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The BellGab Classic Movie Playhouse

Started by GravitySucks, June 11, 2016, 05:28:45 PM

Rix Gins

Quote from: albrecht on August 31, 2016, 06:21:10 PM
We used to page 'Duke Santos' at the Vegas airport and hotel/casino lobby when we visited in homage to the great Cesar Romero character. One buddy would do the page and then the rest of us would pause, turn around, and exclaim 'Duke Santos is is town!?'

Wow, now that is funny!  And very well thought out too.

albrecht

Quote from: Rix Gins on August 31, 2016, 06:59:08 PM
Wow, now that is funny!  And very well thought out too.
Like many of our antics it was randomly done the first time, after many drinks, and then we just continued the tradition.  Probably just more funny inside-joke for us, though a few times a random person got the joke (remember this was before the remake and, unless you are expecting it or lost, most people probably ignore pages.)

albrecht

ALERT: some Cinemarks via TCM are showing Kubrick's master comedy/satire "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964) with amazing actors on the big screens tomorrow and Wednesday (Sunday, September 18 and Wednesday, September 21.) During these times of nuclear threats and escalation the timing is even better to get some laughs and thoughts over it. One of my favorite movies.

ItsOver

Quote from: albrecht on September 17, 2016, 08:15:04 AM
ALERT: some Cinemarks via TCM are showing Kubrick's master comedy/satire "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964) with amazing actors on the big screens tomorrow and Wednesday (Sunday, September 18 and Wednesday, September 21.) During these times of nuclear threats and escalation the timing is even better to get some laughs and thoughts over it. One of my favorite movies.
Thanks for the reminder.  It might be fun to catch on the big screen.  A brilliant movie.  One of Seller's best.




TigerLily

Quote from: albrecht on September 17, 2016, 08:15:04 AM
ALERT: some Cinemarks via TCM are showing Kubrick's master comedy/satire "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964) with amazing actors on the big screens tomorrow and Wednesday (Sunday, September 18 and Wednesday, September 21.) During these times of nuclear threats and escalation the timing is even better to get some laughs and thoughts over it. One of my favorite movies.

/double double reported  >:(  >:(  I won't praise mv because it might be taken as second double post and I will be ejected from the game

The only time I attended one of these TCM movie events was The Maltese Falcon. Great fun to see it on the big screen with an audience.  This one would be a (ahem) blast

albrecht

Saw "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) the other night. A really good movie especially the beginning but even the rest. I was laughing so hard and Charles Laughton was awesome, as always(!), but so good in his role of a proper English butler lost in a bet to a rough, western American with a wife who wants to be classy. Also feature a famous telling of the Gettysburg Address. I didn't realize it but it was a remake! So, sometimes, Hollywood can have a remake that is better than the originals (though I haven't seen them.) Poor copy but here is the beginning. The one on TCM was much better quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaKicY34r58&list=PLxyYxI-hs0bDYzr81MGZPYbmGunNFX9Fl


Quote from: albrecht on September 21, 2016, 05:35:00 PM
Saw "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) the other night. A really good movie especially the beginning but even the rest. I was laughing so hard and Charles Laughton was awesome, as always(!), but so good in his role of a proper English butler lost in a bet to a rough, western American with a wife who wants to be classy. Also feature a famous telling of the Gettysburg Address. I didn't realize it but it was a remake! So, sometimes, Hollywood can have a remake that is better than the originals (though I haven't seen them.) Poor copy but here is the beginning. The one on TCM was much better quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaKicY34r58&list=PLxyYxI-hs0bDYzr81MGZPYbmGunNFX9Fl

I watched this the other night and really enjoyed it... except that I fell asleep about halfway through. I hate when I do that.

Quote from: albrecht on September 21, 2016, 05:35:00 PM
Saw "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) the other night. A really good movie especially the beginning but even the rest. I was laughing so hard and Charles Laughton was awesome, as always(!), but so good in his role of a proper English butler lost in a bet to a rough, western American with a wife who wants to be classy. Also feature a famous telling of the Gettysburg Address. I didn't realize it but it was a remake! So, sometimes, Hollywood can have a remake that is better than the originals (though I haven't seen them.) Poor copy but here is the beginning. The one on TCM was much better quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaKicY34r58&list=PLxyYxI-hs0bDYzr81MGZPYbmGunNFX9Fl

It is a great movie.  I bought a Universal DVD of it a  few years back.  Simply a wonderful screenplay and Laughton is wonderful in a rare sympathetic role.  The Gettysburg Address scene sends me to tears.

From what I saw, I loved the understated tones in the speech between Ruggles and his English employer.

TigerLily


Love Ruggles of Red Gap. A great message and shows off Laughton's genius

Quote from: Astrid Galactic on August 31, 2016, 02:06:06 PM
Speaking of inferior remakes, the first time that I saw "Les Misérables", it was the original French version which is 4 1/2 hours long. Took forever to get through it but anytime I saw another version, I hated it because it felt so rushed or empty. The original ruined it for me for all other versions regardless of how good they were. Well worth seeing sometime, if you have the time.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025509/
I think I might have found it. It's a full Gig in MP4 and almost 600 meg in OGG.  The 1935 version is linked at the bottom of the page too.

https://archive.org/details/LesMiserablesOldFilmTotTheMusical

BTW astrid, do you remember how many intermissions were in the one you saw ?

Quote from: albrecht on August 31, 2016, 06:21:10 PM
We used to page 'Duke Santos' at the Vegas airport and hotel/casino lobby when we visited in homage to the great Cesar Romero character. One buddy would do the page and then the rest of us would pause, turn around, and exclaim 'Duke Santos is is town!?'
You characters sound fun to party with.  :)       ;D

Quote from: 21st Century Man on September 21, 2016, 05:48:37 PM
It is a great movie.  I bought a Universal DVD of it a  few years back.  Simply a wonderful screenplay and Laughton is wonderful in a rare sympathetic role.  The Gettysburg Address scene sends me to tears.
Speaking of which, check out the junk bins at the local stores or wallymart - if you shop there. They usually have combo packs of the old movies for cheap. ;)

ItsOver

Quote from: (Sandman) Logan-5 on September 22, 2016, 07:05:59 AM
Speaking of which, check out the junk bins at the local stores or wallymart - if you shop there. They usually have combo packs of the old movies for cheap. ;)
You're right.  I think I found Halloween III, Season of the Witch, in one last year.  Appropriate to note, for the first day of Fall.  I just wish WalMart would sort the stuff out rather than just throw them in a huge bin.  You practically need a ditch digger to get to the bottom.


Quote from: ItsOver on September 22, 2016, 07:23:53 AM
You're right.  I think I found Halloween III, Season of the Witch, in one last year.  Appropriate to note, for the first day of Fall.  I just wish WalMart would sort the stuff out rather than just throw them in a huge bin.  You practically need a ditch digger to get to the bottom.


OMG - LMAO ! 
It's funny you bring that up. I've always suspected they did that on purpose to give the guys watching the cameras some entertainment. It always reminded me of dumpster diving to get at the good ones.  :o    ;D

TigerLily


Time to start planning my Halloween marathon. Dracula, The Bat, Halloween, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Blair Witch Project ...

albrecht

Quote from: TigerLily on September 22, 2016, 11:39:53 AM
Time to start planning my Halloween marathon. Dracula, The Bat, Halloween, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Blair Witch Project ...
TCM in conjunction with some Cinemark theaters is bringing "The Shining" back to the big screen.

http://www.cinemark.com/the-shining-1980-presented-by-tcm

ItsOver

Quote from: TigerLily on September 22, 2016, 11:39:53 AM
Time to start planning my Halloween marathon. Dracula, The Bat, Halloween, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Blair Witch Project ...
I just got this notification.  For all the Gene Wilder fans, this is a must see on the big screen.

"Young Frankenstein"
With a Live Introduction from Mel Brooks



http://view.s7.exacttarget.com/?qs=c9b0abed3fd75f50604e046a888dd57cea0565b2dd576c433c3dafc56917c160440ef8ef16890191f4380bc213622a26594bc3094c10d52a9d967d9c75ea8e35

Plus, "Phantasm" Remastered this Saturday and the new "Phantasm V" release next month.

Man, I live for the Fall.  Let the bewitching begin!


albrecht

Quote from: ItsOver on September 22, 2016, 07:23:53 AM
You're right.  I think I found Halloween III, Season of the Witch, in one last year.  Appropriate to note, for the first day of Fall.  I just wish WalMart would sort the stuff out rather than just throw them in a huge bin.  You practically need a ditch digger to get to the bottom.


I have a great fondness for HIII. Not sure why? Some great lines and B-movie actors. And a bold move in a movie franchise to go so away from usual plot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIHUv2ooG38

ItsOver

Quote from: albrecht on September 22, 2016, 11:47:55 AM
I have a great fondness for HIII. Not sure why? Some great lines and B-movie actors. And a bold move in a movie franchise to go so away from usual plot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIHUv2ooG38
My favorite of the series, maybe just edging out the original a little bit for me.  One of the great bad guys of all time in it.




ItsOver

Quote from: (Sandman) Logan-5 on September 22, 2016, 07:44:39 AM
OMG - LMAO ! 
It's funny you bring that up. I've always suspected they did that on purpose to give the guys watching the cameras some entertainment. It always reminded me of dumpster diving to get at the good ones.  :o    ;D
I'll bring this with me for my Halloween dig. ;)


albrecht

Quote from: ItsOver on September 22, 2016, 11:56:35 AM
My favorite of the series, maybe just edging out the original a little bit for me.  One of the great bad guys of all time in it.


A many great lines and Tom Atkins was great as the hard-drinking ladies' man doctor. "Irish Halloween masks?" "Its California anything can happen."
I understand the free marketing but I think they should've just released as "Season of the Witch" and not used the Halloween franchise in the name. People would've accepted it better.


One of my favorite characters in Bond films.  Sheriff JW Pepper played by Clifton James who is still very much alive at 95.  He should have gotten his own spinoff film or tv show. James is a WW2 vet too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjG65N-jbqw

Background To Danger - 1943 -  Middling tale of World War 2 intrigue involving a plot to have Germany ally itself with Turkey after rumors of a Soviet invasion of Turkey have been passed to Turkish officials.  Of course it is all a setup by the Nazis led by Colonel Robinson? (Sydney Greenstreet).  Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall play a pair of Soviet spies who ally themselves with a poor sap (George Raft) after he has been targeted by Robinson.

Raft is the nominal lead in the film and I'm sorry to say he simply lacks intensity.  He's very wooden in his delivery and really needs to display emotion better.  I had recently watched him in Each Dawn I Die and he was very good there.  He was dynamic with an intensity that he is lacking in films such as Background To Danger.  Greenstreet plays his usual villainous character which is always welcome.  Lorre gives the best performance in the film by far.  Brenda Marshall is a nonentity and I wish she and Osa Massen had switched roles in the film. Osa was a gorgeous lady. Raoul Walsh keeps the action going and does his standard job but I can tell that his heart probably was not into this material.  My guess is this is one of the films that he did as a favor to Jack Warner.

Usually Greenstreet and Lorre would be enough to send this movie over the top but not in this case. This would be Raft's last film under his Warner contract and he gradually drifted into B films after this.  2.75 stars out of 5.









I want to add this story about Raft from an IMDB reviewer who met the man.  Sounds like he was a great guy but he sure couldn't pick movies very well.

by Ipsissimus » Thu Apr 17 2008 04:34:55 Flag ▼ | Reply | 
IMDb member since June 2004
Post Edited: Thu Apr 17 2008 04:39:28

     Back in '77 I went to a revival theater in Long Beach, California, called The Art, to see a Cagney double feature, White Heat and Angels With Dirty Faces. During the intermission between White Heat and Angels With Dirty Faces I was standing in the lobby and this old guy, dressed very plainly, came up to me and said something like, "That Cagney's really great, isn't he?" As I replied in the affirmative I recognized him; "You're George Raft, aren't you?" He nodded, quietly pleased that he had been recognized. He quickly changed the subject from himself back to Cagney, praising him both as an actor and as a person.

    I happened to mention Bogart, and Raft told me he couldn't stand him, for reasons he wouldn't make clear. I suspect it was more resentment than actual dislike, as Raft turned down several roles which enormously helped Bogart's career, such as High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon.

To my amazement, Raft suggested that we sit together to watch "Angels...". He had come to the theater alone, and obviously wanted company. He really was a sweet, gentle, and soft-spoken guy, and I think it heartened him to know that someone as young as I (I was twenty-two at the time) appreciated the old movies and the stars like Cagney. After the movie we chatted a few more minutes and I told him how nice it had been to meet him and we parted company. I'll always remember that experience.

ItsOver

21st, since we're in the All Hallow's Eve season, any recommendations for "Nosferatu?"  CD versions, comments, etc?  I can't believe I've never watched it.

Quote from: ItsOver on September 23, 2016, 08:51:44 AM
21st, since we're in the All Hallow's Eve season, any recommendations for "Nosferatu?"  CD versions, comments, etc?  I can't believe I've never watched it.

  Oh yes, I definitely recommend it.  Murnau was one of the best and Max Schreck is horrifying in the lead.  I have several versions of the film. 3 of them are various restorations from Kino and another one is from Image.  Stay away from the public domain copies.  They are poor. I actually still prefer my Image DVD because of the soundtrack but that is no longer available.  Of the ones available, get the Kino blu-ray.



If you want to make  it a double feature night, get Shadow of The Vampire, a fictional telling of the making of the film with Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich.  Really good film.

The Herzog remake with Kinski  is also good if a bit slow.

TigerLily

Quote from: ItsOver on September 22, 2016, 11:47:20 AM
I just got this notification.  For all the Gene Wilder fans, this is a must see on the big screen.

"Young Frankenstein"
With a Live Introduction from Mel Brooks



http://view.s7.exacttarget.com/?qs=c9b0abed3fd75f50604e046a888dd57cea0565b2dd576c433c3dafc56917c160440ef8ef16890191f4380bc213622a26594bc3094c10d52a9d967d9c75ea8e35

Plus, "Phantasm" Remastered this Saturday and the new "Phantasm V" release next month.

Man, I live for the Fall.  Let the bewitching begin!



Thanks IO. I love this movie so much. Would be so fun on a big screen with an audience. 

Which reminds me. Are midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show still a thing?

ItsOver

Quote from: TigerLily on September 23, 2016, 01:02:28 PM
Thanks IO. I love this movie so much. Would be so fun on a big screen with an audience. 

Which reminds me. Are midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show still a thing?
You're welcome, TL.  I saw "Young Frankenstein" on the big screen last December.  It was a special one night showing at an art theater.  YF is one of those movies I can watch over and over and still get some laughs.  I'm definitely going to catch it again, especially with the Mel Brooks opening.

Every art house theater I've frequented, from the Southwest to the Midwest appears to have at least one night a month they set aside for Rocky Horror.  I've never been to one of the theater showings.  I'm not sure if I'd be entertained or annoyed by the characters who regularly show-up to do their thing during a presentation.  Similar to BellGab. :)

ItsOver

Quote from: 21st Century Man on September 23, 2016, 12:37:48 PM
  Oh yes, I definitely recommend it.  Murnau was one of the best and Max Schreck is horrifying in the lead.  I have several versions of the film. 3 of them are various restorations from Kino and another one is from Image.  Stay away from the public domain copies.  They are poor. I actually still prefer my Image DVD because of the soundtrack but that is no longer available.  Of the ones available, get the Kino blu-ray.



If you want to make  it a double feature night, get Shadow of The Vampire, a fictional telling of the making of the film with Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich.  Really good film.

The Herzog remake with Kinski  is also good if a bit slow.
Thanks for the pointers, 21st.  I especially appreciate the additional film recommendations, since I've seen none of them.  Maybe I'll set aside Halloween night for a viewing.  It falls on a Monday night this year, which is kind of a bummer.  The best nights for enjoying the dark night for me are Thursday through Saturday.  Any other night just doesn't have the right vibe to really get into the spirit.  My area will no doubt have Monday night Trick-or-Treat for the kiddies so it'll be a good night to just camp out at home and catch some appropriate filmage, while the little tricksters trickle by.

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