The BellGab Classic Movie Playhouse

[TigerLily]

Did you notice my edit? I know, sacrilege! 

[TigerLily]

I made a mistake. Citizen Kane is on the list at # 39. It should be higher.  I corrected my post to reflect that.  I love Caligari for the German Expressionist sets but I found the movie itself a bit slow.  Frankly I was surprised by the Marx Brothers films that were on the list.  I think Duck Soup is their best film and it is not on the list.  I prefer the Zeppo Paramount films over the later MGM films.

I love the Marx Brothers. It would be hard for me to rank my top 3 or even 5. Duck Soup, I believe, was banned in most of Europe. For supporting anarchy 

[21st Century Man]

I love the Marx Brothers. It would be hard for me to rank my top 3 or even 5. Duck Soup, I believe, was banned in most of Europe. For supporting anarchy 

Groucho is my favorite comedian of all time.  I love his wordplay.  Every once in a while, I'll attempt a bad imitation. lol.

[21st Century Man]

I'm trying to watch a horror movie or 2 a day.  I watched 3 yesterday.  The Devil Bat with Bela Lugosi, a PRC low-budget effort that was ok save for the extremely fake giant bats.  Elmer Fudd had a small role in it.  Then I watched The Mad Ghoul with George Zucco, Evelyn Ankers, David Bruce, Robert Armstrong, Milburn Stone, Charles McGraw and Turhan Bey.  Pretty good terror flick from Universal.  I wrapped it up with a viewing of The Paul Leni silent, The Cat And The Canary.  More German Expressionism and  a very good flick.  Several notches above the other 2 I watched.

[ItsOver]

Thanks for your horror reviews, 21st.  I enjoy reading them.  It's good to see something enjoyable on BG, since for the moment it's been overrun by politics.

I think I'll pick-up on your idea early next week by watching a horror or at least a sci-fi flick each day, leading up to Halloween, to get in the mood.  I already have the Fathom "Carnival of Souls" planned and just noticed TCM is showing "Young Frankenstein" late tomorrow.

[TigerLily]

Groucho is my favorite comedian of all time.  I love his wordplay.  Every once in a while, I'll attempt a bad imitation. lol.

I know what you mean. Every once in a while I try out, "While on safari I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in them I'll never know".   Nothin'. Must be my delivery 

[ItsOver]

Oh, man, does this ever sound like a sci-fi guilty pleasure.

"WITHOUT WARNING"

SYNOPSIS
A gas-station attendant and a Vietnam veteran pit themselves against an alien invader and its brood of flying killers.

CAST
Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Tarah Nutter

AIRS FRIDAY, OCT 21, 2016 AT 10:00PM EST/PST, 9:00PM CST, 11:00PM MST on Comet TV.



Landau AND Palance. 

[albrecht]

I know the WS is on but for those not into baseball TCM has a great lineup of movies tonight. Likely you've seen them before but they are so good:
8:00 PM
   
Dracula (1931)
     
The legendary bloodsucker stakes his claim on a British estate in search of new blood.

Dir: Tod Browning Cast:  Bela Lugosi , Helen Chandler , David Manners .

BW-74 mins, CC,
9:30 PM
   
Mummy, The (1932)
     
An Egyptian mummy returns to life to stalk the reincarnation of his lost love.

Dir: Karl Freund Cast:  Boris Karloff , Zita Johann , David Manners .

BW-73 mins, CC,
11:00 PM
   
Invisible Man, The (1933)
     A scientist's experiments with invisibility turn him into a madman.

Dir: James Whale Cast:  Claude Rains , Gloria Stuart , William Harrigan .

BW-72 mins, CC,
12:15 AM
   
Wolf Man, The (1941)
     
A British nobleman undergoes a startling transformation when he's bitten by a gypsy werewolf.

Dir: George Waggner Cast:  Claude Rains , Warren William , Ralph Bellamy .

BW-70 mins, CC,
1:30 AM
Black Cat, The (1934)
A Satanist faces off with the vengeful man whose wife and daughter he has stolen.

Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast:  Karloff , Bela Lugosi , David Manners .

BW-65 mins, CC,
2:45 AM
   
Uninvited, The (1944)
     A brother and sister buy a house with a ghostly secret.

Dir: Lewis Allen Cast:  Ray Milland , Ruth Hussey , Donald Crisp .

BW-99 mins, CC,
4:30 AM
   
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
     On a remote island, a mad scientist turns wild animals into human monsters.

Dir: Erle C. Kenton Cast:  Charles Laughton , Richard Arlen , Leila Hyams .

BW-70 mins, CC,
29 Saturday
6:00 AM
Devil-Doll, The (1936)
     
A Devil's Island escapee shrinks murderous slaves and sells them to his victims as dolls.

Dir: Tod Browning Cast:  Lionel Barrymore , Maureen O'Sullivan , Frank Lawton .
BW-78 mins, CC,
7:30 AM
   
Leopard Man, The (1943)
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.

Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Dennis O'Keefe , Margo , Jean Brooks .
BW-66 mins, CC,

[TigerLily]

I know the WS is on but for those not into baseball TCM has a great lineup of movies tonight. Likely you've seen them before but they are so good:
8:00 PM
   
Dracula (1931)
     
The legendary bloodsucker stakes his claim on a British estate in search of new blood.

Dir: Tod Browning Cast:  Bela Lugosi , Helen Chandler , David Manners .

BW-74 mins, CC,
9:30 PM
   
Mummy, The (1932)
     
An Egyptian mummy returns to life to stalk the reincarnation of his lost love.

Dir: Karl Freund Cast:  Boris Karloff , Zita Johann , David Manners .

BW-73 mins, CC,
11:00 PM
   
Invisible Man, The (1933)
     A scientist's experiments with invisibility turn him into a madman.

Dir: James Whale Cast:  Claude Rains , Gloria Stuart , William Harrigan .

BW-72 mins, CC,
12:15 AM
   
Wolf Man, The (1941)
     
A British nobleman undergoes a startling transformation when he's bitten by a gypsy werewolf.

Dir: George Waggner Cast:  Claude Rains , Warren William , Ralph Bellamy .

BW-70 mins, CC,
1:30 AM
Black Cat, The (1934)
A Satanist faces off with the vengeful man whose wife and daughter he has stolen.

Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast:  Karloff , Bela Lugosi , David Manners .

I watched the first three tonight and recording the last two for Halloween. Heaven 

They are doing 50s Sci Fi tomorrow (Saturday) morning including my very favorite. The Thing From Another World

[21st Century Man]

I know the WS is on but for those not into baseball TCM has a great lineup of movies tonight. Likely you've seen them before but they are so good:
8:00 PM
   
Dracula (1931)
     
The legendary bloodsucker stakes his claim on a British estate in search of new blood.

Dir: Tod Browning Cast:  Bela Lugosi , Helen Chandler , David Manners .

BW-74 mins, CC,
9:30 PM
   
Mummy, The (1932)
     
An Egyptian mummy returns to life to stalk the reincarnation of his lost love.

Dir: Karl Freund Cast:  Boris Karloff , Zita Johann , David Manners .

BW-73 mins, CC,
11:00 PM
   
Invisible Man, The (1933)
     A scientist's experiments with invisibility turn him into a madman.

Dir: James Whale Cast:  Claude Rains , Gloria Stuart , William Harrigan .

BW-72 mins, CC,
12:15 AM
   
Wolf Man, The (1941)
     
A British nobleman undergoes a startling transformation when he's bitten by a gypsy werewolf.

Dir: George Waggner Cast:  Claude Rains , Warren William , Ralph Bellamy .

BW-70 mins, CC,
1:30 AM
Black Cat, The (1934)
A Satanist faces off with the vengeful man whose wife and daughter he has stolen.

Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast:  Karloff , Bela Lugosi , David Manners .

BW-65 mins, CC,
2:45 AM
   
Uninvited, The (1944)
     A brother and sister buy a house with a ghostly secret.

Dir: Lewis Allen Cast:  Ray Milland , Ruth Hussey , Donald Crisp .

BW-99 mins, CC,
4:30 AM
   
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
     On a remote island, a mad scientist turns wild animals into human monsters.

Dir: Erle C. Kenton Cast:  Charles Laughton , Richard Arlen , Leila Hyams .

BW-70 mins, CC,
29 Saturday
6:00 AM
Devil-Doll, The (1936)
     
A Devil's Island escapee shrinks murderous slaves and sells them to his victims as dolls.

Dir: Tod Browning Cast:  Lionel Barrymore , Maureen O'Sullivan , Frank Lawton .
BW-78 mins, CC,
7:30 AM
   
Leopard Man, The (1943)
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.

Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Dennis O'Keefe , Margo , Jean Brooks .
BW-66 mins, CC,

Luckily, I have all those movies.  I'll run a home marathon throughout the weekend.  I'm really into the World Series this year.

[TigerLily]

For my Halloween marathon, I started with the Black Cat (1934, Karloff and Lugosi). I can't believe I have never seen it before. Very enjoyable. The choice for set design was a "modern" stark style instead of a creepy old house or crumbling fortress. And loved the classical music score.

And now I appreciate 21's avatar even more

[albrecht]

Some free satellite channel called "Marquee Movies," I think, is having an Adrienne Barbeau night. Watching "The Fog," "Swamp Thing" coming up next! But TCM showing good stuff also!

[albrecht]

Luckily, I have all those movies.  I'll run a home marathon throughout the weekend.  I'm really into the World Series this year.

Nice. Same. WS is good this year even if my teams are out.

[albrecht]

Svengoolie is showing the 1941 "The Black Cat" tonight 9Central on MeTV. It is chessey at times but a decently fun movie featuring several actors you know (and under utilized in the movie.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033397/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6

[21st Century Man]

Svengoolie is showing the 1941 "The Black Cat" tonight 9Central on MeTV. It is chessey at times but a decently fun movie featuring several actors you know (and under utilized in the movie.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033397/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6

I'll always prefer the '34 film of the same name but the '41 film is fun with Broderick Crawford in hilarious comic form.  Basil Rathbone and Lugosi are also in fine form.

[21st Century Man]

   OK folks.  I have a recommendation for a Christmas movie that isn't very Christmassy.  However the credits do open with an medley of Christmas Carols sung by a choir.  I'm speaking of Robert Montgomery's adaptation of a Raymond Chandler masterpiece, The Lady In the Lake (1947), featuring detective Phillip Marlowe (Montgomery).  This movie is quite inventive.  While Montgomery is Marlowe, the viewer is also Marlowe.  You see everything from his point of view.  This technique was used a year earlier in the first 30 minutes of the Bogart/Bacall classic, Dark Passage, but here it is used for the whole film.  ThePOV technique brings into mind certain experiments going on in film currently involving virtual reality.  Specifically, the POV technique is fairly common in the porn movie industry now.  I won't digress further than that.




    The Lady in the Lake assembles a relatively small cast which includes Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan and Jayne Meadows.  A wife of a magazine publisher (Leon Ames) has gone missing and Marlowe is hired to find her by Totter.  As the story progresses a female body is found in a lake up in the mountains above Los Angeles around Lake Arrowhead.  Is it the wife or someone else.  Everybody becomes a suspect including a Southern boytoy (Dick Simmons), Totter, a diminutive landlady, Totter, a policeman (Nolan), and even the publisher. I won't divulge any further details. Montgomery, father of actress Elizabeth, does a rather wonderful job with the whole thing.  The POV technique is a bit jarring at the beginning but as the film progresses, one gets used to it.  I do think Montgomery handles the role of Marlowe very well and his portrayal stands up well against Dick Powell's and Bogie's portrayals.  The rest of the cast does quite well to but the actresses, Totter and Meadows, stand out the most.


   There are some minor pacing issues and the POV technique causes some minor problems.  Also interesting is what appears to be the long takes that take place.  Some of these are in fact long takes (8-10 minutes long) while others only appear to be long.  This magical act caused by clever editing techniques. 



    Anyway, it is a dandy mystery and a holiday film that is a bit different than other Christmas films. lol.  Maybe not the classics that Murder My Sweet and The Big Sleep are but close.  3.75 stars out of 5.

[albrecht]

   OK folks.  I have a recommendation for a Christmas movie that isn't very Christmassy.  However the credits do open with an medley of Christmas Carols sung by a choir.  I'm speaking of Robert Montgomery's adaptation of a Raymond Chandler masterpiece, The Lady In the Lake (1947), featuring detective Phillip Marlowe (Montgomery).  This movie is quite inventive.  While Montgomery is Marlowe, the viewer is also Marlowe.  You see everything from his point of view.  This technique was used a year earlier in the first 30 minutes of the Bogart/Bacall classic, Dark Passage, but here it is used for the whole film.  ThePOV technique brings into mind certain experiments going on in film currently involving virtual reality.  Specifically, the POV technique is fairly common in the porn movie industry now.  I won't digress further than that.

    The Lady in the Lake assembles a relatively small cast which includes Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan and Jayne Meadows.  A wife of a magazine publisher (Leon Ames) has gone missing and Marlowe is hired to find her by Totter.  As the story progresses a female body is found in a lake up in the mountains above Los Angeles around Lake Arrowhead.  Is it the wife or someone else.  Everybody becomes a suspect including a Southern boytoy (Dick Simmons), Totter, a diminutive landlady, Totter, a policeman (Nolan), and even the publisher. I won't divulge any further details. Montgomery, father of actress Elizabeth, does a rather wonderful job with the whole thing.  The POV technique is a bit jarring at the beginning but as the film progresses, one gets used to it.  I do think Montgomery handles the role of Marlowe very well and his portrayal stands up well against Dick Powell's and Bogie's portrayals.  The rest of the cast does quite well to but the actresses, Totter and Meadows, stand out the most.

   There are some minor pacing issues and the POV technique causes some minor problems.  Also interesting is what appears to be the long takes that take place.  Some of these are in fact long takes (8-10 minutes long) while others only appear to be long.  This magical act caused by clever editing techniques. 


    Anyway, it is a dandy mystery and a holiday film that is a bit different than other Christmas films. lol.  Maybe not the classics that Murder My Sweet and The Big Sleep are but close.  3.75 stars out of 5.

Nice review. Oddly Raymond Chandler's stuff is one of the few books that I like better on radio or in movies rather than the books. Not sure why. Maybe because the books are written more like a screen-play than a novel? Not to say they aren't good and certainly exemplified a genre but like the radio-pays and movies derived from his novels better.

Tonight Sevengoolie on MeTV has this movie:
"Barbara Stanwyck is trapped in a world where dreams and reality seem to blur- and a mysterious dream lover brings her to the brink of insanity- in “The Night Walker”!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058403/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4

[21st Century Man]

Nice review. Oddly Raymond Chandler's stuff is one of the few books that I like better on radio or in movies rather than the books. Not sure why. Maybe because the books are written more like a screen-play than a novel? Not to say they aren't good and certainly exemplified a genre but like the radio-pays and movies derived from his novels better.

Tonight Sevengoolie on MeTV has this movie:
"Barbara Stanwyck is trapped in a world where dreams and reality seem to blur- and a mysterious dream lover brings her to the brink of insanity- in “The Night Walker”!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058403/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4

That's a William Castle film that I haven't seen.  I have a nice set of his films that he made with Columbia Pictures.  I see that this is a Universal film though.

[21st Century Man]

I want to post a bit about an old movie I watched last night, Josef von Sternberg's adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment starring Peter Lorre and Edward Arnold.  What a beautifully filmed movie.  It was filmed obviously on a budget on the Columbia backlot in 1935.  It was totally filmed on soundstages.  Despite this, the film looks like a prestige picture. The lighting is perfect with wonderful shadows and Sternberg does wonders to Marian Marsh.  She has never looked more beautiful.


   
     This was Lorre's second American film and I think it may very well be the best performance of his career.  He deserved an Oscar nomination for this.  He really went through the well of emotions in this movie.  He could be kind and loving one moment and cruel and brutal the next moment.  If you aren't familiar with the novel, the basic story is that in a moment of weakness, a poor criminologist murders a monster of a pawnbroker and is drawn into the murder case when the police inspector (Arnold) seeks his help.  Will he be able to fool the inspector and get away with the murder or will he be found out? That is the basic plot of the movie.  There is much meditation on the nature of crime and evil but it is never boring.

  This movie bookends von Sternberg's peak as a filmmaker.  Afterwards, he would have trouble finding work due to his temperament.  There was an aborted attempt of filming I, Claudius with Charles Laughton but that was abandoned after he clashed with Laughton.  He would only make a few films over the next 12 years and none of them really have the touch that I associate with von Sternberg.  He would have a brief resurgence toward the end of his career making films for Howard Hughes but that relationship would eventually sour as well.

  Is the movie faithful to Dostoevsky?  I'm not sure as I've never read the book but from what I've read from other reviewers, it is for the most part faithful.  The book is a  doorstop though and much had to be cut out to keep the length of the movie down to a reasonable 90 minutes.  If you are looking for the ultimate adaptation of Dostoevsky's work, look elsewhere, but if you would like to see a Cliffnote's adaptation of the book then this is for you.  The movie is also recommended to the average moviegoer who just want to see a great film and could care less about Dostoevsky.

   I give this film a solid 4 stars.  It was beautifully filmed but I think it would be considered a great classic if it had been filmed by a more prestigious film studio like MGM.  They would have given the book a lavish treatment with a much larger budget.  I wonder what would have happened with Lorre's career if he had been a little more selective in what films he chose to star in.  Of course then we may not have the great body of work from him that we have now.  Still, he was considered one of the great actors in the world when he came to Hollywood and his stature diminished afterwards.

Other von Sternberg movies that I would recommend beside the Dietrich films are Underworld,  The Last Command and Docks of New York.   5 star movies all.

[ItsOver]

I really enjoyed this on TCM last night.



Joan Crawford with a VERY young Jack Palance.  A very nice, well-acted, suspenseful film noir.  Apparently, per Mankiewicz, the major players in the film, Crawford, Palance, and Grahame, had relationships similar to what was in the play, however with no apparent intent towards foul play.

[21st Century Man]

I really enjoyed this on TCM last night.



Joan Crawford with a VERY young Jack Palance.  A very nice, well-acted, suspenseful film noir.  Apparently, per Mankiewicz, the major players in the film, Crawford, Palance, and Grahame, had relationships similar to what was in the play, however with no apparent intent towards foul play.

LOL.  Yeah, that was a great movie.  I think it has been newly restored.   The print I saw a few years back needed some love.  Definitely one of Joan's best films from the 50's.  I love Palance.  He is the reason why I watched the movie in the first place.

[ItsOver]

LOL.  Yeah, that was a great movie.  I think it has been newly restored.   The print I saw a few years back needed some love.  Definitely one of Joan's best films from the 50's.  I love Palance.  He is the reason why I watched the movie in the first place.

Ha!  Yes, same here.  Palance is one of a kind.  He definitely defines intense.  He was.perfect for the film. He'd eat most of today's actors for breakfast and then pick his teeth with their bones.

[Dr. MD MD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB4xlYKAVCQ

[albrecht]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB4xlYKAVCQ

"Slacker," a good movie espcially if you are a local, though it will make you sad. And certainly started a great career.

1) Tonight Sven, on MeTV and locally in some markets, has “Cat and the Canary” with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard:
"When an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow. "
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031143/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

2) And NBC (those bastards somehow got "It's A Wonderful Life" taken BACK from public domain) has "It's A Wonderful Life." Norry frequently says "my mom sat me down and told me Georgey- watch this movie." Despite this reference it is a good movie. And Donna Reed? Yum.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Merry Christmas to all!

[Dr. MD MD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otktRxKo2XY

[Ciardelo]

Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure

Interesting, in an East Coast narcissistic way. lol Pretty entertaining Doc, thanks!

[Dr. MD MD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqx1-JTFr3Y

[Dr. MD MD]

It's too bad this never became a show, at least for a season or two. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQ3HbB0c8Y

[Dr. MD MD]

A sweet, made for TV family movie I remember from my youth with three dearly departed, underrated actors. Enjoy them here in their prime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UPYlQBHv6Y

[21st Century Man]

I've got a post I'm writing about the 1943 movie, The Outlaw, but I've been interrupted today by the festivities and will finish it tomorrow.