylvie, who live in a hotel run by their mother, are fascinated with the stars and the planets. Naturally they are delighted when Philippe finds a mysterious extraterrestrial orb while out in the snow one day and gives Sylvie the weird-looking doll he finds inside, who she names Alice. The young boy discovers that the monitor inside, that resembles one of those mini-TV's that were kinda popular in the 90s, can broadcast unusual scenes on its screen, tapping into the user's thoughts and showing what they subconsciously wish to see. The siblings see weird scenes like a malicious teacher being burned at the stake, a nasty elderly hotel guest forced to drag a sleigh behind her, their mother offering them pie, and tremendously trippy bits like Sylvie getting into a red compartment in a giant eye and a mirror exploding into flames. They also discover that they can question the doll and it will flash its eyes in rhythmic answer, two for yes, three for no. The children's father wants them examined by a psychiatrist for their unusual games with these mysterious toys, but Mom finds their imaginative playing a positive thing and encourages them to continue.<br />
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<b>Borogoves </b>would have benefited from a larger budget to allow for better special effects and at least a more believable doll, but it plays like an extended episode of "The Twilight Zone", running a mere 75 minutes, and takes a rather dark turn after most of the film is filled with whimsy and wonder. It wouldn't give BBC any sleepless nights in the children's fantasy department, but is a decent way to spend an afternoon. The child actors, Eric Damain and Laurence Debia, are quite good, as is Madeleine Ozeray as a spirited hotel guest who shares Sylvie's wide-eyed enchantment with other worlds.<br />
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<u><b>Skihasen-Report </b>(1972)</u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_euh0VBjMXFLLto50d9a1xOGevrPR-j7dL5CL45kGcHNa2FqfkdN9_-FGp0REpi_nzW0IkfZnFt_DJCLVDj56AMPc3-6zO8pg7SbiFF8tL8TUI3y94_8yDUX_8kFT7krtYSeNLXM4TWo/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-05-17h29m34s100.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_euh0VBjMXFLLto50d9a1xOGevrPR-j7dL5CL45kGcHNa2FqfkdN9_-FGp0REpi_nzW0IkfZnFt_DJCLVDj56AMPc3-6zO8pg7SbiFF8tL8TUI3y94_8yDUX_8kFT7krtYSeNLXM4TWo/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-05-17h29m34s100.png" width="320" /></a>I'm a sucker for German sexploitation films, as they take me back to my adolescence sneaking peeks at them on late-night TV when I lived in Berlin. The most popular genre titles seem to be the <b>Schulmadchen-Report </b>films, and for good reason. They represent everything that is well-loved and remembered of the genre, and all within the faux context of an educational report on the youth of Deutschland. Report films followed like crazy, portraying the shocking sex lives of housewives (<b>Hausfrauen-Report</b>), nurses (<b>Krankenschwestern-Report</b>), stewardesses (<b>Der Hostessen-Sex-Report</b>), travel agents (<b>Urlaubsreport</b>), therapy patients (<b>Sex-Traume-Report</b>), virgins (<b>Jungfrauen-Report</b>), keyholes (<b>Schlusseloch-Report</b>), and even entire cities/regions (<b>Der Ostfriesen-Report</b>). The key directors of the genre were Ernst Hofbauer and Walter Boos, neither of whom was responsible for <b>Skihasen-Report</b>...which should tell you something about its quality. Franz Vass is the one responsible for this one, and it's one of the poorest examples of the genre. Fritz and his girlfriend Else decide to vacation at a ski resort and while there tell each other or hear stories of other sexual vacation encounters. A black woman picks up a German man buying postcards, a rich married redhead on vacation alone considers all the men around her weak and emasculated until the hotel piano player rocks her world (this is the one scene with any sexual heat), a model in a sleigh whisks a young student out of the snow and takes his virginity for sport, an older married man cheats on his wife with a sprightly young blonde hooker, said hooker crashes into two American cowboy types who respond in English to her German dialogue, and a depressed redhead connects with a youthful stud at a weird musical almost-orgy. The manager of the resort is a flaming gay man with an unhealthy relationship with his dog. Herbert Fux (<b>Mark of the Devil</b>) shows up briefly as a drunk in the opening scene. And that's about it. It's only available in German.Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-83325194636647627872013-08-04T15:19:00.002-07:002013-08-04T15:20:43.626-07:00Adventures in Downloading!! Vol. 1I honestly don't know where I'd be without Cinemageddon or TV Vault, two invite-only torrent sites that provide a never-ending smorgasbord of entertainment for the simple and cost-effective price of maintaining a fair download ratio. I maintain one major rule when downloading: I only download titles that are not commercially available on region 1 DVD. I have a preference for rare VHS rips, fan-subbed international titles, and obscure TV movies and shows that will probably never see the light of day on DVD or download.<br />
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<u><b>The Great American Beauty Contest </b>(1973)</u><br />
Ah, the days of the ABC Movie of the Week. Ever reliable TV trash icons Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg bring us this brisk 75-minute look into the beauty pageant world, pre-dating the 70s classic <b>Smile </b>by two years. It's not nearly as much campy fun as the later TV-movie offering <b>Miss All-American Beauty </b>(1982), with Diane Lane hamming it up as a stressed out teen queen, but features enough interesting casting choices and memorable dialogue exchanges to make it <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xAhii5lw1IG0LJ4zRnUqSIv3ZZ_aBwFHI_F68yXsq65s9vsir0tCK4Vg-lRIz3ujwKTMmwcWUr2VDEAU_4RSQS7FwCe-BmJftn-96aY_m0r3IurFsE83mkis7ZIQJwLvzI93IMh-k-M/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-12h19m18s241.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xAhii5lw1IG0LJ4zRnUqSIv3ZZ_aBwFHI_F68yXsq65s9vsir0tCK4Vg-lRIz3ujwKTMmwcWUr2VDEAU_4RSQS7FwCe-BmJftn-96aY_m0r3IurFsE83mkis7ZIQJwLvzI93IMh-k-M/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-12h19m18s241.png" width="320" /></a>well worth seeking out. Eleanor Parker (so good in the previous year's<b> Home for the Holidays</b>, also for Spelling-Goldberg) stars as Peggy Lowery, a former Miss American Beauty winner who is now running the show and gearing up for one of the most exciting competitions in years. Her right-hand man Dan (Robert Cummings, looking and acting like Tony Randall) is nervous about a fix in the works, but Peggy assures both him and the press that such a thing simply isn't possible. Slimy Hollywood producer Ralph Dupree (Louis Jordan in his slumming years) is a surprise returning judge, and has his eye out for new promising talent while also reminding Peggy how she won years ago... The story conflicts are lightweight, but with plenty of pretty girls parading around and sordid peeks into the cheesecake pageant scene, what's not to love here?<br />
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The best part of watching 70s TV movies is spotting all the wonderful familiar faces and names! Take a gander at this line-up! JoAnna Cameron, the mighty Isis herself, is Gloria Rockwell, Miss Oklahoma, a closet feminist planning to make a political speech if she wins, flanked by women's lib pals Carol Bagdasarian (daughter of Ross) and Julie Mannix. Patricia Barry (the irritating family friend in <b>Kitten with a Whip</b>) is her matronly chaperone. The oddly-named Christopher Norris (Ron Howard's girl in <b>Eat My Dust</b>) is naive Janice Brock, Miss Utah. Myrna Fahey (Madeline Usher in Corman's <b>House of Usher</b>) died the same year she appeared here as Janice's chaperone. Striking Tracy Reed (Fred Williamson's squeeze in <b>No Way Out</b>) is Pamela Parker, the bitter wise-cracking black Miss New Jersey. Kathy Baumann (a long way from <b>Chrome and Hot Leather </b>and <b>The Thing with Two Heads</b>) is the nervous Melinda, Miss Ohio. Baumann is actually from Independence, OH, where her character is from. Susan Damante, one of Corman's <b>Student Teachers </b>(1973), is Angelique Denby, Miss Maine, tearfully hoping her businessman father will show up to support her. Farrah Fawcett (pre-Majors) is T.L. Dawson, Miss Texas, supported by hick boyfriend Larry Wilcox ("CHiPs"). "Match Game" royalty Brett Somers shows up to be her chaperone! Sexploitation regular Mady Maguire makes a bid for legitimacy as a women's libber, and Hugh Hefner squeeze Barbi Benton plays Miss Iowa, supposedly, but I didn't notice her.<br />
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<u><b>La Bouche de Jean-Pierre </b>(1996)/<b>The Birth of Aphrodite </b>(1971)</u><br />
The real reason I grabbed this title was because it included the Leland Auslender short film <b>The Birth of Aphrodite </b>(1971), generally regarded as the screen debut of cult icon Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith in the title role. But first the French short film, running 50 minutes, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic and co-photographed by her frequent collaborator and husband Gasper Noe (<b>Enter the Void</b>, 2004). After her mother attempts suicide when her lover walks out on her, young impressionable Mimi (a superb one-off performance by Sandra Sammartino) is forced to move in with her aunt Solange. Solange has a new boyfriend, Jean-Pierre, who Mimi first sees as the two make passionate love in the middle of the night. It's a strained living situation made all the more difficult one day when Solange leaves Jean-Pierre and Mimi alone, and the film takes a turn into unnerving territory. Special close-up attention is paid to the ingesting of pills, which occurs five times in the film, and there is no real resolution to the story, but Hadzihalilovic's trip into the world of a troubled young girl completely deserved its official Cannes selection. Apparently there is a scene cut from this version of Mimi topless in the shower, but I can honestly say I don't need to see that.<br />
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<b>Birth of Aphrodite </b>is a far lighter piece, and shorter at 10 minutes. In addition to the luminous Smith, the small cast also includes Gwyneth Cooper (who?) and TV actress Patricia Hyland, who also contributes her vocals to the musical score. Auslender's film is best described as an experimental short, playing with visual effects, polarizing and negative technology, swirling colors, and stylistic editing. The film's most noteworthy claim to fame was its nomination for the Palm d'Or - Best Short Film at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. And who is better casting as Aphrodite than Cheryl Smith, with her ethereal beauty and free-love spirit?<br />
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<u><b>Nudity Required </b>(1990)</u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQ8nfTFKogwvGdWcrfa5aCvmIiqGbhlUPdTP6bqDi9rMCjp6xFtUH6YJp6uPzlm2ZLsY6VfGtveIBniPFOhUaBPmHm45QyAa_MZ9PNSmwJPLrzZLMXVxg05ox2dL7XqhJ5Es9f4tn3bg/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-15h32m47s116.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQ8nfTFKogwvGdWcrfa5aCvmIiqGbhlUPdTP6bqDi9rMCjp6xFtUH6YJp6uPzlm2ZLsY6VfGtveIBniPFOhUaBPmHm45QyAa_MZ9PNSmwJPLrzZLMXVxg05ox2dL7XqhJ5Es9f4tn3bg/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-15h32m47s116.png" width="320" /></a>At one point or another, just about every adult filmmaker in the 1970s and 1980s attempted to cross over into the R-rated market with low-budget horror and sex comedy titles that generally went straight to video. The most "popular" attempts must be from Chuck Vincent, though Armand Weston, Roberta Findlay, Cecil Howard, Svetlana, Edwin and Summer Brown, Joe Gage/Tim Kincaid, and Joe Sarno all tried to break out of the X-rated field. Then there was John T. Bone (John Bowen), the one-time husband of personal favorite Misty Regan responsible for a number of atrocious shot-on-video porno efforts before making this goofy
R-rated comedy. Bone's films are a sorry lot, so expectations for <b>Nudity Required </b>were low. The film opens with Misty Regan dancing at a strip club, so off to a good start! Oh how low we go...there are zero successful laughs, but if it's 80s chicks topless you're after, this one should fit the bill. That said, there are better examples of this tired genre to be enjoyed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2NRnYrRRfZDMLpWfBt50FWrzJ8p-RJmrYpXm1BjPCQBVYUCm0X1vedjuTcHM7cLwCo9H_vqWqO_Dazq7yAhq_8oxbs9g4V0396B0ujBYvbdltFh-IBHEnWb3ZtzpPLm2RHQH2dlc_kk/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-14h15m31s43.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2NRnYrRRfZDMLpWfBt50FWrzJ8p-RJmrYpXm1BjPCQBVYUCm0X1vedjuTcHM7cLwCo9H_vqWqO_Dazq7yAhq_8oxbs9g4V0396B0ujBYvbdltFh-IBHEnWb3ZtzpPLm2RHQH2dlc_kk/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-14h15m31s43.png" width="320" /></a>Vinnie DeBlasio (Alvin Silver) is the tough-talking mobster narrator who relates the thoroughly confused story of Buddy and Scammer (the talent-free duo of Billy Frank from <b>Hobgoblins</b> and Brad Zutaut), a pair of numbskulls on the run from a Mexican hothead. Why? I'm still not sure. Something about running out on his sister at her wedding? They somehow get involved with both Vinnie and his thieving henchmen Mick and Rhino and Soviet visitor Irina
(Julie Newmar, at the lowest point of her career imitating Garbo in <b>Ninotchka</b>), and pose as movie producers to audition girls in a rented mansion belonging to Vinnie. The title of the movie is a line from the ad they place seeking talent. Troy Donahue, introduced having a shuddering orgasm in what must have been a proud acting moment, plays Jack, a legit movie producer. At 54 he looks all of 72. Ty Randolph is the sole cast member giving a good performance as Jack's assistant Brenda who, after he fires her, goes looking for work producing the boys' fake movie. Rhonda Gray (<b>Twisted Nightmare</b>) is a tough-as-nails lady director, and Russ Meyer's ex-wife/starlet Edy Williams shows up as a diva actress (fiction mirrors reality).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjSxcFXnDP78zc-VlMXGhy7-YlbLJG5ORy1eX2H6BzYBlLSaGexMSrC7FfeFcxJwVzDtseR4igwdKA_iZ08lLCrQonml_AnaPWp0JsDXq1Q6qZlO95V4FuYCHg32LJ6vgBoqr_Jb8xSw/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-14h45m20s32.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjSxcFXnDP78zc-VlMXGhy7-YlbLJG5ORy1eX2H6BzYBlLSaGexMSrC7FfeFcxJwVzDtseR4igwdKA_iZ08lLCrQonml_AnaPWp0JsDXq1Q6qZlO95V4FuYCHg32LJ6vgBoqr_Jb8xSw/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-14h45m20s32.png" width="320" /></a>Wooden beauty Heidi Paine shows up as a Christian missionary (don't ask), David Hasselhoff's future wife Pamela is amusing as Vinnie's dim bulb bride, and among the auditioning beauties are British bombshell Gail Harris (<b>Sorority House Massacre II</b>, <b>Hard to Die</b>), Becky LeBeau (<b>Beverly Hills Girls</b>, <b>Hollywood Hot Tubs</b>), and a bunch of one-shot wonders that provide satisfying eye <br />
candy. Bone's porno connections guarantees plentiful babes prancing in front of the cameras, but few of them are recognizable from the X-rated biz. Only Regan and Debi Diamond are familiar from their adult video work. For those who keep score of things like that, Newmar does a nude shower scene with Frank and Williams (who had already done porn by this point) pops her top for an S&M dungeon scene.<br />
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<u><b>Red Hot Shot </b>(1970)</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ahBOv9QlUmVIxtcayEdI4FGw-kckS4ldXdYoghQSb5TGdNZfr-ZeTbhH3QgThO5mTK9mwO_HewzXgRs4pcITgLENSLjnT8EVkg1Id4cz7jiFIbndvLJqqTRx8rr7lO5lvIdpqoE0Vxw/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-17h34m21s45.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ahBOv9QlUmVIxtcayEdI4FGw-kckS4ldXdYoghQSb5TGdNZfr-ZeTbhH3QgThO5mTK9mwO_HewzXgRs4pcITgLENSLjnT8EVkg1Id4cz7jiFIbndvLJqqTRx8rr7lO5lvIdpqoE0Vxw/s320/vlcsnap-2013-08-04-17h34m21s45.png" width="320" /></a>A mystery killer shoots world-famous neurologist-turned-pharmaceutical tycoon Mac Brown in broad daylight on Wall Street and the press has a field day with the murder, pondering if Brown was involved with organized crime. His daughter Monica (always stunning Barbara Bouchet, in a black wig) offers a $250,000 reward for the truth behind her father's death, and disgraced detective Frank Berin (no-name Michael Reardon), who had been investigating Brown's mysterious past, is asked to return to the force to work the case. A police informant is knifed at a far-out hippie gathering, where the participants in white robes bounce around big black and white balloons. Was Brown involved in the drug trade? Do we care? This giallo-poliziotteschi hybrid is the sole directorial effort from Piero Zuffi, a production designer who worked with major greats in Italian cinema like Rossellini, Antonioni, Fellini. He has brought none of his
talent to this film, a painfully slow time waster perhaps most
noteworthy for its strong anti-drug message. Naturally that gets
tiresome after a while, even when Berin treks to Mexico to follow a lead
and discovers a girl blinded by heroin experiments performed by Brown
and his associate Dr. Gam. Berin then sleeps with this girl. How
ethical! Oh and he also goes undercover as a biker in a gay bar (shades
of <b>Cruising</b>), Monica is abducted and held hostage by a cackling madam (Isa Miranda from <b>A Bay of Blood</b>), and there's a kinda surprising twist ending. Even with all of that happening, it's still a snoozer. It's a surprise to see the late David Groh, best known as Valerie Harper's husband on "Rhoda", as Bouchet's mobster boyfriend in this Italian exploitation flick, introduced sweaty and shirtless in a jacuzzi. Piero Piccioni's lounge score is one of his most ridiculous. There's at least some fun footage of 1970 New York, including a peek at the Empire theater and a ride on the subway (plus a stop at Queensboro Plaza).<br />
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<br />Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-51965807623306144812013-07-09T11:25:00.003-07:002013-09-09T08:40:38.244-07:00Favorite films of 2013...so farSix complete months into 2013, it has not exactly been a slow or unsatisfying movie year. While awards seasons of years past may convince you that the best movies only come out in the second half of the year (specifically November and December), there are in fact a number of films from the first half of the year that are already strong contenders for best of the calendar year. My #1 pick on this list will doubtless make my #1 spot on the end-of-the-year round-up. I haven't seen a film in theaters 4 times since <b>Grindhouse </b>(2007). Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best movies theatrically released these days are not given the wide exposure they warrant. I'm not sure most of these played anywhere near you this year, but thanks to the widespread availability of films on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, and on-demand, many of them might be ready for you to watch immediately after reading this. Happy hunting!<br />
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The following films were released theatrically, wide or limited, between January 1 and June 30. Films screened at festivals without a distributor or an official release date between those dates are not eligible.<br />
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20. <b>We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks</b><br />
<i>Alex Gibney, one of the most consistent working documentary filmmakers (<b>Enron: The Smartest Men in the Room</b>, <b>Taxi to the Dark Side</b>), initially gives the impression that his film is going to live up to its title and stick to the genesis of Julian Assange's notorious website. But frankly that wouldn't be much of a documentary. Where his storytelling excels is in relating the tale of Bradley Manning, the lonely Marine whistle blower who simply trusted the wrong people, and juxtaposing his story with that of Assange, who morphs from freedom of information crusader to reclusive entitled jerk.</i><br />
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19. <b>Berberian Sound Studio</b><br />
<i>Where the contemporary horror genre is almost entirely focused on the horrific assault of the visual, director Peter Strickland's well-done homage to Italian horror of the 1970s (specifically Argento's <b>Suspiria</b>, and not the giallo as claimed in many reviews) refrains from showing any of the chilling violence captured in the lurid shocker that British sound engineer Toby Jones has been hired to work on. The film's effectiveness is in the sound design and mixing. Ripe fruit is stabbed and ripped apart to simulate the sounds of knives piercing flesh and dialogue artists scream in sound-proof booths over and over. Fact melds with fiction, the supernatural storyline of the film begins to bleed into reality, and while the film does not reach a particularly satisfying conclusion, it's almost the perfect climax to the best horror film to use sound so vividly since <b>The Haunting </b>(1963).</i><br />
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18. <b>The Painting</b><br />
<i>Currently the best animated film of the year, this imaginative French feature peeks inside the world of the paintings of a reclusive artist who has vanished, leaving figures incomplete and desperate to be finished so they can escape persecution by an upper-class composed of completed figures. It runs a brisk 75 minutes, and its smart script is complemented by a warm and absorbing visual palette. Jean-Francois Laguionie's exploration of art and its creator works just as well in its English dubbed version as it does in the original French language. </i><br />
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17. <b>Koch</b><br />
<i>One of the most controversial public figures in American politics, New York City mayor Ed Koch is not completely lionized in his biopic. He participated in the making of the film, which was released shortly after his death, but a generous amount of time is spent speaking to people who don't have the most pleasant things to say about the polarizing conservative. It doesn't go as deep into the man as a biographical documentary might, but it's full of great news reports and stock footage of New York pre-Giuliani and features a photograph of gay porn star Keith Anthoni on the AIDS crisis battle front that moved me to tears.</i><br />
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16. <b>Before Midnight</b><br />
<i>It helps if you've seen the first two films in the <b>Before </b>trilogy</i> <i>before you approach this proposed final installment in the filmmaking collaboration between director Richard Linklater and actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. That said, it isn't necessary to appreciate the long single takes of seemingly improvised conversations between a couple connecting through memory and attempting to determine if they are still in love or not. Both characters are not completely likable, but this contributes to the . There is a scene of Delpy simply walking around a hotel room, talking on her cell phone, arguing with Hawke, with her breasts exposed. It's reminiscent of Julianne Moore's similar below-the-waist scene in Altman's <b>Short Cuts</b>, and both scenes have a feeling of voyeuristic realism that is practically lost in today's cinema. Where the film shines is in the dialogue, co-written by Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy, and that is what will leave you either loving or hating this film.</i><br />
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15. <b>Museum Hours</b><br />
<i>Jem Cohen's newest feature-length wonder is so quiet it will be inaccessible to a good number of viewers. At the IFC Center screening I attended on opening day, people left the theater complaining that it was "pretty but boring". This would sum up Cohen's film work to the less patient moviegoer. He works with the eye of a photographer or, appropriately enough here, a painter, planting his camera for long uninterrupted single shots and savoring the details of his composition. This must all sounds very pretentious, but it all somehow works. The film features a sparse narrative: a middle-aged woman receives word her last living relative, a cousin in Vienna, is in a coma, so she travels to the foreign land to see the family member she hazily remembers. She connects with a friendly art museum guard, who buys her a member pass so she can enjoy the museum when not visiting her cousin. There are no hints at romance, or any major plot twists or revelations. The story is simple, and even takes a backseat to a fascinating diversion into a tour group guided by an art scholar. Cohen's camera captures the sublime pleasures of art and, frankly, of people and the world around us. Yeah, yeah, pretentious. But there is no other movie like this one. A completely original and unique vision.</i><b><br /></b><br />
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14. <b>Call Me Kuchu</b><br />
<i>This gay rights documentary came and went from the Quad Cinema, but deserves a wider audience. We all know about the struggle for queer acceptance and tolerance in Uganda, a nation that proposed a "kill the gays" bill. Ironic that public figures there claim homosexuality is an example of colonial residue, rejecting its supposedly western origins, but embrace the western-originated Christian faith with such a passion they pervert it into a following of hatred. Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall's film was several years in the making, covering at least the last 4-5 years of unrest for Ugandan queers, many of whom are shown here in bold declarative interviews, seemingly unafraid of the consequences of going public. The film climaxes in tragedy, but hints at greater hope in the future for equality in Uganda. How they will achieve that equality has yet to be determined. </i><b><br /></b><br />
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13. <b>What Maisie Knew</b><br />
<i>The greatest child actor performance of the year is in this film: little Onata Aprile in the title role, a young girl whose parents divorce and use her in an ongoing battle against each other. Maisie becomes a possession, an accessory to her parents, but she connects lovingly and on deeper levels with Mom and Dad's new partners, her former nanny Margo (Joanna Vanderham) and youthful bartender Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard). Both of these adult performances, together with Aprile's, anchor the film, and keep it from being a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Entertainment Weekly's review gave this film poor notice, primarily based on how unlikable both Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan are as Maisie's parents. This is true; the proposed stars of the film play one-dimensional characters, as they were in Henry James' source novel. But the film soars when it focuses on Maisie, her quiet sorrow and winning happiness, and the adults in her life who provide a stable foundation in her world.</i><br />
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12. <b>Evocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie</b><br />
<i>Before Springer, before Limbaugh, before Beck, there was Downey. Some might say that isn't necessarily something to be proud of. While Donahue and Sally Jesse and Oprah were relatively light-weight talk show fare, Morton Downey, Jr., the failed singer son of famous vocalist Morton Downey, found his niche in the daytime circuit by embracing conservative Reagan-era values and the blow-hard tactics of Howard Stern. Fusing those two very different types of entertainment together resulted in a loud, violent, temperamental show, one that frequently found both the host and his encouraged audience to verbally attack and in some cases physically threaten his guests. Sound fun? A brief clip is shown near the beginning from his porn star panel with Gloria Leonard, Candida Royalle, and Seka, but the incident of Seka walking off is not. Go to YouTube to find that and other infuriating jewels from the Downey show. The film also attempts to inform us who Downey really was, from his very liberal beginnings to his crazed downfall, and though it's missing interviews with some key figures in his life, it does an admirable job.</i><br />
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11. <b>Stories We Tell </b><br />
<i>Sarah Polley has impressed with her two previous dramas, <b>Away from Her </b>(2006) and <b>Take This Waltz </b>(2011), but with her newest film, she tackles a very personal subject, namely the skeletons in her family closet. Threading together interviews with her family and friends, 8mm home movie footage, and family photographs, Polley reveals her darkest family secret: she is the product of her mother's extramarital affair with a mystery man. To reveal too much would detract from the overall experience of becoming a privileged part of her family for the duration of the film, but it is a wonderful and moving watch. It is not just an exploration of family dynamics and connections, but also a quest for her identity. Polley is one of few directors whose every film I look forward to.</i><br />
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10. <b>In the House</b><br />
<i>Francois Ozon's latest is another of his consistently crafty thrillers, this time casting Kristin Scott Thomas in one of her many recent French-language roles, and giving one of her best subdued performances. Fabrice Luchini is a jaded English professor who finds himself drawn into the inspired writing of new student Ernst Umhauer, whose fixation on a classmate and his seemingly perfect family develops into a series of essays proposing a sordid underbelly to their suburban facade. Scott Thomas is Luchini's wife, and the pair find their marriage tested by the interweaving of their personal life with the perhaps not so fictional pieces Umhauer delivers to Luchini daily. We are thrown several curve balls throughout, typical of Ozon's superb scripting, and the climax is just perfect. The very busy director has another film coming out this year, but he's already won me over with this one.</i> P.S., thank you Denis Menochet for doing nudity in this film :)<br />
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9. <b>Sightseers</b><br />
<i>Ben Wheatley is one sick bastard.<b> </b>With his background in television comedy, few predicted that he could deliver intense violent thrillers like <b>Down Terrace </b>(2009) and <b>Kill List </b>(2011). With his newest feature, the director combines his talent for both comedy and violence into the wickedest black comedy of the year. So funny and yet so so wrong, <b>Sightseers</b> follows its title characters, Tina and Chris, a mismatched couple of socially awkward losers who leave Tina's clingy mother at home alone and trek on a cross-country camping trip. Chris begins to reveal an angry side to his new girlfriend, resulting in an "accidental" death that develops into the wackiest blood-spattered romantic coupling since Clarence and Alabama. The film recalls the best work of early Peter Jackson, without the zombies and puppets, but with all of the moist grue and bad taste laughs An irresistible treat, best appreciated by those with a strong stomach and a liberal sense of humor.</i><b><br /></b><br />
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8. <b>The Source Family</b><br />
<i>The second-best documentary of the year is one of the most outrageous stories you've never heard. Recalling the Manson Family with a religious vegetarian streak instead of homicidal nuttiness, the Family built up around<b> </b>Jim Baker, the owner of the Source restaurant in Los Angeles. Initiating his own religion, combining the best philosophies of every key world faith, Baker attracts devoted followers (mostly beautiful young women, natch) who surround him in his sprawling mansion. He changed his name to Father Yod, and then YaHoWha, assigned new mystical names to the Family members, and even started a band that played local high schools and recorded one album after another. Making the story that much more compelling is the impressive archive of home movie footage and audio recordings, collected and preserved by official Family historian Isis Aquarian, assigned the job by Father Yod himself. The film's soundtrack is entirely made up of Source Family recordings, all of which are available on iTunes. The soundtrack album is a must-buy. </i><b><br /></b><br />
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7. <b>The Attack</b><br />
<i>One of the best films about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, deftly maneuvering through the political landmines attached to both sides and emerging with a fascinating and surprisingly well-balanced take on the human aspect of it all. Revered doctor Amin Jaafari rises to the occasion when a suicide bomber attacks a restaurant, sending critically injured victims to his hospital, but his life is shattered when it is revealed that his wife was the culprit. Determined to learn if his entire marriage was a lie, and to better understand her motives, Amin searches for the terrorist organization she was involved with to find answers. Beautifully acted by Ali Suliman and a tremendous supporting cast, this compelling and unsettling story has some of the most memorable moments in any film of the year so far. The final scene is a heart breaker, and special note must be made of the emotional score by Eric Neveux.</i><b><br /></b><br />
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6. <b>Ginger and Rosa</b><br />
<i>A star is born. Her name is Elle Fanning. While she has been around for quite some time as a child actress, delivering solid work in the shadow of her overrated older sister, Dakota, Elle gives the best performance by a young actress this year. She is Ginger, an inquisitive teenager in early 1960s London fretting about nuclear war and flirting with activism. Her best friend, Rosa, raised by a single mother, encourages her to rebel against the system and her parents, but the two begin to grow apart as one pursues her sexual allure with disastrous results and the other finds herself torn between friendship and family. Christina Hendricks is wonderful as Ginger's mother, and always-sexy Alessandro Nivola appropriately caddish as her father. Other visiting Americans, Oliver Platt and Annette Bening, as well as familiar character actor Timothy Spall, are equally good as Ginger's sole allies. Another triumph from Sally Potter.</i><br />
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5. <b>20 Feet from Stardom</b><br />
<i>The best documentary of the year so far. While other films may tackle important social issues and more dramatically profound subjects, Morgan Neville's ode to the background singer is the most pleasurable and satisfying non-fiction feature you could hope to see. I wrote an in-depth review of it <a href="http://nycmovieboy.blogspot.com/2013/06/20-feet-from-stardom-2013.html" target="_blank">here</a>. If you love music (and that covers basically every human on earth), you need to see this movie.</i><b> </b><br />
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4. <b>Starbuck</b><br />
<i>It took a year for this film, which I first saw as part of MoMA's Canadian Front film series, to get a U.S. theatrical release. From what I can tell, it came and went, most likely to ensure no distractions from the upcoming English-language American remake (from the original's director, Ken Scott). But there are few funnier, warmer, more charming comedies than this delightful surprise from Quebec.</i> <i>Dashing Patrick Huard is a drifting thirty-something butcher whose gambling problem years previous resulted in him donating plentiful sperm to pay his debts. In a scenario inspired by fact, the sperm bank used an overwhelming amount of his product, resulting in several hundred children, many now joined together in a class action suit seeking the identity of their father. Ashamed of his slovenly lifestyle, Huard resists revealing himself, but does get his hands on a list of the children participating in the suit and begins visiting them as a kind of mystery guardian angel. I can't imagine how the remake could top this.</i><br />
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3. <b>Mud</b><br />
<i>Director Jeff Nichols scores again with his third film; all of them have been great, but they improve with each successive story. His grasp of Southern atmosphere and characterization recalls the works of Flannery O'Connor and especially Carson McCullers, bringing the Southern gothic to vivid life on the screen. Matthew McConaughey, going for greater legitimacy as an actor and not a shirtless tabloid star, plays the title character, a mysterious drifter discovered living on an island by teen friends Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. The boys agree to help him reunite with his long lost love Reese Witherspoon, being tracked by the family of her violent ex-boyfriend. Of course there are complications keeping them apart. While McConaughey's Mud might seem to be the central character, the film actually belongs to Sheridan, giving the best performance by a young actor this year. Nichols paints a striking coming-of-age story at the core of the narrative, as Sheridan is surrounded by crumbling relationships and struggles with losing his faith in people and the way life works. This young man is bound to go on to great things in his career. Nichols' favorite actor, Michael Shannon, appears in a brief supporting role as Lofland's uncle, and Reese Witherspoon (another actor in sore need of serious career rejuvenation) is quite grand here. It's also a hoot to see Joe Don Baker, well-cast, as the dangerous patriarch of the family eying Witherspoon.</i><br />
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2. <b>No</b><br />
<i>The best international film of the year, and one that has already been nominated for the 2012 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. In a weaker year, it very well could have won, but it didn't stand a chance against Haneke's universally praised <b>Amour</b>. With this gripping true-life story of a media battle for control of Chile, director Pablo Larrain completes his unofficial trilogy of political unrest films begun with <b>Tony Manero </b>(2008) and <b>Post Mortem </b>(2010). Each film has been better than the last, and <b>No </b>is his masterpiece. In 1988, the Chilean military regime bowed to international pressure and decided to allow its citizens to democratically vote "yes" or "no" to keep Pinochet in power. Each side was allotted 15 minutes a night on national television to persuade viewers to make the right choice. On opposing sides are Gael Garcia Bernal and his boss, advertising wizards who create compelling skits and emotionally charged rhetoric to ensure their client wins. Of course, what is at stake here is far more important than selling, say, soda, as we see in the opening scene. But turning the mere words "yes" and "no" into products to sell to the public brings out a variety of creative marketing techniques, some so successful that threats of violence begin pressuring the "no" campaign workers. </i><br />
<i>Larrain's decision to shoot the film in low-def video, to look as if it was actually produced in 1988, is a stroke of genius, and allows the contemporary footage to match flawlessly with genuine television advertisements from the "yes" and "no" campaigns, as well as disturbing news coverage of the riots that rocked the streets of Santiago.</i><br />
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1. <b>Frances Ha</b><br />
<i>The best film of the year so far. I wrote an in-depth review of it <a href="http://nycmovieboy.blogspot.com/2013/05/frances-ha-2012.html" target="_blank">here</a>. See this movie.</i><br />
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<u>Runners-Up</u> (in order of excellence) :<br />
<b>Dirty Wars</b><br />
<b>Eden</b><br />
<b>Room 237</b><br />
<b>56 Up</b><br />
<b>From Up on Poppy Hill</b> <br />
<b>The Sapphires</b><br />
<br />
<u>Also Seen</u> (in order of excellence) : <br />
<b>The Monk</b><b> </b><br />
<b>Renoir</b><br />
<b><b>Caesar Must Die</b></b><br />
<b>Like Someone in Love</b><br />
<b>Post Tenebras Lux</b><br />
<b>Shadow Dancer</b><br />
<b>Star Trek Into Darkness</b><br />
<b>Hannah Arendt</b> <br />
<b>Welcome to Pine Hill</b><br />
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<u>Still Need to See</u> :<br />
<b>Birth Story </b>(Jan. 18)<br />
<b>The Girl </b>(March 8)<b><br /></b><br />
<b>My Brooklyn </b>(Jan. 4)<br />
<b>An Oversimplification of Her Beauty </b>(April 26) <br />
<b>Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film </b>(June 21) <br />
<b>Trash Dance </b>(April 26)<br />
<b><i>among others</i></b> Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-13225624064124659382013-02-01T15:33:00.001-08:002013-02-01T15:33:15.818-08:00Movies viewed in JanuaryI am inspired by one of my favorite blogs, <a href="http://originalvidjunkie.blogspot.com/">Video Junkie Strikes Back from Beyond the Grave</a>,<i> </i>to list the films I watched every month. Because I often revisit films I've seen, these are just the films I watched for the first time in January. These marked in <span style="color: orange;"><b>gold</b></span> are the films I enjoyed the most. Looking at the <i>other </i>titles below may give you a good idea of how many films I wade through to find the great ones.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><u>Great Capers</u>:</span><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">My write-ups of </span><b>Bob le Flambeur </b>(1956)<span style="color: black;"><b> </b>and </span><b>Seven Thieves </b>(1960) <span style="color: black;">are available <a href="http://movielustorbust.blogspot.com/2013/01/last-night-on-tcm-casino-crime.html">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<u>Loretta Young</u>:</div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">My write-ups of </span></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: orange;"><b>Play-Girl </b>(1932)<span style="color: black;">, </span></span></span></span><span style="color: orange;"><b>Employees' Entrance </b>(1933)<span style="color: black;">, </span></span><span style="color: orange;"><b>The Hatchet Man </b>(1933)<span style="color: black;">, </span></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>She Had to Say Yes </b>(1933)<span style="color: black;">, and </span></span><span style="color: orange;"><b>Born to Be Bad </b>(1934)<span style="color: black;"> can be found <a href="http://movielustorbust.blogspot.com/2013/01/last-night-on-tcm-loretta-young-before.html">here</a>. But in addition to these, I also saw two more of her pre-Code films, </span><b>Life Begins </b>(1932) <span style="color: black;">and </span><b>Taxi! </b>(1932)<span style="color: black;">, and a compact little thriller produced before she began her well-remembered TV show,</span> <b>Cause for Alarm! </b>(1951)<span style="color: black;">. I intended to cover every Loretta Young night on TCM this month, but I honestly lost interest after the network moved past her 1930s performances into the 1940s and 1950s. For my money, Young's best work was during the pre-Code era, when she played strong-willed working women, roles that she didn't approach very often after 1934. To be fair, in <b>Taxi!</b>, she plays second fiddle to star James Cagney, as his star was taking off, playing a hot-headed taxi driver who won't take organized crime hassling independent cab drivers laying down. But she is given much more interesting material to work with in <b>Life Begins</b>, a melodrama taking place entirely in the maternity ward of a metropolitan hospital. We meet a variety of women, including a prostitute expecting twins she hopes to sell to the highest bidder, a middle-aged woman adding yet another addition to her overgrown household, and Young as a woman in prison for life on a murder charge expecting her concerned boyfriend's child. There are some over the top moments, to be sure, but for the most part the performances are spot-on, including always-wonderful Aline MacMahon as the head nurse and blonde bombshell Glenda Farrell as the lady of ill repute. This being the early days of sound film production, the stage-bound origins of the source material (a play by Mary McDougal Axcelson) are a little obvious at times, avoiding a dynamic mise-en-scene and giving characters lengthy monologues. A superb little film. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Not to gloss over <b>Taxi!</b>, though; everyone in this film is tough and street wise, including Young, introduced as the head strong daughter of a cabbie who won't take being muscled out of business and uses a pistol to right the wrong done him. At first she and Cagney butt heads, but of course they find love and compliment each other beautifully in a marriage tied together by their mutual drives to succeed.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJdaaESTgqmbQfhJFoBaXZI5QHGHFMm57JgmGR8MBjpbWlbOQy15Gf_WFKWWrbbN6ZZNxnI0fY0ChJV_HohJKQi8PFLfGEuIBGSZhemYKmb-FjJaXn7DM6NgNDYtAUX0Yl8rm5G0bKb0/s1600/cause+for+alarm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJdaaESTgqmbQfhJFoBaXZI5QHGHFMm57JgmGR8MBjpbWlbOQy15Gf_WFKWWrbbN6ZZNxnI0fY0ChJV_HohJKQi8PFLfGEuIBGSZhemYKmb-FjJaXn7DM6NgNDYtAUX0Yl8rm5G0bKb0/s1600/cause+for+alarm.JPG" /></a><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Cause for Alarm!</b>, clocking in at 74 minutes, plays almost like a slightly super-sized version of an episode of a 50s television anthology, with "special guest star Loretta Young" as Ellen Jones, a nervous woman dealing with her new husband's building mental illness. This might sound like an overwrought melodramatic plot device, but it transforms into one of edgy tension as Ellen is wrongly accused by hubby of trying to kill him and spends the greater part of one bright sunny day attempting to stop an incriminating letter from reaching the district attorney describing her alleged murder attempts. At this point Young was an Oscar-winner (for 1947's <b>The Farmer's Daughter</b>), and she brings a lot of talent and moxie to this performance. You give a damn what happens to Ellen, as her cuckoo husband accuses her of infidelity and her nerves are run through the wringer for the better part of the film. In an interesting twist of production history, producer Tom Lewis, who was also Young's husband at the time, wanted Judy Garland for the leading role, and our Loretta actually took her husband to court for casting discrimination and won! Hmm...that must have been an awkward home life, not to mention movie set, in the aftermath, though there must have been no lasting effects because the pair collaborated on her famous TV show almost directly after production of this tremendous nail biter!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><u>Columbia Classics</u>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The TCM Vault Collection released a collection of six films in the DVD set <i>Columbia Pictures Pre-Code Collection</i>, and unfortunately most of them are duds. The best of the group, and one of the finest pre-Code films<span style="color: orange;"> <span style="color: black;">of all, is</span></span></span><b> Virtue </b>(1932)<span style="color: black;">, a street-wise melodrama starring Carole Lombard and Pat O'Brien, both borrowed from other studios, as a reformed prostitute and the wisecracking taxi driver who falls in love with her. The pair are given some fine one-liners during their unlikely courtship, but are also compelling when the film calls for their marriage to be disturbed by the discovery of Lombard's past. Lombard, one of the most versatile actresses of the 1930s, is best-known for her screwball comedies, but proves here that she could balance comedy and drama in one film.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Columbia, for a long time considered a B-studio, even after its films began sweeping the Oscars, was responsible for some of the most entertaining quickies of the studio era. Two of these are prison pictures separated by a decade, </span><b>Convicted Woman </b>(1940)<b> </b><span style="color: black;">and </span><b>Convicted </b>(1950)<span style="color: black;">. The earlier film stars Rochelle Hudson (no relation to Rock, but a marvelous actress none the less), as an unemployed woman who, while in a department store applying for a job, is mistaken for a thief wearing her same outfit and with the same haircut. She is railroaded into women's prison, where there aren't lesbians to be found (this was between pre-Code films of this type and 1950's <b>Caged</b>), but she becomes a bitter cynic after butting heads with an icy blonde inmate who lures our heroine into an escape attempt and rats on her to get in good with the female guards. Hudson's lawyer becomes the new warden of the prison, intent on making it a house of rehabilitation and not a place of punishment.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmLTMWccPoI4gbrIa4-vCbykItIb80zLasz7AUmANjSctDK5bVcVkgw4GVlSFgDp8u9kuBgmazBxOqXgLMCTCAakDkIus_RwrBcAjlSV-GZ9pNZ92OUXK5JdfVgOnV2bu4Nrwtcnbz-k/s1600/convicted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmLTMWccPoI4gbrIa4-vCbykItIb80zLasz7AUmANjSctDK5bVcVkgw4GVlSFgDp8u9kuBgmazBxOqXgLMCTCAakDkIus_RwrBcAjlSV-GZ9pNZ92OUXK5JdfVgOnV2bu4Nrwtcnbz-k/s320/convicted.jpg" width="208" /></a><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Convicted </b>seems developed as a star vehicle for Glenn Ford, still a reliable, if not bland, character actor who was also in <b>Convicted Woman</b>, but the film belongs to gruff Oscar-winner Broderick Crawford as the district attorney who unsuccessfully tries to stop Ford from being imprisoned for an accidental death following a bar brawl, and then becomes the warden of the prison where Ford is serving time. This is no revenge tale, though, as Ford's droopy dog character is perked up by interactions with Crawford's daughter, Dorothy Malone (before her vivacious Oscar-winning turn in <b>Written on the Wind</b>). In fact, these two films are oddly similar, with their wrongly convicted protagonists being confronted in prison by people from their courtroom pasts, and make for an interesting double feature. However, while the Ford-Crawford film will be coming to DVD in a couple of months as part of a TCM Vault Collection, <b>Convicted Woman </b>is one to watch for when it airs on TCM, usually during the morning hours. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b></b><span style="color: black;">I'm familiar with Anthony Mann's films noir, but his westerns are new to me. They have always intrigued me because of their casting Jimmy Stewart, light years from his Capra days, as angry wanderers with a dark side. Sony's on-demand movie channel is where I finally caught up with </span><b>The Man from Laramie </b>(1955)<span style="color: black;">, and if this is what all Mann's westerns are like, I am in for a viewing binge. Stewart is Will Lockhart, a man with a mission, namely to find the villain who was behind an Apache attack that killed his brother outside of a town run by the Waggoman family. The Waggoman family patriarch, Alec (Donald Crisp), is having trouble with his hot-headed egotistical son Dave (Alex Nicol) and his ranch's foreman, Vic (Arthur Kennedy), who believes the ranch will be his when Alec passes on. At 104 minutes, the pacing is quick, the emotions highly volatile, and photography, sound, and editing top-notch. It's a pleasant surprise to see Aline MacMahon, a character actress extraordinaire in the 1930s (see <b>Life Begins </b>above), as a fierce female owner of a neighboring ranch with a romantic past involving Waggoman. It's high time to check out the rest of Mann's work.</span><br /><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><u>International Exploitation</u>:</span><b><span style="color: orange;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The sequel to a low-budget Mexican superhero flick, based on a popular comic book series, </span></span><b><span style="color: orange;"><b>Kaliman and the Sinister World of Humanon</b></span></b><span style="color: orange;"> (1976) <span style="color: black;">is a cheap gaudy delight. Kaliman and his pipsqueak child sidekick Solin are invited to Brazil to speak at a convention (the subject? who knows), but learn that a series of murders of scientists in the area is connected to a mysterious super villain, Humanon, who hides out in the jungle with a comic relief dwarf assistant. Most of the film takes place in the wilderness, with goofy wannabe kung fu fight scenes clashing with "cute" moments of Solin playing with his adopted monkey pal. Oh yeah and the female love interest is some kind of Muslim hybrid who must hide her face "because of her religion" but can still go to the beach in a revealing bikini. When Kaliman reveals his sinister work reanimating the dead and creating monsters, the film kicks into high gear and never lets up. Tremendous fun, which is all you can ask for from any exploitation film. This is a prime candidate for Mondo Macabro treatment, if that company is still around... </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Of the surprisingly lucrative European exploitation subgenre of Nazisploitation, it may be difficult to pick the most unbelievably tasteless entry. I submit </span><b>Liebes Lager </b>(1976)<span style="color: black;">, a black comedy (yes, that's right) set in a Nazi concentration camp for political prisoners. "Hogan's Heroes" this ain't. There are hangings, rapes, murders, and an almost <b>Animal House</b>-esque scheme to pimp out female prisoners to paying officers as a way to earn money to escape the Allies when the inevitable end of the war comes knocking at the gates of the camp. It's an uneasy mix of gallows humor (in several scenes, literally), Nazi violence, and, believe it or not, sociopolitical commentary that is very difficult to see, but worth the search. It showed up in Italian TV at some point and that is the version that has been making the rounds over the years. If you're a member of Cinemageddon, some kind soul there added subtitles to it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">With a sizable cult following, Cornel Wilde's </span><b>No Blade of Grass </b>(1970) <span style="color: black;">is perhaps most notorious for footage that is often cut in video versions: a vicious rape of mother and daughter by bikers and a live childbirth. If that perks your ears up, this movie is for you. Wilde revisits the post-apocalyptic themes found in fellow actor Ray Milland's <b>Panic in Year Zero! </b>(1962), but with much more liberal doses of sex and violence, as well as a bleak vicious streak familiar from other films of the Vietnam era. An architect and his family, including neurotic wife, virginal teen daughter (future Mrs. Peter Sellers Lynne Frederick), and adolescent son, flee from the city during a worldwide food epidemic and pick up an irritable gunman and a gaggle of other survivors en route to a family estate in Scotland. The editing is awkward (and in some spots obviously inspired by the flash-forward moments in <b>Easy Rider</b>), the performances and characterizations inconsistent, and the message heavy-handed, but Hell if this isn't one of the best modern science fiction action films.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span> <b></b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><u><span style="color: black;">Other Favorites of January</span></u><span style="color: black;">:</span><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>Cleanflix </b>(2009)<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>Pitch</b> <b>Perfect </b>(2012)</span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>The Spirit of the Beehive </b>(1973) <span style="color: black;">(review <a href="http://movielustorbust.blogspot.com/2013/01/last-night-on-tcm-guest-programmer-bill.html">here</a>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Le magnifique </b>(1973) [Sure I would have loved this better in French with subs vs. the English dub I saw]</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Abduction of Kari Swenson </b>(1987)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Adventure in Baltimore </b>(1949)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Arizona </b>(1931)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Betrayal </b>(1957)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Beverly Hills Vamp </b>(1989) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Beyond Tomorrow </b>(194<span style="font-size: x-small;">0)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Blood on My Shoes </b>(1983)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Born Reckless </b>(1938) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Buchanan Rides Alone </b>(1958) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>California Split </b>(1974)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Chain Lightning </b>(1950)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Connection </b>(1962) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Cry Danger </b>(1951)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Cry Tough </b>(1959)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Danger Route </b>(1968) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Day They Robbed the Bank of England </b>(1960) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round </b>(1966)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Deep Space </b>(1988) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Devil's Bed </b>(1978) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Devil's Eight </b>(1968)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Entertai<span style="font-size: x-small;">ning <span style="font-size: x-small;">Mr. Sloane </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1970)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Fanfare for a Death Scene </b>(1964) </span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>5 Against the House </b>(1955)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Five Golden Dragons </b>(1967) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Flight That Disappeared </b>(1961<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Frisco Kid </b>(1935) </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>From Headquarters </b>(1933)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Gaily, Gaily </b>(1969<span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Girls Town </b>(1996) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Gree<span style="font-size: x-small;">tings </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1968)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Guns of Fort Petticoat </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(195<span style="font-size: x-small;">7)</span></span> </span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence </b>(1939)<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>How to Score with Chicks </b>(1994)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Hong Kong Emmanuelle </b>(1977) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Hot Rod Gang </b>(1958) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Hyena in the Safe (Una iena in cassaforte) </b>(1968)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>I Escaped from Devil's Island </b>(1973) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Idol </b>(1966)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Immortalizer </b>(1990) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Is There Anybody There? </b>(1975)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Kaleidoscope </b>(1966)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Killer is Still Among Us </b>(1986)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Lady in a Corner </b>(1989)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Land Raiders </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1969)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The League of Gentlemen </b>(1960)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Legion of the Nile </b>(19<span style="font-size: x-small;">59</span>) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Lost Flight </b>(1970)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Midnight Mary </b>(1933)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Mixed Company </b>(1974) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Monique </b>(1970)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Moonfire </b>(1970)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Mudlark </b>(1950)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Murder Clinic </b>(1966)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Mutiny in Outer Space </b>(1965)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Naked Over the Fence </b>(1973)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Neon Ceiling </b>(1971)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>New Prison Walls of Abashiri 3 </b>(1969)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Night of the Scarecrow </b>(1995) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Obscene Mirror </b>(1973) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Ocean's Eleven </b>(1960)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Oh Those</b> <b>Nurses! </b>(1982) [adult]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Once Upon a Spy </b>(1980)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Parents </b>(1989) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Pleasure Island </b>(1975) [adult]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Possessed </b>(1983) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Prime Minister </b>(1941)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Private Lives of Adam and Eve </b>(19<span style="font-size: x-small;">60)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Pull My Daisy </b>(1959) </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Racketeer </b>(1929)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Revolt of the Zombies </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1936)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Riffraff </b>(1936) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Rites of Fall </b>(1989) [gay adult]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Rottweiler: Dogs of Hell </b>(1982)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Ruling Voice </b>(1931)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Scarf </b>(1951) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Seven-Per-Cent Solution </b>(1976)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sexsations </b>(1984) [adult] </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Shopworn </b>(1932)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Spooky Bunch </b>(1980) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Teenage Cowgirls </b>(1973) [adult] </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Ten Cents a Dance </b>(1931)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Tenth Avenue Angel </b>(1948) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>That's Adultery </b>(1975) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>They Call It Sin </b>(1932)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Thi<span style="font-size: x-small;">ef </span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1952)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Tiger Shark </b>(1932) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>U.N.C.U.T. Club of Los Angeles </b>(1986) [gay adult]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Unnamable </b>(1988)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The Vampire's Ghost </b>(1945) </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Ways to Strength and Beauty </b>(1925)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The W<span style="font-size: x-small;">itness Chair </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1936)</span></span>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-53279041638699180432013-01-31T11:19:00.002-08:002013-01-31T14:43:15.838-08:00The Adult Film Auteur - An OverviewAndrew Sarris' 1962 essay "Notes on Auteur Theory" introduced a new form of film analysis and appreciation to American film criticism. Borrowing ideas and the very term "auteur" from the French film critics of the 1960s, Sarris outlined the concept of auteur theory as <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">one with three premises,
or “circles”, helping to define a given director as an auteur. The first is
technical competence (which most directors, he claims, pass rather easily), the
second is the personality, or the style, of the director as seen in his films,
and the third is “interior meaning”, or the connection between the director and
his material. In all cases, the director is viewed as the sole author, or "auteur" of his films, the signatory on an artistic work. Directors are split into three categories defined by their placement in one of these circles: technicians, stylists, and auteurs, all worthy of note, some more than others.</span><br />
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Applying this theory to adult films may not seem like a natural approach to discussion of the genre, but pornographic filmmakers were not exactly a dime a dozen in the 1970s and 1980s, the era of porno chic. Much like the stars of the era, the directors working in the industries of the east and west coasts often made features identified and sometimes even advertised as the work of an auteur. "A Gerard Damiano Film", "Alex de Renzy's...", "A Film by Cecil Howard", "Carter Stevens'...". Taking a hint from the New Hollywood of the 1970s, when the director's authorship was used as a marketing tool for a more hip and informed audience, films began being branded not only by their female stars, but by their directors. Accordingly, each director's films are distinctive from another's, visually, stylistically, thematically, and artistically.<br />
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This is the driving thrust behind "Skin Deep: The Adult Film Auteur". Much has been written of the adult industry at large, the drugs, the crime, the tragedies and controversies, and of the people in front of the camera, the men and women who bravely revolutionized sexual cinema. But precious little attention has been given to the men behind the cameras, working to create something special, signature films defining their aesthetic and thematic views while also striving to be commercial enough to turn a profit. The comparison between adult film auteurs and those working within the box office-driven studio system of classic Hollywood is not to be curtly dismissed.<br />
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The man responsible for the two key films of east coast porno chic, <i>Gerard Damiano</i>, is perhaps the most important director in the genre. While <b>Deep Throat </b>(1972) has become a pop culture phenomenon, <b>The Devil in Miss Jones </b>(1973) is more indicative of the work this artist produced throughout the 1970s and 1980s. More than any other filmmaker, Damiano personified the auteur theory of director as author. He wrote, produced, edited, and directed all of his key films, involved with every aspect of production to bring to the screen works close to his creative heart. Much has been made of his Catholicism informing his films, and while there are elements of guilt threaded throughout his work, there is more of a sense of old-fashioned conservative values clashing with the new social mores in the wake of the sexual revolution. Directing his documentary <b>Changes </b>(1970), Damiano examines the various facets of the new sexuality, not merely for exploitation purposes, but out of a seeming genuine curiosity and interest in expanding his horizons. Damiano was also not afraid to experiment within the confines of the genre: a male-on-male blowjob in <b>The Story of Joanna </b>(1975), an all-puppet sex film with <b>Let My Puppets Come </b>(1977), a one-woman show in <b>Portrait </b>(1974). His most complex film, and my personal favorite, is <b>Odyssey </b>(1977), a examination in three parts of people's lives saved or destroyed by sexual desire, and he would return to this three-story structure for his last great film, <b>Night Hunger </b>(1983), with similar thematic juxtapositions of three members of a family suffering from satyriasis, an abnormal sexual craving of torturous extremes.<br />
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As gifted as he was a storyteller, Damiano was also a brilliant actor's director. Few of his contemporaries could provoke the kind of performances given in his films by performers not known for their thespian talents. Suzanne McBain in <b>Odyssey</b>, Loni Sanders and Mike Ranger in <b>Never So Deep </b>(1981), Lysa Thatcher in <b>The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue </b>(1980), these performers challenged themselves to give what are surely their career performances. There are few, if any, poorly acted Damiano films, and his ensemble casts were among the finest in the genre. Even elegant talents such as Georgina Spelvin (the original "Miss Jones"), Jody Maxwell (<b>Portrait</b>), Terri Hall (<b>Joanna</b>), and Sharon Kane (<b>Night Hunger</b>)<b> </b>give arguably the best performances of their careers under Damiano's careful direction. The man also cast himself in some of the most memorable non-explicit roles of the genre: the nut in the padded cell in <b>Miss Jones</b>, Samantha Fox's father in <b>People </b>(1978), the producer in <b>Skin Flicks </b>(1978). There truly is no one more deserving of the adult film auteur title than Damiano, the Orson Welles of the adult word.<br />
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On the west coast, <i>Anthony Spinelli </i>was producing equally provocative and compelling films as Damiano was on the east. In fact, the two directors complement each other thematically and visually, tackling the subjects of human sexuality and relationships in similar ways. Like Damiano, Spinelli's best films were dramas dealing with anguished characters (the title character in 1974's <b>The Seduction of Lynn Carter</b>, the tortured obscene phone caller in 1975's <b>Night Caller</b>) and social hypocrisies surrounding sexuality and repression (a small town of sexual deviants in 1981's <b>Vista Valley PTA</b>). Spinelli also injected a welcome sense of romanticism into his narratives, making perhaps the most sensitive adult film, <b>Nothing to Hide </b>(1981), the official sequel to his marvelous <b>Talk Dirty to Me </b>(1980) that brings the original's adolescent obsession with promiscuous sexuality to its natural conclusion in the form of a sweet adult romance leading to marriage. It is the best two-film series of the genre. Spinelli's fascination with the sexual mind reached its apex when he made <b>Reel People </b>(1983), a documentary-porno hybrid featuring real people recruited to live out their greatest fantasies in front of the camera.<br />
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With his background in Hollywood production, Spinelli's films were always professionally made, with heavy emphasis on cinematography, lighting, and performance. The latter element is what sets Spinelli's films apart from other films produced in California during the first decades of the genre. His well-drawn characters are brought to life by winning performers aware of who their characters are and what Spinelli is doing with them. Richard Pacheco and John Leslie became Spinelli's leading men par excellence, and he also found a winning leading actress in Jessie St. James, an athletic blonde with an intoxicating sexual allure and tremendous acting talent used to great advantage<b> </b>in a series of brilliant starring roles. He gave future disco singer Andrea True her finest role as the title character in <b>Lynn Carter</b>, and did the same for Sharon Thorpe in <b>Sex World </b>(1977). To continually compare Spinelli with Damiano would considerably diminish the individual talents of each director, but the two surely share the title of the best adult film auteurs of the classic era.<br />
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The most prolific female adult filmmaker was <i>Roberta Findlay</i>, who was also unique in that she not only directed, edited, lighted, and photographed her own work, but was also a regularly employed cinematographer for many of her New York contemporaries. A self-taught technician and artist, Findlay's career unofficially began after her forced wedding to director Michael Findlay, working on (and sometimes starring in) his exploitation films in the 1960s and early 1970s. Following their separation, while he clumsily stumbled through the adult film world, Findlay found her footing collaborating with producers like Allan Shackleton, David Darby, and her eventual long-time business partner Walter Sear. Her love for lighting and inventive camera work would establish the Findlay look, one seen even in her R-rated ventures of the 1980s. It's too easy to approach Findlay's films expecting a feminist approach to porno conventions, and one would be sorely disappointed if that's all they were looking for in films like <b>Angel on Fire </b>(1974), <b>Mystique </b>(1979), and <b>The Tiffany Minx </b>(1981). More than anything, her work reveals a deep love for classic Hollywood films, seen most vividly in her scripts and characters, as well as her bold lighting schemes.<br />
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Of the San Francisco filmmakers, <i>Alex de Renzy </i>was a name synonymous with the permissiveness so widely embraced in the Bay area. From his earliest films (1972's <b>Little Sisters </b>features the drag troupe the Cockettes among the cast members), de Renzy was a bold and fearless director who would try anything once, and often frequently if he liked it. A brief attempt at respectability with the well-researched documentary <b>Weed </b>(1972) did not stop de Renzy from changing the face of San Francisco pornography. His films had a voyeuristic thrill to them, especially when they included sexual fancies (autofellatio, interracial pairings, slings, enemas, shaving) that felt intrusive when photographed so crisply, up close and personal. They were also fiercely funny: a statutory rapist runs for his life from the girl's mother and ends up as the star stud in a brothel (<b>Baby Face</b>, 1977); a busty dim bulb develops amnesia after a car crash and goes on a wild journey to regain her identity (<b>Pretty Peaches</b>, 1978)<i>. </i>De Renzy even produced a murder mystery, the unjustly neglected <b>Cheryl Hansson: Cover Girl </b>(1981). Before he made the slow transition to video, de Renzy continued shooting on film even when it was wildly unpopular to do so, resulting in a lengthier collection of celluloid classics than most of his peers. In true auteur fashion, he began branding his films with* "Alex de Renzy's...", establishing himself as San Francisco's resident master erotic filmmaker.<br />
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Smoothly transitioning from softcore to hard with <b>Score </b>and <b>The Image </b>(1973), sophisticated sexploiteer <i>Radley Metzger</i>'s X-rated oeuvre is a small one, but without doubt the most influential and long-lasting on the industry. Where Damiano broke open the gates for pornography with intelligence and purpose, Metzger's films, credited to the legendary "Harry Paris", are the best adult film comedies ever made. As a filmmaker who seemed to go into hardcore out of necessity rather than interest, Metzger transforms sex into a source of mirth and merriment. Unfortunately, he is also the most promising auteur who basically threw in the towel far too early. Having seemingly shot his creative wad with his signature feature, <b>The Opening of Misty Beethoven </b>(1976), he followed the super hit with two films, the half-successful <b>Barbara Broadcast </b>(1977) and the slapped-together <b>Maraschino Cherry </b>(1978), before doing uncredited assistant director duties on <b>The Tale of Tiffany Lust </b>(1981) and leaving the X-rated world behind. Perhaps the most cultured director of the genre, with plentiful literary and artistic references sprinkled throughout his work, Metzger is to many the epitome of pornography with class. It's difficult not to agree.<br />
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Italian-born <i>Lasse Braun </i>is the one true success story of a European pornographer making his way across the Atlantic to bring a continental sensibility to American adult films. Others tried (including Gerard Kikoine and gay porn auteur Wallace Potts), but none had the lasting impression on the genre, with such distinctively kinky panache, as Braun. His first major hit, <b>Sensations </b>(1975), was technically an American-produced film, financed by porn mogul Ruben Steurman, and his first film on U.S. soil, <b>American Desire </b>(1981), was his last shot on celluloid; subsequent projects shot in America were shot on video. Braun's roots were in lavish, deliciously sordid loops, contributing to a segmented vignette feel to his features. His trademark was adventurous exoticism, with the titillating prospect of European corruption of American ideals, as Braun did to American leading lady of choice Brigitte Maier.<br />
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The most successful gay director working in the straight adult film world, <i>Chuck Vincent</i> wore the fact that he wanted to make "real movies" on his sleeve. True to form, all of his work is character- and story-driven, to the extent that many consider his films overly glossy and un-erotic. To dismiss Vincent as a pornographer in denial, however, is to ignore one of the genre's greatest artists at work. His comedies are raucous affairs, and his dramas emotional powerhouses, but flowing throughout them all is an uncertain distrust of love and relationships. Most noteworthy about Vincent's work is his casting of a series of actresses who would become his muses: Samantha Fox, Veronica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Merle Michaels, Gloria Leonard, Candida Royalle, Leslie Bovee. Frequent director-star partnerships were not uncommon in the adult film world, but with Vincent, these women informed his work to such a strong degree that he could very well be the George Cukor of adult films.<br />
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Despite auteur theorists attributing a film's authorship solely to the director, it would be ignorant to dismiss the important collaborations of these directors with writers, cinematographers, producers, and even actors. In the realm of photography, Damiano worked with Joao Fernandes, Spinelli with Jack Remy, and Vincent with <i>Larry Revene</i>. Revene worked with every major New York City adult filmmaker, but his union with Vincent produced the director's finest films, with a visual polish his earlier work is missing, and Revene would eventually strike out on his own as a director, making films that some viewers confuse for Vincent films primarily because of their stylist similarities. This is the work of Revene, as important a factor in Vincent's auteurism as his muses and frequent screenwriters (Bill Slobodian, Rick Marx).<br />
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The films of <i>Armand Weston </i>appear to be split into two types: the dark sinister psychodramas and the considerably lighter Hollywood homages. He is also one of the genre's auteurs with the smallest output, culminating in a single R-rated horror film before his untimely death in 1988. Weston's background in illustration and design brings an artist's sensibility to the composition and structure of his work. It is difficult to discuss Weston's oeuvre as a whole, as at face value all of his films seem so very different from one another, with only <b>Defiance </b>(1974) and <b>The Taking of Christina </b>(1976) seeming like sister films due to their being produced by performer-turned-filmmaker Jason Russell. A deeper probing into the brief filmography of Weston reveals a recurring theme of peeking behind a public facade to find the less than savory underbelly of society.<br />
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Another adult filmmaker with a brief career was <i>Joanna Williams</i>, another woman who began her career in softcore sexploitation (in front of the camera) before graduating behind the camera. Her output is small, but goes further to challenging the feminist critique that a woman director's work automatically qualifies as championing women. Female objectification in the <b>Little Girls Blue </b>films (1977, 1983) and graphic rape in <b>Expensive Tastes </b>(1978) provoke questions about the woman behind the camera and her artistic drive to create potentially troubling films for the image of women in adult films.<br />
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The genre's tortured artist, <i>Roger Watkins</i>, chose pornography because there was little else in the film business for him, and his films betray the angry nihilism that plagued this genius until his untimely death in 2002. The bleak existences of the protagonists in<b> Her Name was Lisa </b>(1979), <b>Midnight Heat </b>(1982), and <b>Corruption </b>(1983) are certainly autobiographical, and his final 35mm feature, <b>American Babylon </b>(1985), is perhaps his finest and most personal work. Working closely with cinematographer Revene, each film feels like his closing artistic statement, until he discovers more to say about human cruelty and misery through his characters. Even his comedy <b>The Pink Ladies </b>(1980), dismissed by Watkins as "fluff", is a knowing smack in the face of American suburbia, a theme more fully fleshed out and explored in <b>Babylon</b>. Watkins' films, more than any other filmmaker's, are not simply viewed, they are felt and endured.<br />
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Working under the delightful moniker of "Henri Pachard", <i>Ron Sullivan </i>first made his mark with <b>Babylon Pink </b>(1979) and proceeded to build on the popularity of his debut film with successively smart and funny films throughout the 1980s, with a few marvelous dramatic works scattered in-between his more uproarious projects. Known industry-wide for his bathroom scenes, there is more depth to a Sullivan film that can be found in simply noting the location of a sex scene. His best films are "day in the life" stories, following a group of people within the course of a single day: <b>Outlaw Ladies </b>(1981), <b>Nasty Girls </b>(1983), <b>G-Strings </b>(1984), <b>She's So Fine </b>(1985). By focusing on a multitude of characters connected through simple means, Sullivan briefly stands as the Robert Altman of adult film, a champion of superficially simple storytelling made complex by his love of characters. Most vivid in his films is Sullivan's love for women, giving women all of the strength in his stories and empowering them throughout his narratives. Witness <b>Mascara </b>(1982), an oft-neglected Sullivan film starring Lisa de Leeuw and Lee Carroll as two women from different walks of life who learn from each other through the course of exploring and solving de Leeuw's sexual repression. The men in the film are mere vehicles for the women as they grow in strength and maturity, and this is a recurring theme in Sullivan's work. More than any female filmmaker's work, Sullivan's films provide more interesting arguments for a feminist approach to pornography in the 1980s.<br />
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Darker than Watkins was <i>Phil Prince</i>, regarded today as the most perverse and twisted of New York's directors, taking depravity to levels even de Renzy would consider morally questionable. But what lies behind this drive to deliver the most horrific and disturbing views of sexuality that the adult genre of this era had to offer? While scholars like Bill Landis make the argument that Prince had a sadistic streak, it becomes obvious in interviews with Prince that he was fulfilling a market demand for more violent and edgy content, taking pornography to the heaviest extremes before the Meese Commission reared its head in the mid-1980s. A commercial drive to create is often dismissed as not conducive to producing genuine art, but looking at Prince's films, there is an undeniable artistry at work in capturing the unnerving scenarios of de Sade reincarnated in <b>Kneel Before Me </b>(1983), or the criminal assault and rape of a house of women in <b>The Story of Prunella </b>(1982), or the darkly comic faux psychiatric evaluations of a succession of degenerates in <b>Dr. Bizarro</b> (1983). A Phil Prince film is unmistakable, even when his name isn't attached, as with <b>Angel in Distress </b>(1982) and <b>The Stimulators </b>(1983), and this is the sign of a true auteur.<br />
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There were many other filmmakers of distinction:<br />
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<i>-Shaun Costello</i>, whose films ranged from weekend wonders to considerably more extravagant projects, all of them benefiting from a fevered sexuality; his frequent cinematographer <i>Art Ben </i>is also an auteur of note when he struck out on his own<br />
<i> -Jon Fontana</i>, the co-director and cinematographer of the films of the Mitchell Brothers, and perhaps the true auteur of the brothers' oeuvre<br />
<i> -Joseph Sarno</i>, regarded as one of the best actor's directors of the era<br />
<i> -Carter Stevens</i>, actor-director whose films revealed a filmmaker who had more fun in the New York industry than perhaps any other<br />
<i> -Howard Ziehm</i>, whose historically valuable early L.A. films preceded a series of "loop carrier" films establishing him as the first bi-coastal director<br />
<i> -Cecil Howard</i>, the consummate producer/distributor whose work as a director is typified by sexual hunger connecting characters in desperate need of fulfillment<i> </i><br />
<i> -Edwin and Summer Brown</i> and <i>Svetlana and David J. Frazer</i>, two California couples producing both emotional couples-oriented films and tongue-wagging eye candy features for raincoaters<br />
-<i>Peter Balakoff</i>, who co-starred in almost all of his California films with redhead exclusive Gena Lee, and sensitive New Yorker <i>Kemal Horulu</i>, both of whom focused on delivering turgid soap operas that are, despite their flaws, indicative of auteur mentalities<br />
-<i>Fred Lincoln</i>, an early actor-turned director with a whimsical approach to sexuality that gave the impression his sets were one great big party <br />
-<i>John & Lem Amero</i>, who were far more prolific in the gay industry but who brought their queer sensibilities to a handful of films that abandoned eroticism in favor of campy charms aimed clear over the heads of the general adult film audience; yet another gay director, <i>John Christopher</i>, betrayed none of his personal sexual preferences in films that brazenly showcased an emotionally stunted heterosexuality<br />
-<i>Stephen Sayadian </i>and <i>Gregory Dark</i>, the New Wave mind magicians of the 1980s adult industry, producing wildly different projects with similar forward-thinking visual styles<br />
-Early San Francisco pioneers <i>Curt McDowell </i>and <i>Lowell Pickett</i>; McDowell's films are in a class by themselves, both intensely personal and freely sexual, and while they're difficult to evaluate because so many are currently missing, the surviving Pickett features are among the earliest west coast attempts to produce professional pornography and succeed<br />
-<i>Zebedy Colt</i>, known more today for his on-screen performances, directed a collection of bizarre and unclassifiable films that pushed the boundaries of good taste while also embracing the art of performance, made all the more interesting by his bisexuality<br />
-Early pioneer <i>Richard Robinson</i>, a swinger whose free-love philosophy bled into his work, and his photographer <i>Sven Conrad</i>, producer of some of the most professional-looking adult films of the era <br />
-<i>Michael Zen</i>, another bisexual auteur, whose stellar work in the gay industry tends to overshadow his worthwhile contributions to straight films; both deserve close examination<br />
-<i>Kirdy Stevens</i>, who together with his wife Helene Terrie, graduated from softcore films to hardcore, taking their fascination with controversial subject matter (swinging, incest, underage fantasies) with them<br />
-West coast auteurs <i>Alan B. Colberg </i>and <i>Jeffrey Fairbanks</i>, whose stars briefly shined bright in the adult film world, but long enough to create signature films with lasting impression<br />
-<i>Godfrey Daniels</i>, whose gritty early work gives no indication of the drastic turn into professionally polished star vehicles he is known for today<br />
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And let's not forget <i>Bob Chinn </i>or <i>Gary Graver</i>, two of the most prolific filmmakers on the west coast, responsible for intriguing dramas and raucous comedies with visual style and care for dialogue and character, tackling every subgenre imaginable with consistently interesting results. Like Billy Wilder and Robert Wise before them, it may be easy to dismiss these directors when discussing adult film auteurs, as they floated through different genres over the course of two decades. Make no mistake, however, their generous bodies of work reveal auteurs at work.<br />
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These men and women, and more, warrant in-depth discussion in examination of the adult film auteur of the "golden age", and I can only hope that I do all of them justice. They are all worth your attention, for what they brought to the cinematic landscape, the ways they challenged their chosen genre, and for creating art within a crudely commercial industry.<br />
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(C) Casey Scott, 2012Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-4058639504350875192013-01-20T14:34:00.000-08:002013-01-20T14:34:00.078-08:00Meet the A/V Geeks Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Skip Elsheimer's A/V Geeks is where classroom, industrial, and ephemeral films go for a second life in the digital age. Perhaps the most vast genre of orphan films in film history, it's also one that keeps on giving. Caches of 16mm films keep turning in public and private collections, approximately 100 miles worth of film that is still in need of proper restoration. Elsheimer's Indiegogo fundraising campaign has raised almost $20,000, but still needs the help of viewers like you. As a contributor to the campaign, I received my choice of 10 DVD's from the A/V Geeks website, which arrived in a package with an A/V Geeks sticker and my new favorite T-shirt, as well as the opportunity to vote for which films on a list I felt should be given digitizing priority. It seemed like a good time to review this impressive sampling of the Geeks' plentiful offerings, which I will do over the course of several blogs. This is only a taste of the amazing stuff in need of digitization and preservation. Click the banners to check out the A/V Geeks website and the 100 Miles of Film Fundraising Campaign.</i><br />
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<b><u>Best of the Digitizing Campaign</u></b></div>
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A special disc included with the package of 10 discs was this generous helping of short films considered the cream of the crop of the recently digitized 16mm films, including a good number I personally voted for. With no focus on genre or film type, this gives a good idea of the wide variety of films being preserved by the A/V Geeks. All of them can be seen at www.archive.org, the best depository of public domain films, television, and radio in the world.<br />
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<b>All Girl Melody Makers</b> (c. 1941), part of Castle Films' Music Album series, stars Dave Schooler and his 21 Swinghearts performing three songs, "Tchaikowskiana", "Pavanne", and "In an Eighteenth Century Drawing Room", and true to the title, all of the band members are women, decked out in garish dresses as they play seemingly every instrument known to man. Schooler and his ladies appeared in a number of soundies (musical shorts in the 40s and 50s), the novelty naturally being that this bandleader was surrounded by dames who could play swing music as good as any man. Well...almost. They're at least as talented as any upper-tier high school band.<br />
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Narrated by Beaumont Newhall, the former curator of George Eastman House, <b>Ansel Adams, Photographer</b> (1957) is kind of meta in that it's a short preserved through crowd sourcing...produced by a man who was part of one of the greatest preservation houses in the country. His wife wrote the film, and it was photographed and directed by renowned documentary cinematographer David Myers (<b>Woodstock</b>, <b>Marjoe</b>), who also shot George Lucas' <b>THX-1138</b>. Clearly this film has quite a few pedigrees behind it, and it's a rare glimpse into the world of Adams, one of the most unique artists of the modern era. We see him playing the piano in his San Francisco home before packing up his car with multiple cameras and their equipment, heading to the beach to capture oceanic vistas, then returning home to process the film in his lab. An incredible sampling of his work is also included and savored by Myers' camera, in glorious black and white.<br />
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We shift to color with <b>Facts About Projection (Second Edition)</b> (1959), a film digitized by the A/V Geeks <i>for </i>A/V geeks! Learn through animation and demonstration the proper use of a film projector, a skill clearly needed in the digital age. In all seriousness, there is something quaint and admirable about seeing someone cleaning, preparing, and running a projector with hands-on precision. Norma A. Barts, the director of the A/V department of Niles Township High School in Skokie, IL is credited as the educational consultant, and it's probable the classroom scenes in the film were shot there. Producer Robert Longini, based out of Chicago, had an interesting career as an Army photographer and documentary filmmaker during WWII before becoming an instructor at Chicago's Institute of Design. He died three years after this film was produced at age 47.<br />
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Even with the Encyclopedia Britannica logo attached, <b>Mother Cat and Her Baby Skunks</b> (1958) has barely any educational value, so it must have been an especially fun treat for bored kids in a classroom tired of learning. I think a bit more credit should be given to the ephemeral film crews who had to work with animals, as they do here, creating an entire narrative out of disembodied close-ups of the title "protagonist" and other random snippets of nature photography. Mother Cat and her two kittens Blackie and Sandy (guess what colors they are) live on a farm with German shepherd Rex, but out in the wilds of the woods, when a hawk eyes three baby skunks whose mother has disappeared as his next meal, she whisks them back to her family box and suckles them to her teet, the animal kingdom's version of adoption.<br />
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A bizarre 1967 commercial for the Opel Kadett station wagon from Buick stars Alan Hale, Jr., the trusty ol' Skipper on "Gilligan's Island", dressed in character as he drives through a jungle with animals as passengers. Yeah, it's weird...the GM brand car is even branded "the mini-brute". A second Opel Kadett commercial follows, showing a female drive in the 1969 model trying to beat an elephant to a parking spot. I guess this is the mini-brute angle? A third and final commercial, again for the 1969 model, sells the car in a bizarre auto show featuring garishly outfitted elephants and women with bee heads. Does anyone remember this car?<br />
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One of the most valuable pieces of film in this digitization project is 11 minutes of silent footage of the Perry St. School, an unidentified elementary school. We see crossing guards, kids pledging allegiance to a flag on a desk, teachers using flash cards, kids reading books and coloring at their desks, collecting their milk and snack, painting a wall mural, playing instruments in music class, and other daily activities of a classroom, all in vibrant color, circa the early 1960s. One little girl who visits the school nurse looks identical to Sally Draper on "Mad Men". It's possible this footage was shot to project for prospective pupils and their parents, though there may have been other purposes for filming these scenes. All the kids are dressed to the nines and behave perfectly, though rarely acknowledging the camera, and it must have been shot in the fall or winter, as gloves and hats are worn to go outside and play.<br />
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Produced by prolific Coronet Films, <b>Propaganda Techniques</b> (1949) offers some interesting looks into how candidates for political office work towards getting elected, using a local town's mayoral election as an example. A reporter questions the campaign manager of the winning candidate about whether his re-election was a win for good government or for good propaganda. The manager argues that it is a win for both, but goes into greater detail about the tactics used to persuade voters into voting for his candidate, including "glittering generalities", "card-stacking", "name-calling", "plain folks", and "band wagon", explaining these industry jargon terms for us Joe Public's who buy this hucksterism hook, line and sinker. This 10-minute short is missing the credits and jumps in a few spots.<br />
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Not only your standard school classrooms were home to 16mm projectors. Sunday school classrooms would take in a movie once in a while, perhaps one like The Protestant Radio Commission's <b>The Parable of the Prodigal Son</b>, one told in the cheapest way possible: marionettes. And not just any marionettes, but the Mabel Beaton Marionettes, familiar to many children of this era as the puppets used in a popular TV movie, <b>The Spirit of Christmas</b>, containing puppet-cast versions of "The Nativity" and "The Night Before Christmas". Something Weird offers this unusual television special, produced by Bell Telephone Company. But before Mabel and her husband Les achieved Christmas puppet immortality, she published the book <i>Marionettes: A Hobby for Everyone</i>, leading to the couple producing a series of nine films for the National Council of Churches in a New Rochelle, NY studio, aided by their puppeteer friends and using marionettes to bring Bible stories to life for young children. This is one of those. I would love to see the rest! They made two more classroom films, <b>Santa's Rocketship</b> and <b>Mayflower Mouse</b>, the latter distributed under the title <b>The Story of the Pilgrims</b> before hanging up their puppet strings. It's magical discoveries like this film that vividly illustrate the important work of A/V Geeks.<br />
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With a title like <b>Vidtronics Demo</b> (c. 1968), this film could be anything. Thankfully for me, it turned out to be a groovy 5-minute 60s demonstration of cinema technology! A swinging chick dances against the background, awash in psychedelic colors, also seen in white silhouette. Arte Johnson shows up in his "Laugh-In" military helmet, a fat comedian who I should recognize is smashed with a pie, and our dancing girl goes from dancing to skating in a big warehouse. Finally, to clarify just what this short promo reel is actually selling, credits for "chroma-key mix", "multiple split images", "compound mix with HS-200", "single frame animation", "reverse motion", "freeze-frame", and "programmed repeat motion HS-200" are splashed before our eyes. The music, by popular jingles composer Hugh Heller, is amazing, and is available on the very rare Hellers LP "Singers, Talkers, Players, Swingers, and Doers" under the title "Take 46". I want it on my iPod! This is probably my favorite digitized film on the disc. I could play it on a loop all day and never get tired of it. And what is Vidtronics? Today it's considered the pioneer in video editing, graphics, and transfers, founded in 1966 by Technicolor and going out of business exactly 20 years later, but try as I might, very little info can be gleaned of this company's history and impact on the industry.<br />
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The disc is closed out with McGraw-Hill Text-Films' <b>Who's Right</b> (1954), one of a series of films based on the book "Marriage for Moderns" by Henry A. Bowman, the chairman of Division of Home and Family and Department of Marriage Education at Stephens College in Columbia, MO. New York-based writer/director Irving Jacoby was, like Chicago-based Robert Longini, an Army documentary filmmaker during WWII before forming the company Affiliated Film Producers with three other ex-Army cameramen (including Willard Van Dyke). He is best-known for his mental health documentaries, produced for Manhattan's Mental Health Board, and taught film at City College before the war. Affiliated Film Producers was enlisted to produce all of the "Marriage for Moderns" films for McGraw-Hill, including "Choosing for Happiness" and "This Charming Couple", both directed by Van Dyke, as well as "Marriage Today", "Jealousy", "It Takes All Kinds", and "Who's Boss". This film's cinematographer/editor, Richard Leacock, would go on to shoot <b>Monterey Pop </b>(1968), work with Norman Mailer on his notorious <b>Maidstone </b>(1970), and team with D.A. Pennebaker to salvage what was left of Godard's abandoned <b>1 P.M. </b>(1972). The whole AFP gang also made educational films about juvenile delinquency and family life. Almost all of them are on <a href="http://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Affiliated%20Film%20Producers%22&sort=-date">Archive.org</a>.<br />
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"Spoiled! Selfish! Self-centered! This woman believes the sun should rise and set according to her needs!" Some of the most vicious dialogue ever uttered by a narrator in an educational film is heard in the first few minutes of <b>Who's Right</b>! And he doesn't just attack the wife of the house, the man of the house is branded a "tyrant of medieval mold." It turns out that the narrator is just relating how this husband and wife see each other after a particularly heated argument over money, 11 months into their marriage. Through inner monologues, we hear what they continue to think about each other as they pace their respective rooms. Wife Honey's concerns are purely superficial, focused on clothes and jewelry, while husband Frank misses his friends and kvetches about his job. We see the squabble that led to their explosive disagreement. Who's right? Who cares? This is what booze and swinging is for. But just wait till you find out who the narrator is!Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-13765156643652701992013-01-10T18:13:00.000-08:002013-01-10T18:13:19.239-08:00Remember "Phyllis"?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: orange;">"PHYLLIS! It sure isn't yooooooooooou!"</span></b></div>
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"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was a trailblazer and is still highly regarded as one of the best television shows of all time. It spun off three series based on beloved "MTM" characters. "Rhoda" starred Valerie Harper as the wisecracking gal who returned to New York in search of romantic opportunity and a life she couldn't find living in the same building as Mary. "Lou Grant" cast Ed Asner in an hour-long newspaper drama, providing a different atmosphere from the whimsical newsroom he previously inhabited.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mary: "OK, girls, you can stop standing behind me and get your own shows!"</span></b></div>
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And then there was "Phyllis". Oscar-winner and Emmy-winner Cloris Leachman, already a 20-year veteran of show business, was consistently hilarious as Mary's nosy neighbor, whose attempts to be liberal and forward-thinking, wise beyond her years, and a helpful pal backfired with hilarious results. She was a comic natural for a series of her own, despite Phyllis Lindstrom being a somewhat polarizing character, not the break-out character that Rhoda became. "MTM" lasted 7 seasons, "Rhoda" and "Lou Grant" 5 seasons each. "Phyllis" ended in shame after 2. Rarely re-run (it never reached enough episodes for syndication), one VHS release in the 90s paired the pilot and second episode in a promisingly titled "Volume 1", never to be followed with further installments in the projected series. The show was re-run, though never prominently scheduled, on Nick-at-Nite and TV Land before virtually disappearing for good in the late 90s. While "MTM" and "Rhoda" have appeared in near entirety on DVD, there are no plans for "Phyllis" to emerge on the digital format. What happened? Where did "Phyllis" go? And does it deserve this media shut-out?<br />
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Through TV Vault, a television torrent site I would be lost without, I was able to acquire the entire first and second seasons of the ill-fated spin-off. While the first three episodes and season finale of season 1 are the original broadcast length, all other episodes of both seasons were recorded from the American Life Network during its recent (and again brief) re-running in 2010, abbreviated from 24 minutes to 22 minutes, often with clumsy cuts shifting one scene abruptly into the next. Even in this less than ideal presentation, it was a revelation to finally see the whole series in one big gulp.<br />
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As "Phyllis" begins, our heroine is a widow, her never-seen husband Lars having died in Minneapolis and leaving her no assets. She whisks teenage daughter Bess (Lisa Gerritsen, underused throughout the series) to San Francisco to live with Lars' mother Audrey (Jane Rose), a dim-witted widow who has only recently remarried, to fatherly Judge Dexter (Henry Gibson). At Lars' wake, Phyllis meets Julie Erskine (Barbara Colby), the wisecracking owner of a photography studio who offers Phyllis a job. The catch: Julie used to date Lars, who even proposed to her before Phyllis. The two overcame this obstacle and she found herself right at home in the studio, where she also worked with wannabe debonaire photographer Leo Heatherton (Richard Schaal, previously seen on "MTM" and Valerie Harper's real-life husband). The pilot, in my opinion, remains the best episode of the entire series run. The writing is sharp, Leachman and company at the top of their game, and the laughs almost non-stop. It's funnier than both the "Rhoda" and "MTM" pilots, promising a brilliant series rife with comic gems. Episodes two and three continued down the path of excellence, developing a great workplace relationship between Phyllis, Julie, and Leo, and capitalizing on the unusual interplay between Phyllis and her in-laws.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Julie #1 - </span>Barbara Colby</b></span></span></div>
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Then the unimaginable happened. Co-star Barbara Colby, so funny and charming as Julie, and her boyfriend were shot by two gang members one night as they walked to their car after teaching an acting class. The culprits were never identified or caught. 37 years later, the double homicide remains a col case. This shocking tragedy resulted in quick re-casting and an almost complete re-imagining of the character of Julie, re-introduced in an unusual flashback episode that had Phyllis recounting her first day at work through a letter to old friend Mary Richards (MTM appeared in what must have been a well-publicized guest bit). Newly cast Liz Torres, while bearing a similar gruff exterior and deep voice like Colby, did not bring the late actress' unique sense of humor to the character. Her Julie was more gruff and no-nonsense, making her more of a nemesis at times than a confidante to Phyllis. Luckily the show recovered from its devastating loss, but did so by focusing on other characters, giving 'Julie' short shrift as the first season progressed. Torres tries, and eventually develops Julie as a character all her own. It's just not the Julie we would have loved to see from the first handful of episodes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Julie #2 - <span style="font-size: x-small;">Liz Torres</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: orange;">The best of </span></b> <span style="color: orange;"><b>Barb</b></span><span style="color: orange;"><b>ara Colby as Julie o<i>n Phyllis </i>(1975)</b></span></span><br />
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The break-out character, if there was one, would have to be Mother Dexter, the sharp-tongued elderly mother of Judge Dexter who made such a great impression in a one-off appearance that she became a regular on the show. 85-year-old actress Judith Lowry had the biggest role of her career, and provided some of the biggest laughs in the series' history. Though Lowry died during production of the second season, her character survived to get married to an elderly suitor (familiar character actor Burt Mustin) and appeared in several subsequent episodes before the series also expired.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mother Dexter, superstar</span></b></div>
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Of course half the fun in watching TV shows of the 1970s (at least for me) is spotting faces from genre films in guest bits. The second episode features Leigh McCloskey (Argento's <b>Inferno</b>) as a potential love interest for Bess, while one episode amusingly titled "Crazy Mama" (the same year as Leachman's film of the same name from Roger Corman's New World) features Vincent van Patten (<b>Hell Night</b>) and Vince Martorano<b> </b>(<b>The Candy Snatchers</b>) in the same scene. Famed dwarf actor Billy Barty plays the father of one of Bess' boyfriends in "Phyllis and the Little People", Clu Gulager (<b>Return of the Living Dead</b>) is a married lover of Phyllis' in "Phyllis in Love", Susan Lanier (<b>The Hills Have Eyes</b>) plays the ditzy younger wife of one of Phyllis' old flames, and vintage TV watchers will enjoy seeing Charlotte Rae pre-"Facts of Life" as a prospective friend of Phyllis' in "So Lonely I Could Cry", Loni Anderson pre-"WKRP" as a model in "The First Date", and a post-"Gilligan's Island" Natalie Schafer as a Dexter family friend in "Leo's Suicide".<br />
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The key to the mystery of "Phyllis"s plummet into relative obscurity lays in that period between season 1 and season 2. The first season was, by all accounts, a success. The show had a plum time slot between "Rhoda" and "All in the Family" (gosh what a great night of TV comedy!), and as the 6th-highest-rated TV show of the series, was even more successful than its fellow MTM programs. Leachman won a Golden Globe for Best TV Actress in a Musical/Comedy Series and was nominated for an Emmy in the same category (losing to former co-star Mary Tyler Moore). The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," was unfortunately ignored by CBS and the show's producers. Aiming at even higher ratings, Julie, Leo, and the photographer's studio were dropped from the show, thrusting Phyllis into a new job working with new characters. Phyllis found a job working in the office of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, first under corrupt city supervisor Paul Jameson (guest star John Ritter) for one day, then his replacement Dan Valenti (Carmine Caridi, who had oddly already appeared in season 1 helping Phyllis with a garage sale). Also working with Phyllis were supervisor Leonard Marsh (John Lawlow), a goody two shoes politician who knew all the right moves to play with the voters, and his assistant Harriet Hastings (Garn Stephens), established as a frienemy who eventually came around to liking our heroine.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Phyllis got a new hairdo in season 2...not flattering...<br />w/ MTM in episode 2 of season<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">2, which can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjDDJZoTpTg">here</a></span></span></span></b></div>
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Frankly speaking, the second season of "Phyllis" is not as good as the first, in both laughs and overall quality, but season 2 is still a lot of fun. Still, it's not at all surprising that ratings took a nosedive, leading to the eventual cancellation of Phyllis' adventures in San Francisco. She made her final TV appearance on "MTM" during that show's final season. While Mary and Rhoda had their comeback special, Phyllis has never returned to television, not even in a cameo.<br />
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"Rhoda" may have been more consistently funny, "Lou Grant" more novel, and "MTM" more revolutionary. But there's definitely room for consideration of "Phyllis" by today's sitcom audiences. With Cloris Leachman's renewed popularity as a horny grandmother-type on "Dancing with the Stars" and "Raising Hope", it's high time the complete series hits DVD. Up to the challenge, Shout! Factory?<br />
Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-75260401592799601202013-01-10T17:18:00.000-08:002013-01-10T17:18:14.543-08:00Last Night on TCM...: Loretta Young Before the Code<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Making her film debut as a child actress in the early teens before graduating to more adult fare at the ripe age of 15 in Lon Chaney's <b>Laugh, Clown, Laugh </b>(1928), Loretta Young is best remembered today for her Emmy-winning 1950s TV show "The Loretta Young Show", a classy drama anthology series featuring her in lavish gowns and family friendly fare, and winning the Best Actress Oscar in 1947 for <b>The Farmer's Daughter</b>. Young was a lifelong Catholic, her religion informing most of her career decisions, resulting in a beautiful squeaky clean image throughout most of her years in front of the camera. Of course years later, taking into consideration her divorces and her illegitimate daughter with Clark Gable, we know about Loretta's wild side, one she worked hard to keep from the public eye. Adding to the delicious tarnishing of an impossibly flawless image are her works in pre-Code films, putting her in, as Robert Osborne puts it, "salacious situations", ones that years later, after paying her dues and becoming a bigger star, she would never deign to appear in. As TCM's Star of the Month, every Wednesday packs the schedule with some of Young's most interesting and noteworthy films, and tonight is all about the pre-Code naughtiness that I find so irresistible. Almost all are from her first contract studio, First-National, the little company absorbed by Warner Brothers, and one of the best producers of lurid melodramas in the early 1930s.<br />
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<b> </b>Roy del Ruth's <b>Employees' Entrance </b>(1933) has developed a cult following over the years, especially after it appeared as part of MGM/UA's <i>Forbidden Hollywood </i>VHS series, and for good reason. Warren William, a favorite smarmy mustachioed heel in pre-Code films whose career floundered after Hollywood started cleaning up its act, stars as Kurt Anderson, a tyrannical employee at Franklin Monroe & Co., a giant department store he helps profit in the millions. Almost immediately after he threatens his way into a higher executive position, the store begins feeling the effects of the Depression and Anderson begins feeling the fire under his tush as he must continue proving his worth. He fires an elderly employee, and when he jumps out a window summarizes, "When a man outlives his usefulness, he <i>should</i> jump out a window." Young co-stars as Madeline Walters, a beautiful model who Anderson hires for the ladies' department and sleeps with as a reward, an action that comes back to haunt her when she secretly marries Anderson's new assistant (Wallace Ford), giving the vicious bastard ammunition to ruin their lives. Vibrant bleached blonde Alice White, the same year as her two-timing sex scandal virtually destroyed her career, is Polly, a flirtatious employee Anderson uses to seduce an executive to keep him distracted from the hostile takeover of the store.<br />
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Where other studios and films tried to avoid even using the word "Depression", First-National and Warner Brothers' socially-conscious films had no qualms working the poverty and fear of the era into their story lines. A Franklin Monroe board meeting desperate for ideas to save the store is reflective of many real-life meetings that must have taken place in large businesses nationwide. Kurt Anderson is one of the most evil "heroes" the silver screen has ever seen, an early example of an anti-hero that the audience could never root for. Scholars like Thomas Doherty have argued that Anderson is an unusual kind of sympathetic, a man without love in his life and licked by the Depression, which is a rather bold analysis of such a hateful and venomous protagonist. But he might have a point. Del Ruth doesn't punish Anderson by the end of the film, letting the humorless blackmailer off the hook, and reunites the young lovers, infidelity and all, after a suicide attempt. For some reason, this has remained MIA as part of the Warner Archives Collection, but it's one to look out for when it airs on TCM again. Further proof that First-National/WB made the best pre-Code films, <b>Employees' Entrance </b>is one of the most obscure and rewarding gems of the era.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Original <span style="font-size: xx-small;">theatrical trailer for <i>Em<span style="font-size: xx-small;">ployees' Entrance </span></i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(1933)</span></span></span></b><br />
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William Wellman's <b>Heroes for Sale </b>(1933) is a film I saw at Film Forum early last year, double featured with his equally potent drama <b>Wild Boys on the Road </b>(1933), and both are in the top tier of pre-Code films. Revisiting it on TCM, I still maintain that it's one of the best films of the 1930s, politically explosive and socially relevant, even today. Fading silent star Richard Barthelmess, before he left the screen for good, stars as Tom Holmes, a WWI vet who performs a heroic act, is left for dead on the battlefield, and is nursed back to health to return to the US, only to discover that an old friend has taken credit for his heroism. To make matters worse, his medical treatment has resulted in a morphine addiction, which leads to him losing his job and struggling to make a living. The film follows the ups and downs of Tom's life, as he marries beautiful Ruth (our Miss Young), only to lose her in a senseless labor riot tragedy, which also lands him in jail and on the FBI's watch list as he gets out and walks the roads of America with his fellow vets searching for work.<br />
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If someone asked me to name a handful of films to introduce newcomers to the wonders of pre-Code films, <b>Heroes for Sale </b>would be on that short list. Not only does the film feature controversial subjects forbidden in films post-1934 (drug addiction, violence, questioning authority), it contains some of the most poignant scenes capturing life in the Depression that any film, before or since, has ever shown. To say anymore would sound like mere rambling hyperbole, so just take it from me: see this film. It's available on DVD with several other marvelous Wellman pre-Code features, including <b>Wild Boys</b>, and is an essential addition to any classic film fan's library.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Original theatrical trailer for <i>Heroes for Sale </i>(1933)</span></b> <br />
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Young was loaned out to Darryl Zanuck and 20th Century-Fox for one of her last pre-Code wonders, <b>Born to Be Bad </b>(1934). With a title like that, it has to deliver the tantalizing goods, right before the Production Code cracked down on films like this, featuring unwed mothers, immoral behavior, and rebellious attitudes. We first see our heroine, Letty Strong, in a stunning gown, drinking champagne and surrounded by male admirers at a swanky club in the opening sequence. The next shot: Letty in revealing lingerie in her bedroom. Yep, this is pre-Code all right. And just look at that poster above! When she isn't living the high life of a party girl, Letty is a single mother dealing with an unruly young son named Mickey (Jackie Kelk) who is constantly skipping school and causing trouble. She has a confidante named Fuzzy (Henry Travers), who helped the poor unwed mother when she was down on her luck (Mickey was born in the backroom of his bookstore), and a procurer named Steve who books her "appointments". Wild boy Mickey is run over by a milk truck driven by president of the dairy company, Malcolm Trevor (pre-stardom Cary Grant), giving Letty the wise idea to get Mickey to lie about his injuries to fleece Trevor of more money. The plan backfires, resulting in Mickey being taken from Letty and placed in a boys' home. Re-enter Malcolm, who adopts Mickey in order for Letty to be able to see her son on a regular basis. But this girl still has some bad left in her, as she tries to use her body and blackmail to get Mickey back on a permanent basis. As Malcolm says, "You're bad, bad all the way through. You're just a beautiful bad girl." Indeed!<br />
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<b>Born to Be Bad </b>is especially surprising considering it doesn't seem to even try hiding the fact that Letty is a prostitute. She refers to her clients by their hometowns (Detroit, St. Louis) and has phone conversations with Steve setting up her next tricks. But apparently, even with such controversial and obvious scenes, the film was plagued with censorship problems from the get-go, reportedly re-written and re-shot to please the Hays Office. All said and done, it doesn't seem to have made much difference; the film is still full of alarming sexiness and innuendo, as well as a cliched Jewish lawyer sure to raise eyebrows. Young is quite amazing in a role that must have been a challenge to her delicate sensibilities, speechifying about her rough past and her right to raise a child to face the world with strength and decency, and it's interesting to see her work with Cary Grant a full decade before they re-teamed for their enduring classic <b>The Bishop's Wife </b>(1947). Running a brief 62 minutes, the film just flies by and is a pleasant last gap of pre-Code badness.<br />
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Young worked again with director Wellman in <b>Midnight Mary </b>(1933), another film included in the pre-Code set with <b>Heroes for Sale</b>. While Wellman is remembered today mostly for his work on testosterone-driven films like <b>Wings </b>(1927), <b>Blood Alley </b>(1955), and <b>The Story of G.I. Joe </b>(1945), his films with women in the 1930s are exceptional and, for my money, the best of his career. Wellman's women are tough, no-nonsense, and frequently atypical of their contemporaries. Both Wellman and Young were borrowed from First-National/WB by MGM to make this one, and it pales in comparison to their work at their home studio, but it's still a good time to be had by those seeking Depression-era melodrama.<br />
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Introduced reading <i>Cosmo </i>while waiting for a jury to decide whether she's guilty of murder, Mary Martin (Young) sits with the court clerk (Charley Grapewin), remembering her past as it plays out before our eyes. Her mother dies when she is 9, she is caught for stealing and thrown into reform school, and gets out only to become a teenage prostitute walking the streets. But deep down, Mary is a good girl. She accidentally plays lookout for a hoodlum boyfriend of hers and guiltily donates her $50 pay-off to the Salvation Army. Anxious to get a decent job and pull herself out of poverty, she finds herself drawn back into the world of gangsters and crime by her girlfriend Bunny (Una Merkel), becoming the bitter kept moll of Leo Darcy (Ricardo Cortez). Seductive lawyer Tom Mannering (Franchot Tone, around the time he started dating Joan Crawford) offers her a way out, paying for secretarial school and helping her move towards her dream of becoming a businesswoman, and of course the pair fall in love. But there's no escaping your past, as Mary is tossed in jail for not squealing on the whereabouts of wanted man Leo and hooks back up with the louse upon her release.<br />
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In a role written by Anita Loos for MGM contract player Jean Harlow (who passed on it), Young does well with a multi-layered character, but at times self-consciously acts as if she knows she's replacing someone with more star power. Wellman, used to flying by the seat of his pants with quick shooting schedules and B-movie budgets, doesn't seem to be having much of a good time, either. Because this is MGM, the Depression presented here has a glossy look to it, robbing it of the sense of realism that First-National/WB brought to similar stories of girls gone bad around the same time. Amusing character actor Warren Hymer is fun as a comic relief hood, Andy Devine gives his trademark whine as Tom's buddy Sammy, and the marvelous Louise Beavers is (of course) wasted as Anna, Mary's maid. With plentiful innuendo and some fine characterizations, <b>Midnight Mary </b>isn't a complete waste, but it's not indicative of the kind of fun to be had with films of its type.<br />
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And we're back where pre-Code belongs, First National/WB, with <b>They Call It Sin </b>(1932). What a title, and what a delicious little morsel! Stranded in Merton, Kansas on a stopover during a business trip, Jimmy Decker (David Manners, the year after <b>Dracula</b>) becomes taken with lovely church organist and aspiring songwriter Marion Cullen (Young), a vibrant young girl whose parents feel that her spirited ways are downright sinful. Yeah, smiling a lot and walking down the street with a boy would really piss God off. Upon learning that the Cullens aren't really her parents, and her true mother was a trashy singer who made a pit stop in town while touring with her band, Marion decides to go for it and escape to New York City, where Jimmy will surely be happy to see her. She arrives to find Jimmy engaged to perky Enid Hollister (Helen Vinson), despite his continued feelings for her, and hits the pavement looking for work in the music business, pursued by Jimmy's best friend, Dr. Tony Travers (romantic lead favorite George Brent). A third man enters her life in the form of sleazy theatrical producer Ford Humphries (go-to villain Louis Calhern), providing Marion with a multitude of choices in her search for happiness and success.<br />
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Women in the Depression would kill for the opportunities given Marion in this film! At every turn, she finds herself presented with some new exciting possibility in work or romance, and this is what makes pre-Code films such interesting vehicles for their female protagonists. Even when they succumb to sinful temptation, it is often for good reason: the American dream. Young feels right at home as small-town goodie two-shoes Marion, and she is surrounded by great company. The male cast is like a Mt. Rushmore of handsome in the 1930s: George Brent, David Manners, and Louis Calhern. Triple swoon! Una Merkel, misused in <b>Midnight Mary</b>, is simply marvelous as Dixie Dare, the Southern belle dancer who adopts Marion in their mutual search for work in Manhattan. Hollywood never gave her the leading roles she deserved, but as a comic character actress, she proved memorable in almost everything. She appears here in a sultry scene prancing around in her underwear. Add always-great character actor Roscoe Karns (Shapely in <b>It Happened One Night</b>) to the mix and you've got a doozy of a cast in a delightfully compact little winner!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Three-minute preview clip of <i>They Call It Sin </i>(1932)</span></b> <br />
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You'll need to prepare yourself for <b>The Hatchet Man </b>(1932). A film focused on Tong wars among Chinese immigrants in 1930s San Francisco, every key role is played by a white actor. Warner Brothers apparently could not (or would not) enlist the talents of Anna May Wong or anyone else of legitimate Chinese descent for a film without white characters. An opening credits crawl gives historical background to the Tong wars in San Francisco, described as having the largest Chinese population outside of the homeland. The "hatchet man" is defined as being the dispenser of justice, essentially a hired killer assigned targets by the leaders of a Tong. As hatchet man Wong Low Get, Edward G. Robinson is ordered to kill his childhood friend Sun Yat Ming (J. Carroll Naish), who forgives him before the deed but asks that Wong raise his daughter Toya (Young). Things get complicated and weird when Toya comes of age and Wong proposes to her...er, okay...but when he becomes distracted by a new Tong war, she begins a relationship with younger Tong gangster Harry (Leslie Fenton). Wong is expelled from the Tong for allowing the pair to elope and to regain his honor, he treks to China to right the wrong done to him.<br />
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Wellman, who had previously tackled Tong wars in the unusual silent-talkie hybrid <b>Chinatown Nights </b>(1929), develops beautiful atmosphere in the San Francisco streets and slums, as he did in that earlier film. The beheading execution scene of Yat Ming is nicely cross-cut with infant Toya's doll's head falling off, and there are some grotesque moments of uneasy violence throughout the film (including perhaps the best pre-Code ending of all). The political incorrectness of <b>Hatchet Man</b> makes it relatively difficult to watch in many scenes, especially with the ludicrous makeup used on Robinson, Young, and Fenton. One wonders why, if the unproduced play it was based on was purchased by WB, they didn't just translate the general storyline into an American gangster story, where it would have worked just as well. No one involved with this one looks back on it without embarrassment, and while it's not that much of a mess, it's pretty compellingly bad.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Watch the whole movie <i>The Hatchet Man </i>(1932), if you dare...</span></b> <br />
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Young is back in the department store in <b>Play-Girl </b>(1932), a lovely salesgirl working with her best friend, wisecracking blonde Georgine (top-billed songstress Winnie Lightner, in one of only a handful of films before marrying director Roy del Ruth). Georgine and Buster are two young women eking out a living working behind the store counter, Buster in infant wear and Georgine in (gulp) plumbing supplies. They live in a tiny apartment in New York City while trying to land the perfect man. While Georgine sidles up to fellow employee Finky (brilliant character actor Guy Kibbee) in an effort to get out of plumbing, Buster is wooed by humorous charmer Wally (Norman Foster), and the quartet goes on a camping vacation together. Buster and Wally marry, but she discovers on their honeymoon that he's a career gambler, causing her to cast him out when she becomes pregnant and she doesn't trust him to support her and the baby. Of course this being the Depression, she falls on hard times and has to start gambling herself to pay her bills.<br />
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The best thing about pre-Code films is that, for the most part, they clock in between 60 and 75 minutes, so the pacing is quick, the dialogue snappy, and the stories engaging. This one runs an hour and is great fun the whole way through. It runs the emotional gamut from gut-busting comedy to heart-breaking tragedy, which says a lot for its brief running time. "I don't want a good time. I just want to be safe." is a statement that perfectly describes the women in pre-Code films, and the working woman heroine of <b>Play-Girl </b>is one of Young's finest. She might be the pretty center of the film, but it's Lightner who's the star of the show. Her loud New Yawk voice is perfect for delivering one zinger after another, reminding me of Ethel Merman but tolerable. Georgine's tete-a-tete's with fellow shopgirl Edna (Dorothy Burgess) are classic. Asking to see Buster's new apartment's bedroom, Edna cracks, "You usually do." Georgine turns it right around: "You should know. I run into you coming out." Zing! On the flipside, Buster's final childbirth scene is made all the more moving by the character's reveal that her mother died giving birth to her, so her tears and terror are very potent and beautifully acted by Young. On a final note, it's fun to see that the department store boss is played by Dr. Van Helsing (Edward van Sloan).<br />
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The earliest film of the evening, <b>The Ruling Voice </b>(1931), is barely a Loretta Young film, but is an interesting entry in First National's gangster cycle..though it isn't really about the rat-a-tat-tat gangsters familiar from <b>Little Caesar </b>(1930) and <b>The Public Enemy </b>(1931). A series of Depression-era newspaper headlines remind us that costs are going up at the same rate as unemployment, and we are clued in as to what informs the rising prices of, well, everything. Jack Bannister (Walter Huston), working behind the front of a contracting business, runs the biggest protection racket in the country, using force to extort money from grocers, dairies, newspapers, etc. These businesses have to raise prices in order to survive as well as pay off Bannister's goons. Throwing a snag into Bannister's business as usual is the return of his estranged daughter Gloria (Young), who returns from going to school in Europe with a rich fiancee in tow, Dick Cheney (yes, that's his name, and he's played by David Manners, who would appear with Young again in <b>They Call It Sin</b>). When Gloria learns of her father's secret syndicate, she turns her back on him, causing trouble in her engagement in the process and speaking to Bannister's guilty conscience.<br />
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Going into <b>The Ruling Voice </b>expecting 1) a Loretta Young film or 2) a gangster movie will result in sure disappointment. Young looks lovely and is quite moving in a few scenes, but that's to be expected, and her subplot really drags down what could have been a compelling crime drama. Huston is quite good as a sophisticated alternative to the usual film gangsters, but he's no sneering Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, or Paul Muni, meaning he lacks a certain magnetism that goes hand in hand with the best criminals of pre-Code cinema. The mix of family melodrama and Depression-era institutional crime is ultimately kind of a letdown. Silent star Doris Kenyon is excellent as a wealthy customer of Bannister's, and another of the most reliable and talented character actors of the era, Willard Robertson, has a great bit as a traitor to Bannister's business. Dudley Digges (who was positively frightful in Oriental get-up in <b>The Hatchet Man</b>) recalls the best Charles Laughton as Bannister's personal assistant, and figures into some of the film's humorous moments. Despite the pacing problems, there is some great photography here, as well as a handful of memorable tense moments, and the performances make it worth seeing for the curious.<br />
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The final Loretta Young vehicle of the night, <b>She Had to Say Yes </b>(1933), pairs Young again with the marvelous Winnie Lightner as well as another popular pre-Code leading man, Lyle Talbot, who like Warren William ended up in films of much lesser quality after 1934's Code enforcement. Talbot is best-known today for appearing in the films of Ed Wood, but he was a dashing figure in films like <b>Three on a Match </b>(1932), <b>20,000 Years in Sing Sing </b>(1932), and <b>Ladies They Talk About </b>(1933). He also helped found SAG, though that piece of important history is often forgotten when examining his career. And believe it or not, this was Busby Berkeley's directorial debut!<br />
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It's back to the workplace, a favorite locale for First National/WB women , in this case the boutique Sol Glass & Co. Sex is on the brain from the opening sequence as a pair of shapely legs put on some nylons in close-up and women parade in front of double mirrors in revealing lingerie and dresses (designed by Orry-Kelly, responsible for almost all of Young's outfits in tonight's films). Executive Tommy Nelson (Regis Toomey) is introduced with lipstick on his cheek from a phone booth rendezvous with his secretary, Flo Denny (Young, in perhaps her most sexual screen entrance). It seems the company is suffering from dwindling sales, but in a board meeting, Tommy picks up on the fact that their biggest clients are taking advantage of the female clothing models without following through with purchases. Rather than pair clients up with flighty dress girls, the company proposes that, in exchange for a bonus and commission, the girls in the stenography pool be paired up with clients in the hopes of them following through and landing sales. Essentially the ladies become playgirls with the company as a very powerful pimp; officially they are called "customer girls". Initially Tommy refuses to let Flo participate, but when he slyly convinces her to go out with Danny Drew (Talbot) so he can two-time her with catty blonde Birdie (Suzanne Kilborn), little does he expect the sparks that will fly between the duo. After Danny attempts to date rape Flo (!), he sees that she really isn't in on the customer girl scam, and begins to develop genuine feelings for her.<br />
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Filled with sexism, but also surprising commentary on women in the Depression-era working world, <b>She Had to Say Yes </b>is bold and shocking in its title alone. The fact is that, actually, she didn't have to say yes. All the women in the film are asked, not told, if they would be interested in the customer girl system, and not all of them participate. When offered the quite lucrative deal of being paid commission on any sales gained through their dating clients, it ends up being a pretty impressive way for the women to exert their sexuality and establish financial security solely due to their gender. They essentially save the company! The idea of Flo warming to the guy who was ready to take advantage of her may seem outrageous, but...it's Lyle Talbot. He's irresistible, folks, and he wouldn't ditch her for a bleached blonde floozy like Birdie. Young is also almost raped by a drunken Tommy, making this maybe the most victimized character she ever played. As in <b>Play-Girl</b>, Winnie Lightner is an absolute scream! Called up by Flo as she frets about what to do when Drew brings her back to his hotel room, she exclaims, "What do I think you should do? Hey do you want 'em to take out my telephone?" She should have been a star, and it's sad that not only did she retire and never look back (no interviews with her exist, that I've found), but her husband, pre-Code director par excellence Roy del Ruth, didn't make films as great as when he did pre-1934. Some may say the same about Loretta Young, whose bright smile and impressive range were perhaps at their best before the Code allowed her to melt into the soft and safe persona she embraced to her death.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Brie<span style="font-size: xx-small;">f clip of Loretta Youn<span style="font-size: xx-small;">g, Winnie Lightner, and sexual innu<span style="font-size: xx-small;">endo in <i>She Had to Say Yes </i>(1933)</span></span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The incredible Winnie Lightner throwing out one-liners like a pro in <i>She Had to Say Yes </i>(1933) </span></span></span></b></span>Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-34286416608759064142013-01-09T20:28:00.000-08:002013-01-09T20:28:13.163-08:00Last Night on TCM...: Casino Crime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The TCM Spotlight this month is on great caper films. You know, films with taut suspenseful robberies or crimes pulled off in the nick of time, or unsuccessfully when the law intervenes. A genre that saw revitalization with the 2001 remake of one of tonight's films (Steven Soderbergh's <b>Ocean's Eleven</b>, as well as its subsequent sequels), there's a certain something about the good old days of elaborately staged heists that keeps us coming back to the classics: <b>The Asphalt Jungle</b> (1950), <b>The Killing </b>(1956), <b>Rififi</b> (1955). It must be because these crimes were pulled off with frequent cinematic grace by some of the most skilled directors Hollywood has ever seen. Of course not every film in this TCM Spotlight is a star of the genre, as seen in tonight's spotlight on Casino Crime.<br />
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<b>Ocean's Eleven </b>(1960) is the code name for the 82nd Airborne, a group of men who, 15 years after the end of WWII, decide to have a most unusual kind of army buddy reunion. The old gang, led by Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra, exuding martini glass class) and his right hand man Sam Harmon (Dean Martin before his pickled years), are recruited for a big casino heist in Las Vegas. Not just one casino, but <i>five </i>in one night, New Year's Eve to be precise. Flown in from all corners of the nation are Jimmy Foster (dashing Peter Lawford), one-eyed soul brother Josh Howard (Sammy Davis, Jr.), stone-faced Roger Corneal (Henry Silva, at the start of a long career of low-budget film heavies), goofy 'Curly' Steffans (B-movie character actor Richard Benedict), 'Mugsy' O'Connors (a petrified Joey Bishop), wisecracking Peter Rheimer (a pre-Mr. Roper Norman Fell), cowboy Louis Jackson (westerns regular Clem Harvey), and Vince Massler (stand-up comic Buddy Lester). The final man, Tony Bergdorf (Richard Conte), is sprung early from a 1-5 stint in prison, and takes on the mission for melodramatic reasons; he is suffering from a terminal heart disease and wants to put his son through college after his death. The mastermind behind the heist is Greek tycoon Spyros Acebos (hammy Akim Tamiroff), who also funds the operation.<br />
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Lewis Milestone, active since the silent era and best known for his action flicks, is an odd choice to direct this ultimate Rat Pack film that is better known for its cast than its cinematic quality. Who needs a good movie when you have Sinatra, Lawford, Martin, Bishop, and Davis, Jr.? At the risk of sounding like a heretic, Soderbergh's re-imagining of this comic adventure is far more satisfying than the original, even with Julia Roberts as a poor stand-in for Angie Dickinson (not really a fair trade, though they're mildly similar). What stops <b>Ocean's Eleven </b>from being a great caper film is the fact that it's not really a caper film. It's a personality film, built on the star persona of its ensemble cast. Thankfully this doesn't mean the movie is a complete waste. The chemistry between the eleven is incredibly suave and sophisticated, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Even though the plan isn't fully fleshed out or even plausible, the charisma of the cast sells it...only barely. To be sure, this is not an unjustly maligned caper feature. There are more than enough reasons to dislike it. The movie stops cold for songs from Davis, Jr. in his introductory scene, Martin serenading a bunch of maids in his hotel and acting as distracting entertainment during the heist singing "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", but somehow refrains from allowing Sinatra to croon. The romantic subplot attempting to reunite Danny and his estranged wife Beatrice (Angie Dickinson, in her youth resembling and sounding like Robin Wright Penn) tends to be hokey and awash with silly lines ("I just woke up one morning and realized there was nothing underneath us but thin air"). I will give Beatrice credit for some choice barbs when Danny's mistress phones her at home. Even with Mrs. Ocean providing some bite to the proceedings, no offense to womankind but unless you're involved with the crime itself, make yourself scarce in heist films, ladies. Your roles will be thankless and the audience views you as a distraction from the real thrust of the film. Take into further consideration Ilka Chase as Foster's mother, whose sole purpose in the narrative is to be engaged to Duke Santos, a retired gangster (delightfully smarmy Cesar Romero) who catches wind of the heist and demands a percentage of the stolen money to keep him from exposing their crime.<br />
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Overlong at 127 minutes, Milestone could have easily tightened this to a much better 100-minute feature. Still, if you've been avoiding this film for whatever reason, you don't need to put off seeing it any longer. Fun cameos by Red Skelton as himself (trying to exceed his limit at one of the casinos), former gangster film regular George Raft as a casino owner who calls Duke in for advising on the robbery, and Shirley Maclaine, the sole female member of the Rat Pack, as a drunk party girl cement the generally good time to be had with Ocean and his eleven. It really is cool, cats.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Original theatrical trailer for <i>Ocean's El<span style="font-size: xx-small;">even </span></i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(19<span style="font-size: xx-small;">60)</span></span></b></span><br />
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The same year as Milestone's light-hearted all-star color hit from Warner Brothers, 20th Century-Fox's veteran contract director, Henry Hathaway, provided a more serious black-and-white alternative, <b>Seven Thieves </b>(1960). Replacing Vegas with Monte Carlo, and downplaying the star power while also escalating the talent level (sorry, Rat Pack), Hathaway's film is a marvelous surprise that has remained practically ignored in discussion of caper films over the years.<br />
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Fresh out of the clink and anxious to return to America, Paul Mason (Rod Steiger, superb as always) meets up with old friend Theo Wilkins (Edward G. Robinson, also predictably wonderful), a disgraced scientist and professor who has retreated to Monte Carlo to lick his wounds. His vacation time has led to him hatching an interesting business opportunity for Paul, or as he puts it, "a dramatically unique venture in piracy." A heist of $4 million in francs from Monte Carlo's most prestigious casino, using a team of seven, is Wilkins' plan to "make the world gasp one more time." He has already enlisted the aid of Poncho (post-<b>Baby Doll</b>, pre-<b>Ugly</b> Eli Wallach), a club saxophone
player, and Melanie (a very young Joan Collins), the club's dancer, who
performs the worst routine I've ever seen (and I watch Something Weird
striptease movies). Insider Raymond Le May (Alexander Scourby), executive secretary to the casino's director (magnificently bearded Sebastian Cabot), is smitten with Melanie, and goes along with the plan to prove his love for her. Handsome gigolo Louis Antonizzi (Michael Dante, the town pervert in <b>The Naked Kiss</b>), an expert in blowing safes, and sinister muscle Hugo Baumer (popular villain Berry Kroeger) complete the septet with Paul's acceptance of the offer. The scheme is to pose as famous aristocrats for an annual ball held at the casino, providing them inside access to the safe. Naturally, the mission doesn't go off without a few hitches or two...<br />
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Based on a novel by Max Cotto and written by the film's producer, Sydney Boehm, <b>Seven Thieves </b>excels most impressively in the dialogue department. Asked to have faith in the original plan, Paul retorts, "Cemeteries are full of people who had faith." He is full of delicious bons mot like these, which keep the pre-heist half of the film consistently entertaining. When the heist is underway, Hathaway's taut direction (including choice removals of musical score from suspenseful moments) provides edge of your seat suspense as Paul and Louis scale the casino's wall, dangling above a mile-high cliff, and narrowly avoid activating an alarm sensor, Melanie's identity fraud is threatened, and an important cyanide capsule jeopardizes the success of the heist. Performances are all around excellent, with special notice necessarily paid to Collins, who some forget was an admirable ingenue and actress before she became the campy queen of mean in the 1970s and 1980s. Superb pacing, beautiful CinemaScope photography, a sharp script and interesting characters, and a nail-biting heist make this one of the best caper films you've never seen, even with an anti-climactic ending.<br />
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Better than both 1960 films is Jean-Pierre Melville's <b>Bob le Flambeur </b>(1955), a classic deserving of its acclaim. A financial failure upon its release, the film was praised by critics Truffaut and Godard and developed a cult following over the years, counting among its members Stanley Kubrick, who reportedly vowed to give up making crime films after seeing <b>Bob </b>because he believed Melville had perfected the genre. Melville, one of the masters of French cinema, whether you've heard of him or not, borrows from American crime films of the 1940s and early 1950s, but with a distinctive Gallic twist that makes this a uniquely thrilling yarn.<br />
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Living in the rundown Montmarte district of 1950s Paris is Bob, a has-been hood respected and admired by everyone in the neighborhood, even as he swirls deeper and deeper into dire financial straits due to a gambling problem. Out of a cunning sense of desperation to make one last grasp at success, he hatches a scheme to rob a Deauville casino on the night of the Grand Prix, recruiting his old friend Roger, inside man Jean, and young Paolo, the impressionable son of a former partner-in-crime,as well as a pair of gunmen. Funding the operation is the sinister McKimmie (played by future Jess Franco regular Howard Vernon). Thrown into the mix is Anne, a beautiful young prostitute rescued from the streets by Bob and pushed into Paolo's bed as a potential companion. The heat is on when Anne accidentally reveals the heist plan to Marc, a slimy pimp anxious to give the cops a hot tip to save his own ski, and Jean's scheming wife (shades of marvelous Marie Windsor in Kubrick's <b>The Killing</b>) catches wind of the plan and demands her husband get a larger cut of the score.<br />
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The genius of Melville's film is that its suspense is not in the heist itself, but the interaction between the characters discussing and leading up to the crime. These are desperate men, anxious to prove themselves to their friends, their women, the world, and this one 800 million franc robbery will leave them made in the shade for life. This desperation is what drives the film, as Melville places his characters in shabby apartments, fleapit bars, and scummy streets, recalling American pre-Code crime films of the 1930s. Even Bob's detective pal feeds into this aura of desperation as he frantically searches for his friend to stop him from sure self-destruction. It's quite a film that has the audience anxious for the heist to be pulled off one minute, then rooting for it to be stopped the next. Melville would prove most successful as a director of crime films, including such wonderful offerings as <b>Le Samourai </b>(1967), <b>Le Doulos </b>(1962), and <b>Le Cercle Rouge </b>(1970), and with its inventive editing, absorbing cinematography, and convincing and caring characterizations, <b>Bob le Flambeur </b>is a perfect introduction to his oeuvre.<br />
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And then there was <b>Kaleidoscope </b>(1966)... Sigh...how do you follow up three good, sometimes great, caper films with a psychedelic 60s genre entry? It's a definite change of pace, part smarmy playboy travelogue, part Bond-inspired crime thriller, and not an entirely successful melange of genres. The film co-stars Warren Beatty and Susannah York, so at least delivers on the suave and slinky visual appeal. But with sluggish pacing in the first half, TV director Jack Smight's eye-popping color caper <br />
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Worldly playboy Barney Lincoln (Beatty) takes cheating at cards to a whole 'nother level when he breaks into a playing card company and marks the original printing plates, following the cards as they make their way through the top casinos in Europe and making a killing at the tables. He begins romancing swinging Carnaby Street boutique owner Angel McGinnis (York), whose father, Scotland Yard inspector "Manny" McGinnis (<b>The Legend of Hell House</b>'s Clive Revill), recognizes his scam and aims to blackmail him into using it to his advantage. Arch villain, drug kingpin Harry Dominion (<b>Hands of the Ripper</b>'s Eric Porter), is at the top of Manny's hit list, so a plan is hatched to bankrupt Dominion's crime empire through a simple game of poker with Lincoln's marked cards. Sound familiar?<br /><br />
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Much has been made by contemporary Bond fans of the similarities between this film and Ian Fleming's original "Casino Royale" novel, which makes for interesting trivia but only really applies to the film's much more successful second half. Before the true purpose of the film's narrative is revealed, we're subjected to obnoxious sequences of Beatty winning big and wooing York, who starts as an intriguing character before becoming a rather lame romantic interest. It is the second half that saves <b>Kaleidoscope </b>from utter mediocrity, with its campy super villain (who eliminates a traitor with a flamethrower), Scotland Yard heroism (McGinnis is a charming, nervy authority figure), and a finally likable hero. In an attempt to appeal to the hip youthful generation of the late 1960s, kaleidoscopic transitions, bright flashy color gels, and a sitar score are added to what is otherwise a fairly conventional comic thriller. Jane Birkin (in <b>Blow-Up </b>the same year) appears as an excitable boutique customer, and dig those craaaazy zooms, man! The last film Beatty made before <b>Bonnie and Clyde </b>(1967) transformed him into an entirely different kind of Hollywood personality, this is maybe best viewed as a transition piece between the challenging character pieces he frequented in the earlier half of the decade and the decade in which he would work with many American auteurs, influencing his eventual move behind the camera. Not an essential film to seek out, but if you'd like to see what many claim is "the original <b>Casino Royale</b>", by all means grab the Warner Archive Collection release.<br />
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The final film of the night, airing in the wee hours of the morning, was <b>5 Against the House </b>(1955), an obscure Columbia thriller released on DVD as part of the Columbia Film Noir Classics Collection. Whatta cast! A pre-<b>Vertigo </b>Kim Novak is the sexual centerpiece, but the other four "against the house" are handsome piece of 50s cinema furniture Guy Madison, Brian Keith before "Family Affair" neutered him, gay actor Kerwin Matthews shortly before he went on <b>The 7th Voyage of Sinbad</b>, and Alvy Moore (who later teamed up with L.Q. Jones to produce independent horror films like <b>The Witchmaker </b>and <b>The Brotherhood of Satan</b>).<br />
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Al, Brick, Roy, and Ronnie, four former G.I. buddies, take a break from college for a night at a casino, where they witness the arrest of a hold-up man who underestimates the house security. For kicks, the group decides to head back and rob the casino, except they won't keep the money (huh?), labeling it as a psychological experiment. Uh...ok.... The plan takes a turn when Brick decides to keep the money and uses a gun to get his point across. The fifth person against the house is Al's fiancee Kay, dragged into the plan solely to involve a woman in the plot. Along for the ride is TV favorite William Conrad, a great noir face in 1946's <b>The Killlers</b> before tracking down criminals as "Cannon" and "Nero Wolfe", forced to aid the group in the heist.<br />
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Yeah...this is a turd of a movie. Columbia, an indie studio that produced more than its fair share of underrated features in the golden age of Hollywood, churned out a sorely disappointing film that is neither noir nor caper. Stirling Silliphant's first screenplay might have played out nicely slimmed down as a 50s TV anthology play, but there is no logic behind the characters or their motivations, except for Brick. Perhaps the whole film should have simply been about Brick falling on the wrong side of the law. His unresolved issues of Korean War combat shock result in violent outbursts, scenes that elevate the film's general light tone into something of interest. As Brick, Brian Keith is the star of the show. No one else makes any real impression, which is further disappointing considering the cast's pedigree. Hell there are two musical numbers for no reason, both dubbed by Jo Ann Greer because Novak is no singer. And the ending is beyond ridiculous. <b>5 Against the House </b>is nothing special, but the DVD collection it's a part of is essential.Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-56380279380230872002013-01-08T17:06:00.002-08:002019-12-04T10:19:55.271-08:00Last Night on TCM...: Guest Programmer Bill Paxton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the most intriguing and entertaining monthly events on Turner Classic Movies' schedule is the Guest Programmer night. It gives viewers a chance to see the films that contemporary actors, directors, and other personalities (critics, bloggers, the viewers themselves) would choose if they could program a night of classic films with significant and/or sentimental value. Not only does it reveal the wide appeal and influence of films of yesteryear, but it provides a window into the off-screen personalities of the programmers, who in some cases you would never guess know the first thing about their cinematic predecessors. There are very few instances I can remember where a guest programmer picked glaringly obvious films of the past (Raquel Welch and Cloris Leachman among them). Tim Roth scheduled the obscure and wonderful British indie <b>Cathy, Come Home </b>(1966), "SNL" funny man Bill Hader selected the oddball Robert Altman offering <b>Brewster McCloud </b>(1970), and of all Preston Sturges' classics, Sally Field picked perhaps the most frequently overlooked, <b>The Miracle of Morgan's Creek </b>(1944). If there is one night to check out TCM, I'd recommend the Guest Programmer schedule. It wisely connects contemporary sensibilities to the sometimes hard to sell world of classic films, making otherwise inaccessible films appealing to a wider audience.<br />
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January 7's guest programmer Bill Paxton, best-known for his character roles in the James Cameron films <b>Aliens </b>(1986) and <b>True Lies </b>(1994), is someone I've admired from his work in the self-directed, and still underrated, <b>Frailty </b>(2002) and HBO's engaging polygamy melodrama "Big Love" (2006-2011). With his Midwestern accent and aw-shucks persona, one could easily predict an entirely different lineup of films than the ones he actually did choose to spotlight last night. Paxton made wise selections, two foreign classics and two oft-neglected films of the 1970s New American Cinema.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHof7og3snuipFL580Xus8QubQz4oIAGZv7l7CGNqYyfLSivowiPow8eLVwIJ4TASPwpI1Bcwa-fRmskS4F-GDbrqHCe54IiOCxL5cx-vMRcdo4Dor2qooFpySD6WMot7kbEHF8b9x4y8/s1600/juliet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHof7og3snuipFL580Xus8QubQz4oIAGZv7l7CGNqYyfLSivowiPow8eLVwIJ4TASPwpI1Bcwa-fRmskS4F-GDbrqHCe54IiOCxL5cx-vMRcdo4Dor2qooFpySD6WMot7kbEHF8b9x4y8/s320/juliet2.jpg" width="320" /></a>After discussing his father's love of film influencing his tastes over the years, Paxton introduces <b>Juliet of the Spirits </b>(1965), a film he first saw at 18, driving all the way from Ft. Worth, TX to Hollywood to see it. Even all these years later, Federico Fellini seems under-discussed for my film school tastes. Perhaps it's because the French New Wave, Welles, and Hitchcock seem to receive the lion's share of scholarly attention these days, leaving auteurs previously lauded in the 1970s (Bergman, Truffaut, De Sica) to followers of the Criterion Collection. Unlike other directors of his era, Fellini seems to truly adore film as an artist's canvas. He has tremendous fun with visual style and storytelling, even in frequently incomprehensible films like <b>Satyricon </b>(1969). I will admit, I was not an immediate fan of Fellini's work. It seemed pretentious and rang false when viewed at a young age. As I grow older, revisiting them reveals some of the genuine treasures of world cinema. Once you see and love one of his films, you will want to see all of them. For my money, Fellini's masterpiece is his most personal, <b>Amarcord </b>(1973), a film detailing the beauty and tragedy of wistful nostalgia (and the only Fellini film to bring me to tears), but <b>Juliet</b>, his first color film, is a clear frontrunner in his filmography. All directors should have had such a delightful, masterful introduction to color, but <b>Juliet </b>is a unique beast that continues to reward viewers with multiple viewings. While a few of Fellini's other films have arrived on Blu-Ray, the one that would work as a great test disc for your new player and 16x9 TV would be<b> Juliet</b>, if and when it finally appears on the format. I envy Paxton being able to see this candy-colored wonder on the big screen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprsCdoNMk9yQP7a5dxwgpw2osZa_JGbp_JOYcKumKeVwojrjwfhK6SopHZNqxf7pSz9DMC-y_lKw5kdYehmKF6Mbqtr8UP4_-OwSZVN7ybTDgb0_M1TlbJaGd-TLRSquJK4hx-bu0tZs/s1600/juliet3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprsCdoNMk9yQP7a5dxwgpw2osZa_JGbp_JOYcKumKeVwojrjwfhK6SopHZNqxf7pSz9DMC-y_lKw5kdYehmKF6Mbqtr8UP4_-OwSZVN7ybTDgb0_M1TlbJaGd-TLRSquJK4hx-bu0tZs/s320/juliet3.png" width="320" /></a>On the evening of their 15th wedding anniversary, Giulietta (Fellini's wife, Giuletta Mesina, one of many cast and character names crossing the line between fact and fiction) and her husband Giorgio have their closest friends over for a surprise party. One of their guests, a renowned medium, oversees a seance that seems to bring a spirit named Iris into the participants' midst. From that moment, Giulietta begins having unusual visions and dreams, connecting her to another realm, perhaps an alternate universe, informed by her distrust of her husband and memories of past and current relationships with family, friends, and lovers. An unusual encounter with an elderly clairvoyant, a visit by a seductive yet sinister Spanish friend of Giorgio's, and an extravagant passion play are only a few of the unusual set pieces Fellini asks the audience to absorb. <b>Juliet </b>is, like most of Fellini's films, not grounded by narrative. He provides the vaguest hint of a story on which to hang his striking visual tableaux, letting his camera run wild capturing entrancing outdoor scenarios and the lavish yet empty homes of the vapid wealthy. His focus on mysticism veers into the ludicrous, not unintentionally, and overall this is not a film that many viewers will like or maybe even be able to tolerate on first viewing. But it just may grow on you as it has on me. Fans of European exploitation will no doubt recognize Milena Vukotic (<b>Blood for Dracula</b>) as Giulietta's maid Elisabetta, Valentina Cortese (<b>The Girl who Knew Too Much</b>) as Giulietta's theatrical best friend Valentina, Mary Arden (<b>Blood and Black Lace</b>) on a black-and-white television set, and of course Sylva Koscina, who began her career in peplums and would continue appearing nude into her 50s, as (surprise) Sylva, Giulietta's flighty and vivacious actress neighbor.<br />
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<b>The Spirit of the Beehive </b>(1973) is a decidedly more obscure title that perhaps only Criterion worshipers know about. Paxton saw this film first via an awful quality VHS tape lent to him by Jim Brown, one of his NYU professors (wow, Paxton and I share an alma mater). Taking place near the end of the Spanish Civil War (a conflict that would also influence Spanish cinema through the decade that produced this film), a small village is visited by a traveling roadshow projectionist, carrying a print of James Whale's <b>Frankenstein </b>(1931). The film delights and terrifies the town's children, making the greatest impression on young Ana (Ana Torrent, giving one of the most natural and winning child performances in film), the daughter of Fernando, a local beekeeper, and his wife Teresa. Ana's sister, Isabel, tells her that she has seen the Monster in an abandoned farmhouse outside the village, leading the inquisitive girl to seek out the movie monster for herself. To give away more would take away from the pleasure of experiencing this film for the first time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpJlZiyAOx_DZxQzm08enPPVaII6ufw9Jl4Nv6rbrqQDiWBsq7YpWepEERMOka3MxmRhgAsYxeVmrjJWga3vW72wO7U0lIEDdQcgvI9WpQe4NCPONrlZaHarZTHUFSSZ8I7znWpfkwgU/s1600/beehive2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpJlZiyAOx_DZxQzm08enPPVaII6ufw9Jl4Nv6rbrqQDiWBsq7YpWepEERMOka3MxmRhgAsYxeVmrjJWga3vW72wO7U0lIEDdQcgvI9WpQe4NCPONrlZaHarZTHUFSSZ8I7znWpfkwgU/s1600/beehive2.jpg" /></a>A beautiful film <i>about </i>film and its transformative qualities, <b>Beehive </b>remains a relatively undiscovered gem sure to bewitch audiences discovering it for the first time. If you have seen and love <b>Cinema Paradiso </b>(1989) and <b>Pan's Labyrinth </b>(2006), directors Giuseppe Tornatore and Guillermo del Toro borrowed several ideas from this film for their masterpieces. That said, Victor Erice's film is a unique story told primarily from the child's point of view. The young sisters are each other's best friend, forming a camaraderie that feels genuine and sweet. Their relationship with their parents is rarely presented in any detail, though a marvelous sequence of Fernando showing his daughters the different mushrooms growing in the woods around their home is a revealing one. Beautifully photographed and compellingly written, this is a film you will want to own and revisit over time to peel away the many political and cultural layers to be found here. Torrent would return a few years later in Carlos Saura's haunting classic <b>Cria Cuervos </b>(1976), in another bravura performance. It is too appropriate that Criterion has brought both of her wonderful childhood roles to DVD.<br />
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Given a choice of a Robert Altman film to program, I imagine <b>Nashville </b>(1975), <b>McCabe and Mrs. Miller </b>(1971), <b>M*A*S*H* </b>(1970), and <b>The Player </b>(1992) would be the first titles to come to mind, if not <b>Short Cuts </b>(1993) or <b>Gosford Park </b>(2001). But Altman did more films that are forgotten than are fondly remembered. I already mentioned Bill Hader showing <b>Brewster McCloud </b>on his Guest Programmer night (Hader's taste is to be admired), and Paxton's recalling <b>California Split </b>(1974) is a surprise indeed. The Sony DVD is long out of print, and it's a film that's easy to gloss over in favor of, say, <b>Thieves Like Us</b><b> </b>from the same year. The only way I could have been more surprised would have been if he picked <b>Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean </b>(1982). Actually, I wish he had.<br />
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Reuniting Altman with his <b>M*A*S*H* </b>and <b>Long Goodbye </b>(1973) star Elliott Gould and, unusually, marking a collaboration with soap TV producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, <b>California Split </b>is not a favorite Altman of mine. The actors' director liked to tackle genres and subjects he had little to no knowledge of, like the country music world in <b>Nashville </b>and ballet dancers in <b>The Company </b>(2003), though the subsequent films never end up being about their proposed subject. Here he takes on competitive poker playing and, true to form, it's really about male bonding while living on the edge. Gould and George Segal play Charlie and Bill, two card sharks who become chummy after running into each other at a gambling club, where they both are cheating their fellow players. They're tossed in jail and bailed out by Charlie's pals, a pair of goofy hookers named Barbara and Susan. Bill indulges in a bit of hero worship of Charlie, driving him into debt until the pair decide to join forces and trek to Reno for one last big win at a national poker competition.<br />
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The lack of narrative has never deterred me from liking an Altman film, or any film, before, but it helps when such a film has compelling characters. There is nothing remotely interesting about Charlie or Bill, and their female counterparts are poorly underwritten. Altman's style of overlapping dialogue is rendered irritating beyond belief when it serves no purpose, uttered by cartoonish characters. Of course, this being Altman, the cast is terrific. In addition to Gould and Segal, you also get two pre-<b>Nashville</b> cast members (Gwen Welles and Jeff Goldblum), Paula Prentiss' tragic sister Ann in her best role, Barbara Colby as Bill's receptionist, a year before her tragic murder while shooting the TV series "Phyllis", loudmouthed redhead character actress Mickey Fox (<b>Caged Heat</b>) in the opening poker sequence, and character actor Tom Signorelli (<b>Alice, Sweet Alice</b>). All in all, though, a pretty stinky blemish on Altman's resume.<br />
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<b>The Last Detail </b>(1973) is a pretty wonderful capper for the evening. Hal Ashby, the most underrated of the new American cinema directors of the 1970s, followed up his box office disaster <b>Harold and Maude </b>(1971) with this much more successful and acclaimed feature. An underrated actors' director, Ashby taps into the surprising range of Jack Nicholson, during his best years as an actor, in a touching story of male bonding and companionship. Paxton even goes so far to say this is Nicholson's greatest performance. It's certainly up there. Ashby continued his bounce back into the big time with <b>Shampoo </b>(1975), <b>Bound for Glory </b>(1976), <b>Coming Home </b>(1978), and <b>Being There </b>(1979), but in the process, his earlier work (also including 1970's <b>The Landlord</b>) ended up being glossed over. This is a good straddling line between those two periods of his work in the best decade of his all too brief career.<br />
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As punishment for lifting $40 from a charity box, sailor Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid) is given eight years in the brig and a dishonorable discharge. Assigned to take him into custody and drag him to a naval prison are Petty Officers Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Mulhall (Otis Young), two grizzled vets anxious to drop the kid off early and use his per diem to have a ball on their way back to base. However, as they develop sympathy for the young man, especially upon learning of his virginity, they decide to throw one last hurrah for him on the Armed Forces' dime. Ashby's typically muted visual style allows the story and characters to come alive in a more vivid way. Nicholson, in one of his most animated angry young man roles, anchors the movie, while Quaid, in his first major role outside of a Bogdanovich film, scored an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an innocent youngster handed a punishment much more severe than the crime. Poor Young is kinda lost in the shuffle, but makes a fine calming third in this oddball trio.<br />
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<b>Last Detail </b>also marks the first collaboration between Nicholson and screenwriter Robert Towne, best known for their work together on one of the best films of the 1970s, <b>Chinatown </b>(1974). Towne's Oscar-nominated screenplay has many colorful dialogue exchanges ("I wouldn't shit you. You're my favorite turd." is a favorite) and vividly captures the anger and frustration of young America attempting to function in the Vietnam era, when military institutions were constantly in question. One of the most underrated films of the 1970s, equally humorous, touching, and timely, this is another one to add to the permanent collection.<br />
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Standing back and looking at all four films Paxton chose to program, it's interesting to see that the two foreign films view the world through the eyes of imaginative women, and the two American films focus on male bonding over the course of a journey. His interview segments book-ending this quartet indicate a man in great awe of the master directors of the past, especially their work with actors, and their impression on him becomes clear in the films he's made in the director's chair. I especially loved hearing his gushing love for Jack Nicholson and excited plot summary of <b>Spirit of the Beehive</b>. In summary, a great night spent with Bill Paxton and his love of the movies.Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740152456749791412.post-9365423300205252052013-01-01T14:06:00.002-08:002013-01-04T13:09:11.734-08:00Favorite Films of 2012<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I wasn't able to see every film I wanted to this year, and with many of them still unavailable on video or on-demand, they will simply have to wait until next year for me to see them. However, I saw enough wonderful movies in 2012 that I couldn't avoid creating a "best of" or, at the least, a favorites list. These are the films that moved me, that made me laugh, that left a lasting impression, and that I would recommend. They are listed in order of preference. I've also included a list of noteworthy/honorable mention films I enjoyed but just didn't make the grade in the end, and a list of incredible performances in films that overall did not work for me.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Favorite Films of 2012</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. <i><b>How to Survive a Plague </b></i>(Dir: David France)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The story of ACT UP, the activist group that fought (and continues to) for research, funding, and fair medication costs for people living with HIV and AIDS, was the subject of two films this year. The other, <i><b>United in Anger</b></i>, suffers from a literal chronology narrative, functioning along a video generated timeline and, despite featuring stories and interview subjects that are not covered in any great depth in <i><b>Plague</b></i>, feels like a TV movie, slightly separated from the material. <i><b>Plague </b></i>is a wholly engrossing experience, drawing the audience into the personal lives of select ACT UP members. France chooses just the right archive footage to reflect the rage, fear, and triumph of the movement, transforming a potentially depressing and downbeat story into one of heroism and hope. Perhaps the most touching aspect of his work is waiting until the final act before revealing which of the many passionate activists we have seen in footage from the 1980s and 1990s have survived to speak before his cameras today. My favorite film of 2012, and one that hits close to home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> 2. <i><b>Cafe de Flore </b></i>(Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A French-Canadian marvel for the mind, this was an unexpected surprise, and a film that challenges genre at every step. Two wildly different story lines converge in an almost unbelievable way: a single mother in the 1960s raises her young son with Down syndrome while in contemporary Quebec a successful DJ leaves his wife and daughters to marry a sensual younger woman. The key to unlocking the mystery of how these stories connect lies in the title itself, a song that also appears in two wildly different versions. A less capable director would flounder in his attempts to convince an audience of the turns the narrative takes, but those who stick with it will be justly rewarded with a quite revelatory film. To say more would rob you of the joys of discovery in watching this film for the first time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. <i><b>Argo </b></i>(Dir: Ben Affleck)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One of the few "mainstream" films that I thoroughly enjoyed this year, and from one of the most promising actor-directors working today. Based on a true story from the declassified files of the CIA, the central narrative is so astonishing that it rivals the best fiction. Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, a weary agent who concocts an outrageous plan to rescue six isolated American citizens hiding underground during the Iran hostage crisis. The plan? Fake a low-budget science-fiction movie shoot, with the hostages posing as crew members. It's a mission so crazed that it is some sort of miracle Mendez pulled it off. Affleck, having already proven himself a marvelous actor's director, packs the film with great talent, including Alan Arkin as a Corman-esque producer and John Goodman as a wise-cracking make-up man. Oscar nods for one or both of these performances seems inevitable. But Affleck also excels in his casting of the six Americans in peril, including character actors extraordinaire Tate Donovan and Clea Duvall (who is always a welcome pleasure in anything), as well as his <i><b>Dazed and Confused </b></i>co-star Rory Cochrane. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I also enjoyed Adrienne Barbeau's cameo at a publicity casting call, and Bryan Cranston as Mendez' superior. Some critics griped about the bending of truths to accelerate tension in the final act. People, it's Hollywood, this is how it works, and the film benefits from these changes. The final 20 minutes of the film are the most intense of any film of 2012. Others accused Affleck of painting Muslims with broad strokes as violent fundamentalists, also untrue. He takes great care to give historical and political context to the history of Iranian government, and spends a good deal of time showing disturbing actual news footage of anti-Muslim violence here in the States during the hostage crisis. Neither side comes off smelling like roses. Even considering these qualms, <i><b>Argo </b></i>is proof Affleck is here to stay and is one of few directors whose work I can actually get excited about seeing in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. <i><b>The Forgiveness of Blood </b></i>(Dir: Joshua Marston)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joshua Marston's first film since his indie success <i><b>Maria Full of Grace </b></i>(2004), the American-born director once again wades into international waters with this spellbinding thriller set on Albanian soil. A feud between two neighboring families reaches a breaking point when, during a scuffle over territory, a man is fatally stabbed. The family of the culprit must deal with the consequences. A simple enough story, but one enriched by local tradition and colorful characters. Albanian culture is informed by the Kanun, a code of laws and obligations developed in the 15th century and still followed to this day in contemporary Albania. Witnessing this deadly family squabble as it accelerates, without the intervention of any police or other typical law enforcement, gives the narrative a fuller sense of dread. Marston cast non-professional actors in all of the key roles, and the stand-outs are Sindi Lacej as Rudina, the teenage daughter forced to take on her absent father's bread delivery route , and Tristan Halilaj as Nik, the eldest of the children dealing with questions of identity and purpose, only accelerated by the stress of his family's anguish. It is through the children of the family that we see the effects of ancient law on modern life, and these two exceptional young actors give beautiful and perceptive performances. One of the few contemporary films Criterion has released to DVD and Blu-Ray that deserves the accolades and attention befitting a title in the collection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. <i><b>The Sessions </b></i>(Dir: Ben Lewin)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Based on the true story of disabled poet Mark O'Brien, a man afflicted by polio from an early age and who lived the majority of his life in an iron lung, this is a warm, funny, and very moving motion picture, one seemingly geared for awards season but, surprisingly, deserving of such attention. O'Brien, approaching 40 and still a virgin, enlists the aid of Cheryl, a sex surrogate, to experience physical pleasure and love. It's interesting to watch O'Brien struggle with awkwardness and embarrassment when faced with the prospect of having his first sexual experience with a woman, because these are universal emotions, not informed by one's ability to walk or move. What could have been a predictable overcoming-disability message movie instead is a deeply human story of the joys of love, which surely sounds sappy to some but director Ben Lewin doesn't go for cheap sentiment. The film opens with genuine news footage of the real O'Brien graduating from UC Berkeley, establishing our hero as someone who has already overcome the odds, now presented with a challenge that we have all had to face in our lives. What makes the film a gem are the performances by an altogether brilliant ensemble cast. John Hawkes (so good in <i><b>Winter's Bone</b></i>) and Helen Hunt (a brave, fully nude comeback) are simply perfect. Oscar nods are a given, I think. William H. Macy is marvelous as a Catholic priest taken into Mark's confidence, and Moon Bloodgood, never given much credit as an actress (for good reason), shows some surprising promise as Mark's dedicated and supportive assistant. One of the most emotionally rewarding films of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">6. <i><b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower </b></i>(Dir: Stephen Chbosky)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Based on Chbosky's successful and beloved young adult novel, this teen melodrama had the potential to be maudlin and false, as most films about high school and growing up have tended to be since the 1950s. Adults, man, they just don't get it. But Chbosky gets it. That the film received the most publicity because it was <i><b>Harry Potter</b></i> star Emma Watson's first major post-Hogwarts role is understandable, but surely kept away an audience that might have gone to see a film that so accurately captures the uncertainty and simultaneous beauty and ugliness of high school. Following a turbulent summer, Charlie enters his freshman year of high school, bullied and ostracized until he develops an interest in the off-the-wall humor of gay senior Patrick, who invites Charlie into his circle of friends. Among them is Sam, a girl who hides her wounds from sexual abuse in her past. As two damaged souls, Sam and Charlie are naturally drawn to each other, but this is not your standard teen romance. Throw expectations out the window. In a world bereft of adult presence and influence, the one guiding light of elder wisdom is Paul Rudd as English teacher Mr. Anderson; Rudd reminds us he can handle dramatic work as well as the comedic characters he usually plays. Color me surprised to see Tom Savini as the shop teacher! The film is more than a little reminiscent of Robert Redford's 1980 Best Picture winner <i><b>Ordinary People</b></i>, with its mentally unstable male lead, who even has Timothy Hutton-esque hair. And like Hutton, Logan Lerman gives a mesmerizing performance of a conflicted teen fighting inner demons only hinted at through brief flashbacks (again, like <i><b>Ordinary People</b></i>), which feature Melanie Lynskey in a memorable bit. This year will hopefully be the break-out year for openly queer actor Ezra Miller, who has shown impressive range through his performance here as well as a terrifying portrayal of a violent sociopath in Lynne Ramsay's <i><b>We Need to Talk About Kevin </b></i>(see below). And Watson proves her mettle outside of a magical CGI realm. Hopefully she will continue to appear in interesting work. There are hiccups to be found here, namely a group of kids who know who the Smiths are but can't recognize or name David Bowie's "Heroes" on the radio. But the silliness of the film-long search for the name of that song is overcome by its use during a memorable drive through the Pittsburgh tunnel and over the end credits. Great song use in a great movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">7. <i><b></b></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>The Queen of Versailles </b></i>(Dir: Lauren Greenfield)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When director Lauren Greenfield set out to make a documentary on the wealthy time share mogul David Siegel, his trophy wife Jackie, and their quest to make the most lavish and expensive single-family home in the US, it was an entirely different project. It was before the global financial crisis of 2008, which happened in the middle of production. As Greenfield's cameras rolled, she captured Siegel's financial empire crashing down around him and, most vividly, Jackie's fairy tale marriage becoming a nightmare reality she practically refuses to accept. In hilariously out-of-touch sequences, she is forced to fly commercial instead of on the family private jet, rents a car from Avis and asks the clerk "What's the name of my driver?", and buys six shopping carts worth of toys and unnecessary ephemera from Wal-Mart for Christmas. Siegel's youthful, happy persona shrivels into a tired, angry depression before our very eyes while Jackie tries to maintain some structure of family happiness. It is to Greenfield's credit that she is able to portray the Siegels as both deserving of their fortune dwindling while also eliciting audience alliance. They are, after all, a family struggling to survive in the economy as we all are...perhaps with a lot more to start with, but this means they have a lot more to lose. The mix of Schadenfreude and sympathy is tough to pull off successfully, as it is here. The most unusual and almost poetic revelation of the film: the Siegels' dream home is based on Versailles, the sprawling chateau turned palace outside of Paris which, despite its regal beauty, is technically unfinished. Today, its American counterpart stands unfinished, and it's likely it will remain that way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">8. <i><b>Headhunters </b></i>(Dir: Morten Tyldum)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wow...just...wow. A neo-noir thriller so wild and unpredictable it rivals the wildest imaginations of the best pulp fiction writers! To supplement his income as Norway's most successful headhunter and to support his impossibly hot wife, Roger moonlights as a professional art thief, breaking into wealthy clients' homes with his accomplice Ove and lifting priceless artifacts. He picks the wrong mark in Clas, a former military man with a background in tracking people. Roger discovers Ove's corpse in his car and runs for his life...and that's when things get really outrageous... I cannot bring myself to spoil anything for you, as seeing this theatrically with no prior knowledge yielded the biggest shocks and jolts of any movie I saw in cinemas this year. <i>Game of Thrones </i>fans might be more intrigued to see this than most, as it stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, aka 'Jaime Lannister', as Clas, the bloodthirsty tracker. Like <i><b>Starbuck </b></i>(see below), this is being remade for American audiences courtesy of Sacha Gervasi, who inflicted <i><b>Hitchcock </b></i>on us this year. Stick with the original, in both cases. I don't know how the revision will get away with all the crazy that is included here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">9. <i><b>Turn Me On, Dammit! </b></i>(Dir: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The best comedy of the year wasn't American (sorry, <i><b>Ted</b></i>), and it didn't star an emotionally stunted male (sorry, <i><b>Klown</b></i>). It hailed from Norway, was written and directed by a woman (adapted from a novel by, yes, a woman), and starred a 19-year-old girl. Huh? Women have always been funny, regardless of the media's recent flabbergasted response to successful women in comedy, so let's put that issue to bed right now. But the truly revolutionary <i><b>Turn Me On, Dammit! </b></i>has the guts to tackle a teenage girl's sexual fancy and social rebellion in a frank and funny way, and lo and behold, not judge her for it. Feminists rejoice! Beautiful and charming Helene Bergsholm, as our heroine Alma, is introduced masturbating on the kitchen floor to a phone sex line and we're off. Alma's accelerated teen sex drive becomes a problem when the boy she has a crush on makes a lewd pass at her and when she excitedly tells her girlfriends, he denies it, transforming her into the school pariah. Her friends abandon her, her single mother is horrified, and Alma dreams of an escape from her repressed small town. When she isn't having wildly romantic imaginative escapes into fantasy land, her secret friend Sara writes letters (in English) to Texas death row inmates in her form of escape from the drudgery of village life. At 71 minutes, the film feels almost too short. You want to spend more time with these characters, all of them, even Ingrid, the bitchy popular girl who invents the cruel nickname "Dick-Alma". It may not be a gut buster, but there is nothing else like this comic charmer. And the unusual fact that there are two Norwegian films on my Top 10 list is not lost on me. This is fast becoming a country to watch for interesting new films.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">10. <i><b>Skyfall </b></i>(Dir: Sam Mendes)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let's get the bad out of the way: the Bond films' gender politics remain entrenched in the 1960s (the Bond femme fatale, regardless of how interesting she is, is treated callously, and by the finale, a woman's place is not in the action zone) and there are lapses in logic overshadowed by gripping action sequences. But damn if <i><b>Skyfall </b></i>isn't the best big-budget blockbuster of the year. That might not be saying much, as it seems the trend in modern cinema is the more money you spend on a movie, the worse it becomes. Mendes' Bond entry must be given credit for not being condescending to its audience while maintaining high adrenaline during action sequences and compelling drama in-between. Daniel Craig does his reliable pouting and posing as Bond and Javier Bardem is a smarmy gay villain, but the most intriguing characters are, ironically, women, the gender so often backed into a corner in the series. Judi Dench's "M", Naomi Harris' "Eve", and Berenice Marlohe's "Severine" (sorely missed after her departure) are tremendously compelling, indicating that perhaps it's time for a well-done female-driven action film, preferably one with accents. The introductory chase scene, the Shanghai mission, the London tube pursuit, the final full-fledged assault on the moors, all are memorable set pieces. But the best part of the film just might be the visually stunning opening credits, backed by the best Bond theme song of all, Adele's "Skyfall".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>10 more tremendous movies that complete my Top 20. Definitely see these with as much urgency as the top 10. Rather than give a write-up of the film, I've listed why the film made such an impression on me.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">11. <i><b>We Need to Talk About Kevin </b></i>(Dir: Lynne Ramsay)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tilda Swinton in her best performance to date. Ezra Miller in a skin-crawling performance as the title character. Ramsay's playing with memory and time in the narrative. My stumble out of the theater as the movie ended. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">12. <i><b>Detropia </b></i>(Dir: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The beautiful, tragic cinematography capturing the fallen Motor City. Video blogger Crystal Starr, aptly named as she steals the movie, exploring dilapidated buildings with her camera. A city official asked by Starr what she's going to do to improve the city...while her name tag is upside down. Detroit as a microcosm of the nation's financial crisis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">13. <i><b>Life of Pi </b></i>(Dir: Ang Lee)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Suraj Sharma, in his film debut, so wonderful in the title role. Irrfan Khan, always great, as the adult Pi. Lee's inspired use of 3-D; here is a director who knows how to take advantage of the new technology to great effect. The emotional pull of the connection between Pi and Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger sharing his struggle to survive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">14. <i><b>The Invisible War </b></i>(Dir: Kirby Dick)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The issue of rape and sexual harassment in the military. Heartbreaking testimonials from countless women violated by fellow officers. The central story of a young mother working her through the VA medical maze.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">15. <i><b>Monsieur Lazhar </b></i>(Dir: Philippe Falardeau)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The ensemble cast of children, all remarkably good, making up a classroom dealing with their teacher hanging herself in their classroom. Mohamed Said Fellag as the title character, an Algerian immigrant acting as their replacement teacher and helping them come to terms with their feelings of loss.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">16. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Sister </b></i>(Dir: Ursula Meier)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The (hopefully) star-making performances of Lea Seydoux and Kacey Mottet Klein as brother and sister struggling to survive in a Swiss ski resort town. The big revelation. Little moments of love between brother and sister. Gillian Anderson in a brief but memorable role as a mother figure for Klein.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">17. <i><b>Beasts of the Southern Wild </b></i>(Dir: Benh Zeitlin)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The performances by non-professional actors Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry as the eyes of the story and her mentally unstable father. The floating brothel sequence. The climactic confrontation. That amazing musical score, my pick for best of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">18. <i><b>Take This Waltz </b></i>(Dir: Sarah Polley)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A supremely talented actor-director takes another sensitive approach to the relationship melodrama. Michelle Williams as a woman questioning her marriage to skinny Seth Rogen (I'd question it, too, until he gained some weight back). Williams continues to be one of our strongest young actresses. Sarah Silverman in a rare dramatic performance that moved me to the core. She has what it takes to do more work like this in addition to the whole "being funny" thing. The carnival ride with flashing lights and "Video Killed the Radio Star" blaring on the soundtrack, a scene to be repeated in a different way for the finale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />19. <i><b>Sound of Noise </b></i>(Dir: Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjarne Nilsson)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The concept of "musical terrorism", brought to captivating life. A tone deaf detective, from a family of musicians, in the greatest challenge of his career. The musical numbers, bombastic, clever, and far too few.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">20. <i><b>Declaration of War </b></i>(Dir: Valerie Donzelli)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Director-star Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim as a young couple, aptly named Romeo and Juliet, dealing with their infant son's cancer diagnosis and treatment. Donzelli is beyond superb. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Honorable Mention</u>:<i><b> </b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>The Raid: Redemption </b></i>(Dir: Gareth Evans)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Janeane from Des Moines </b></i>(Dir: Grace Lee)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>The Kid with a Bike </b></i>(Dir: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>ParaNorman </b></i>(Dir: Chris Butler & Sam Fell)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>The House I Live In </b></i>(Dir: Eugene Jarecki) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Ted </b></i>(Dir: Seth McFarlane)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Side by Side </b></i>(Dir: Christopher Kenneally)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Girl Model </b></i>(Dir: David Redmon & Ashley Sabin) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Klown </b></i>(Dir: Mikkel Norgaard)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Last Days Here </b></i>(Dir: Don Argott & Demian Fenton)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry </b></i>(Dir: Alison Klayman) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Virgin Tales </b></i>(Dir: Mirjam von Arx) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Consuming Spirits </b></i>(Dir: Chris Sullivan) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Favorites from Festivals</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>These four films would have easily made my Top 20, but because they were not released theatrically outside of film festivals,<b> </b>I don't consider them official 2012 releases. One has a theatrical release date set for 2013, the others have no distributor to the best of my knowledge. If they are released theatrically in 2013, they will no doubt graduate to my Favorites of 2013 list. I'll refrain from discussing them in any great detail until they are more widely available. In order of excellence.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Starbuck </b></i>(Dir: Ken Scott)<i><b> </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>The Act of Killing </b></i>(Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Goodbye </b></i><u></u>(Dir: Mohammad Rasoulof)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Our Children </b></i>(Dir: Joachim Lafosse)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Great Performances in Underwhelming Films</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>There was something about these films that didn't work for me, whether it be narrative-wise or stylistically. But I'm a sucker for a great performance, and while the films mentioned below were ultimately disappointing, I could not overlook the stellar work done by the actors in them. Special mention must go to <b>Jennifer Lawrence</b>, <b>Bradley Cooper</b>, <b>Woody Harrelson</b>, and <b>Melanie Lynskey</b>. This quartet deserves Oscar attention. And <b>Elizabeth Olsen</b> deserves to be a star. I can see her biting at Lawrence's heels very soon in the search for great parts for young women in indie features.</i><u><br /></u></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silver Linings Playbook</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anders Danielsen Lie in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oslo, August 31<sup>st</sup></i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fiona Gordon in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fairy</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Woody Harrelson in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rampart</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daniel Henshall and Lucas Pittaway in <i><b>The Snowtown Murders</b></i></span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thure Lindhardt in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keep the Lights On</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Melanie Lynskey and Blythe Danner in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hello I Must Be Going</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Elizabeth Olsen in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silent House</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sara Paxton in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Innkeepers</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joaquin Phoenix in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Master</i></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stephanie Sigman in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss Bala</i></b></span></div>
Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18195073158983528498noreply@blogger.com0