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I just saw "Maidentrip", about a Dutch teenager who sailed around the world solo. The Dutch government tried to stop her, considering that at 14 she wasn't old enough and it would be too dangerous. She took the child welfare department to court and won, and had a very successful trip, sailing through some very rough waters and challenging conditions of various sorts, that many seasoned sailors don't attempt. Great film.
I haven't been by for a long time. Generally, I left a list of films from my journal. Right now, I'm most of the way through "Gypsy" starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell on TCM as part of their 31 Days of Oscar. I've lost count of how many times I've seen this throughout the years, but it has to be well past the 100 mark. Yes, it's one of my many "century films". I'm hooked on rewatching films and have done it throughout my life. In the early 1950s (my childhood), TV was filled with movies that sometimes were repeated several times during the week. So, my sister and I became experts on such films as "King Kong" (the original), "Donovan's Brain", "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" and many more.
Soooooo... Here are some journal entries, working backwards: "Good Day for a Hanging" (1959) starring Fred MacMurray and Robert Vaughn ~ My sister and I had such a crush on Robert Vaughn, who had come to our attention as Napoleon Solo in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.". Yes, we were crazy about David McCallum's Illya Kuryakin, too! Someday, I hope to see another Vaughn film again: "No Time to Be Young" (1957).
"Gigot" (1962) ~ Jackie Gleason wrote the original story and the music, as well as starring in this Gene Kelly-directed "dramedy" patterned after Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid". Thank you, TCM, for airing this too-obscure film.
"Riding the Bullet" (2004) ~ Based on a Stephen King short story, this is a love/hate movie it seems. This is the first time I saw the uncut version. I like it a lot because my brain works like the young man's, launching all sorts of waking nightmares at the smallest provocation. Mick Garris generally captures the feeling of King's works better than anyone else~including Stanley Kubrick. I'm one of those who was extremely disappointed in how much Kubrick butchered "The Shining", one of the best works from King; of course, that's my opinion. I was working in a bookstore when "Carrie" hit the shelves. Then came "Salem's Lot" then "The Shining". For me, the word "masterpiece" came to mind for the third novel. Even King's miniseries remake couldn't capture it.
"She-Wolf of London" (1946) ~ I had to suffer through the atrocious Svengoolie to watch this mystery/thriller starring a very young June Lockhart. I cannot stand such "hosts", the worst of which is that inane, completely unfunny thing with the man and robots. Yuck!
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (1968) ~ Those idiots who put down Sondra Locke, claiming she was acting because she was involved with Clint Eastwood, need a lesson in this lady's accomplishments, starting with this Carson McCuller-based tale starring Locke and Alan Arkin. Once more, I have to thank TCM. For every well-known film they show, they also air a number of obscure movies, many of them being rare treats for film buffs. TCM is THE best channel on cable! (I also enjoy my assortment of Encore and Starz channels; I hope I never have to cancel them.) BTW: Locke is remarkable in "A Reflection of Fear" (1973).
"The Hasty Heart" (1948) ~ What a funny, sweet, heartbreaking film this is with Richard Todd in an Oscar-nominated role. He should have won Best Actor that year over Broderick Crawford's "All the King's Men". Honestly, "Brod" was his average very good self, but Richard Todd is extraordinary! Also in the cast are Patricia Neal and Ronald Reagan, who delivers what might be the best acting he ever did, even beyond "King's Row" (1942).
"American Graffiti" (1973) ~ Here's another of my century films, and it remains perfection, capturing a time period with amazing clarity. How wonderful to see so many actors early in their careers, along with Ronny Howard who was well-established but in transition. Among those "futures" are Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams (whom people tend to forget was in the brilliant "The Conversation"), Charles Martin Smith, Paul Le Mat, Mackenzie Phillips, Candy Clark, Kathleen Quinlan, and Suzanne Somers. Several roles are teensy, but the others are jewels. What a soundtrack! AND, we get Wolfman Jack!
"The Howling: Reborn" (2011) ~ I actually was quite impressed with this film and found it quite stylish at times. It had even me guessing wrong a couple of times. I read reviews that mentioned "Twilight". I've seen only one in that series, and I did not find this at all ridiculous, whereas "Twilight" actually had me laughing a lot and loudly! Later, I switched to it to show my mother scenes and SHE laughed, too! She said, "They CAN'T be serious!" She added that she thought it was supposed to be a spoof. Actually, that might have worked better. However, "THR" didn't strike me that way.
"The Razor's Edge" (1946) ~ I like Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney and Clifton Webb, but I'm in-the-middle about this movie. I wouldn't rush to watch it again, but I might not pass it up. It was OK. I have to agree that the best moments and lines were from Webb. I thought it was funny that, as Somerset Maugham, Herbert Marshall says to Webb's character, "So, when the Crash came, you were sitting pretty." Webb would graduate to being a leading man starting with his role as Lynn Belvedere in "Sitting Pretty" (1948)!
That should be enough for now~probably more than enough. Maybe I should list them and leave the commentary out.
That should be enough for now~probably more than enough. Maybe I should list them and leave the commentary out.
Nice to see you back MM! NO, do not leave out commentary. I know from comments others have left for me & vice versa, many of us appreciate them. Even if they're not movies I'd see, I love when others share a bit of themselves. Well written is well written, regardless of subject.
Cropsey: An interesting and creepy documentary. Includes bits of this old-school Geraldo investigative piece:
If any of you have seen the second season of American Horror Story, I think the writers had this on their mind when thinking of Lana and her ambitions.
But anyway, any of you "true crime" types would probably enjoy this doc.
Cropsey: An interesting and creepy documentary. Includes bits of this old-school Geraldo investigative piece... But anyway, any of you "true crime" types would probably enjoy this doc.
I saw this months ago. Creeped me the heck out. Horrible story, good docu. I recommend it, too, but it is VERY unsettling. Very disturbing to know such people exist.
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NO, do not leave out commentary. I know from comments others have left for me & vice versa, many of us appreciate them. Even if they're not movies I'd see, I love when others share a bit of themselves. Well written is well written, regardless of subject.
