What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Fading Fast]

⇧ great story 2 Jakes. That is a very powerful scene and wonderful that they snuck it by the censors.

 

[AmateisGal]

I know what you mean.

In the summer of ’78 I worked for Jack Warner in Beverly Hills.
I met two of his daughters.
This is one of them (step-daughter)
The actress is Joy Page.
When I met her that summer, I had the feeling that I had seen her before
but couldn’t quite figure out where or when.
She was very shy with melancholy eyes.
I didn’t feel I should ask more.


It was not until years later, checking online the Casablanca "cast”,
I found where I had seen her before. She was 17 at the time.

WOW. What a fantastic story! She was just so beautiful in this movie. And that scene is, as FF said, very powerful. The movie didn't need to show anything - her words alone vividly illustrated what she was willing to endure and sacrifice to save her husband.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The movie didn't need to show anything - her words alone vividly illustrated what she was willing to endure and sacrifice to save her husband.

I so agree. Sometimes restrictions* enhance creativity which can give a scene / a moment a searing poignancy; whereas, today's high-volume and all-the-time crude reality obliterates any impact as we become desensitized.

My guess, the first time I saw it, it took me a moment or two to untangle what Joy Page was saying, but then when the light bulb went off in my tiny brain, it was more impactful than if she had just blurted it out.

* I am 100% against censorship, but am fully behind a director who, of his own will, chooses to use subtly and restraint to increase the impact of a scene. I'm not saying anything new here, but unknown and unseen footstep in the dark are more viscerally and psychologically frightening than an ax-wielding maniac running at a victim. It would be nice if more directors understood that today.

 

[Worf]

Casablanca tonight
Like a pair of favorite old shoes.

Orry-Ryan did Ingrid Bergman's and Bogie's clothes in this one as well.

Worf

 

[Worf]

Is he the same as Orry-Kelly, as I've seen Orry-Kelly's name for years on TCM movie credits? His, "Adrian" and "Edith Head" are the names that seem to come up all the time for "costumes by," or "Miss blah, blah, blah's gowns by...". I don't know anything about Orry-Kelly or Adrian, but Edith Head I've read a little about and, from memory, she was both talented and extremely aggressive in protecting her turf and career (which considering the way the studio system treated its employees, might be fully justified).

Just found it on Netflix and will watch it soon. Thanks for the heads up, I love all this old Hollywood inside baseball stuff.

Yeah that's the one. They had him change his name so the "Orry" is made up, but Kelly is his real last name. I think he eventually lost Ms. Davis to Edith Head. He also did "Baby's" wardrobe in "To Have and Have Not". I think he eventually lost her to Oleg Cassini. Lot's of in-fighting. How he made 5 foot nuthin' and 90 pound Natalie Wood into Gypsy Rose Lee is nuthin' short of a miracle.

Worf

 

[Denton]

* I am 100% against censorship, but am fully behind a director who, of his own will, chooses to use subtly and restraint to increase the impact of a scene. I'm not saying anything new here, but unknown and unseen footstep in the dark are more viscerally and psychologically frightening than an ax-wielding maniac running at a victim. It would be nice if more directors understood that today.

This is an interesting side issue that I was thinking about last week in the "devolving education" thread. Censorship seems to impede the production of useful knowledge but it doesn't get in the way of art. In fact, when I think about the history of art, most of what I consider great art was created under a regime of brutal punitive censorship. For example, all of the wonderful 19th-century Russian novels were submitted to a censor before publication.

I love the precode films, and, if it were up to me, there never would have been a production code. But the imposition of the code was not the end of classical Hollywood style. Some filmmakers pushed against the restrictions and others looked for subtle ways to communicate forbidden ideas, and for both groups the code was an artistic problem that inspired them to create interesting solutions.

Censorship is a serious problem for a researcher, a scientist or historian or whatever, trying to communicate with other researchers or trying to discover something new. Censorship actually seems to be generative for artists.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ One of the things I do is write financial market commentary and analysis and, in the early days of the internet, I wrote a daily piece that was limited by technology to about, I forget the exact number, 150 words. It forced me to be direct and concise. I learned how to say more with fewer words / how to transition quickly / how communicate multiple points at the same time. I look back on those pieces and realize that if they were at all good it was, in part, because I couldn't blather on and, in part, because they improved my skills and forced me to do the thing that all Writing 101 classes teach you: use less words.

In "Casablanca," the perfectly timed spotlight shining in the window's of Rick's office when he's making a deal with Ilsa is censorship-inspired artistry* at its best. I'll take that over all the tawdry sex scenes that paper movies today.

* I am 100% against censorship, but fully understand and appreciate Denton's points - censorship has inspired some incredible artistic ingenuity and stunning works.

 

[Fading Fast]

A great documentary "The Women He Undressed" - I love it when a documentary teaches me things. Orry-Ryan, born in late 1800's in Australia, lands in NY City at the height of the Bootleggin' "Roarin' Twenties". Hustles for a living with his lover and soon to be famous roommate. They eventually wind up in Hollywood with Ryan becoming a 3 time Oscar winning costume designer. We was Betty Davis' main man for a looooong time. He also did Betty Grable and a host of others. He was so talented and I NEVER knew anything about the man. You also learn a great deal about Hollywood's "love hate" relationship with talented homosexuals of the golden age. Two of the revelations totally left my jaw on the floor. It's on the Flix. Great film.

Worf

Watched this last night and can only agree with the above.

My one small quibble is the "Our Town" minimalist set device used as a leitmotif for Orry-Kelly's double life and humble upbringing grew old, but that was minor compared to learning about the incredible arc of the man's life, his artistic talent and his larger-than-life personality.

Equally enjoyable are all the Hollywood-from-the-Golden-Era clips, commentary and inside baseball. As Worf said, a few jaw-droppers come out, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone interested in watching it.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Beloved Infidel from 1959, a highly fictionalized account of the late-1930s relationship of rising gossip columnist Sheilah Graham (Deborah Kerr) and falling novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gregory Peck).

I really wanted to like this film: two stars I love... who exhibit zero chemistry together and give atypically tedious performances. Two fascinating writers and their adventures in prime-time Hollywood... with nothing to say about literature and no attempt at period stylization. Too long, with too many over-the-top moments that had me gasping out loud in disbelief.

The only term that comes to mind is "turgid melodrama". Not recommended.

 

[Fading Fast]

Beloved Infidel from 1959, a highly fictionalized account of the late-1930s relationship of rising gossip columnist Sheilah Graham (Deborah Kerr) and falling novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gregory Peck).

I really wanted to like this film: two stars I love... who exhibit zero chemistry together and give atypically tedious performances. Two fascinating writers and their adventures in prime-time Hollywood... with nothing to say about literature and no attempt at period stylization. Too long, with too many over-the-top moments that had me gasping out loud in disbelief.

The only term that comes to mind is "turgid melodrama". Not recommended.

I agree with the review (and would say you could say the same about Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall in "Designing Woman -" two usually engaging stars who have no chemistry together leaving their performances and movie feeling flat - but people seem to like that movie).

A few weeks back, I finished the Sheilah Graham book the movie is based on, "Beloved Infidel," which is meaningfully better than the movie, but you do have to stay with it through lot of pages about her upbringing and early life (interesting enough, but not why I wanted to read the book) before you get to the Fitzgerald part which is really good.

 

[1mach1]

Love The Beast

 

[Formeruser012523]

It Happened One Night

According to IMDB the man singing the 3rd stanza is director Frank Capra (around 2:40).

 

[2jakes]

Sons of the Desert (TCM)
Seen many times, I never tire of Stan & Ollie.
I play this tune when driving my 1939 Ford.

Trivia:
Vocals by Ty Parvis.
At around (2:00) there’s an overhead camera shot of the dancers
in the style of Busby Berkeley.
It was only used briefly here .

 

[AmateisGal]

Captain America: Civil War. We saw this in the theater when it came out and I enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. My daughter is a huge, huge Marvel fan, and especially of the Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan). In fact, I'll be taking her to her first comic convention next month to meet him. And William Shatner will be there, too!

 

[2jakes]

WOW. What a fantastic story! She was just so beautiful in this movie. And that scene is, as FF said, very powerful. The movie didn't need to show anything - her words alone vividly illustrated what she was willing to endure and sacrifice to save her husband.

Here’s another beauty.
Wasn’t aware at the time why the actress looked familiar but I just
couldn’t remember where I had seen similar beautiful features before.

My mom when she graduated from school.
I was her first child and her favorite.

 

[2jakes]

Captain America: Civil War. We saw this in the theater when it came out and I enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. My daughter is a huge, huge Marvel fan, and especially of the Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan). In fact, I'll be taking her to her first comic convention next month to meet him. And William Shatner will be there, too!

Never been to a comic convention.
I’m looking forward when you get back and
write about it for us to enjoy. Thanks.
Btw:
Please tell Mr. Shatner that Polo and I dig his red shoes.

 

[Fading Fast]

Captain America: Civil War. We saw this in the theater when it came out and I enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. My daughter is a huge, huge Marvel fan, and especially of the Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan). In fact, I'll be taking her to her first comic convention next month to meet him. And William Shatner will be there, too!

I'm surprised Shatner goes to those things as I think I've read that he's worth more money than God, but maybe he just enjoys meeting the fans.

Tangentially related, I checked yesterday, and "Wonder Woman" is scheduled for release in June of next year. I was surprised as it seems we all were chatting about the trailer a month or so ago and it looked like the movie was already done.

 

[1mach1]

Jackie Brown

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm surprised Shatner goes to those things as I think I've read that he's worth more money than God, but maybe he just enjoys meeting the fans.

Tangentially related, I checked yesterday, and "Wonder Woman" is scheduled for release in June of next year. I was surprised as it seems we all were chatting about the trailer a month or so ago and it looked like the movie was already done.

The trailer for Wonder Woman looks phenomenal. They are probably done, but just waiting for a summer release date as those movies tend to do pretty well at the box office.
I know that DC Comics has a ways to go to catch up with Marvel, but maybe their upcoming movies will help.

 

[Fading Fast]

The trailer for Wonder Woman looks phenomenal. They are probably done, but just waiting for a summer release date as those movies tend to do pretty well at the box office.
I know that DC Comics has a ways to go to catch up with Marvel, but maybe their upcoming movies will help.

Good color, I'm sure you are right. I was very impressed with the trailer - let's just hope they gave some thought to the story and not just the special effects.