Tcm

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks, and thanks for the link.

[Johann]

The Louis Malle was not-so-great due to the silly premise, but I still thought it was fantastic.
When he gets locked inside the elevator I said aloud: "Ooh this is gonna get interesting!"-- and it did. A murder plot within a murder plot!
I felt it was silly that he left his grappling hook at the scene. Some hitman!

The Polanski debut was well-shot and taut- you never quite know where the story leads, with a nice twist (of the knife?!) at the end.

[Johann]

Just watched this James Dean classic. Not bad.
He turns in a compelling performance. Nice to see a really young Dennis Hopper and classic 50's cars!

[Chris Knipp]

I like Malle's THE LOVERS (though it might seem corny, so romantic and great use of baroque music)
GOODBYE, CHILDREN/AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS deeply moving WWII story from personal experience.

LACOMBE, LUCIEN which now I connect to Georges Siminon's "roman dur" La neige était sale/The snow was Dirty

and others. NOT MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. That was a A/O.
It's a mixed bag, Malle's filmography.

Can't remember REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. James Dean is the classic brilliant, doomed young actor. My heart is with River Phoenix.

[Johann]

Just saw this enchanting masterpiece from Powell and Pressburger, part of TCM's "The Essentials" series with Mank & director Brad Bird.

I'd never seen this one before, and now it's a favorite.
David Niven plays Peter Carter, an RAF bomber squadron commander in WWII who gets shot down and jumps from his Lancaster with no parachute.
He should die, right?
You would think so, and this movie explores how and why he didn't, with color sequences showing Earth and black & white showing Heaven. (or "the Afterlife")

Kim Hunter plays a beautiful American girl who talks with Peter over the radio in his final moments and they fall in love, without meeting.
Peter is visited by a dandy French spirit guide who figures prominently.
Long story short, he goes to an eternal "court" where his fate is decided. This part blew me away- what vision and bravado by Powell & Pressburger!
The defence and prosecution deftly battle it out, and Love Triumphs. (and why Shouldn't it?)
See it. It is a Special film from 2 of the biggest names in movie history.

[Johann]

"Hello Baby...C'Mon Baby...Look Baby...Goodbye Baby..."



This is a must-see film.
Excellent movie, with snappy Raymond Chandler dialogue.
Fred MacMurray stars as Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who falls for a married woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who wants to kill her husband for the insurance money.
Walter is smart and he knows better, but Love is blind. He hatches an elaborate plan to "Get the Money and Get the Girl"...
He's even gonna attempt to get double the money, with a double indemnity clause in the policy.
Problems arise in the execution of the plan, not least of which from Lola, Stanwyck's step-daughter and Walter's boss Keyes. (Played by Edward G. Robinson)
See it.
It's one of the must-see classics.

[Johann]

Directed by cinema legend Sam Fuller, this is one gritty slice of film noir.

Tolly Devlin (Cliff Robertson- "The Big Kahuna" in Gidget) is 14 when he witnesses his dad get beaten to death by 4 thugs.
He's no "Fink", so he vows that he'll find them and mete Justice out personally.
And he does, some 20 years later.
Dolores Dorn is his pretty love interest Cuddles, and his mother figures prominently with juicy scenes.

"NOIR ALLEY" TCM host Eddie Muller called it Fuller's signature "Smash-Mouth Cinema", and it was.
I loved it. Movies like this are why I watch TCM!

[Johann]

It's Billy Wilder day today on TCM, and it's awesome.

This is Marilyn Monroe in her prime, at her most playful, funny and innocent.
She plays "THE GIRL", and who else can? There's a great in-joke where Tom Ewell says he's got Marilyn Monroe in his kitchen.
This is a funny movie, and my second favorite starring Monroe. (After BUS STOP).
Tommy sends his wife and son off for a vacation from NYC and he "meets" the Girl after she almost kills him with a tomato plant from the floor above his.
He invites her for a drink, and comedy ensues for the rest of the picture.
The famous dress Marilyn wears in the subway grate scene sold for $5.5 Million in 2011!!!

[Johann]

I gotta be honest, the only selling point of this one is Marilyn Monroe.

I know that this film is revered as a classic, but I don't really like it.
Who wants to see Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in ridiculous drag for a whole movie?
Lemmon is over-acting to cartoonish levels and Curtis seemed too comfy in drag for comfort.
They play two loser musicians who dress in drag to avoid the mafia after witnessing a gangland murder spree.

They get a job in Florida as women musicians where they meet "Sugar", (Marilyn)- a ukelele-playing Lush.
Slapstick cornball Non-hilarity ensues...I found this flick tiresome, save for the 2 songs Marilyn sings.
I'm amazed at how this movie gets tons of praise. It's a stinker in my view.

[Chris Knipp]

Why did they like it so much? Would real drag queens like it?
I guess a matter of individual taste. But It never seemed funny to me either. I'm watching A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, by the way. Powell and Pressberger are unbeatable.

[Johann]

I'm not sure why they like it so much- it's definitely a matter of taste- I found little humour in it, but others may find it hilarious.
I don't think a bottle of vermouth would make it any funnier to me. I'd be curious to know what real drag queens think.
No one in the movie (besides the gangsters hunting them) thinks they're anything but women!

Very cool that you're checking out A Matter of Life and Death---that one is still on my mind. It's Magical.
Jack Cardiff's dreamlike cinematography is legendary. Did you know his own breath was breathed onto the lens to fog it up?

[Johann]

Jack Lemmon was far more toned down for Billy Wilder's THE APARTMENT, a great classic film.
Shirley MacLaine is gorgeous as the elevator girl eternally looking for love.
Fred MacMurray is back with Wilder, as Lemmon's boss Mr. Sheldrake.

The story is simple: Jack is C.C. Baxter, a hardworking "company man" trying to get ahead at a massive company.
He loans out his apartment to co-workers as favors, and the boss catches wind of it. Sheldrake wants in, as he constantly needs cover for his numerous affairs.
He promotes Baxter, and a love triangle gets exposed-Sheldrake is seeing the elevator girl (who Baxter likes) but his divorce has yet to be finalized.
In the end Baxter sticks it to his boss and forfeits his job.
Little does he know that elevator girl loves him too, after realizing what a sweet, kind guy he is.
A great little christmas holiday movie, where the nice guy finishes First.

[Chris Knipp]

Your thumbnail descriptions/reviews of classics are now honed more and more to perfection, if they might not yet quite compete with Pauline Kael's ones (that listing doesn't seem to include THE APARTMENT, which some high-toned critics scorned at the time). A Guardian writer reassesses rather favorably Andrew Sarris's putting Billy Wilder in his "Less Than Meets the Eye" category. But that's as a director - considering all the stuff he wrote or co-wrote, he meets the eye. Who would you compare Jack Lemmon to today?

[Johann]

A rich dude (Keenan Wynne) wants to prove that teenagers are no different from apes.
That's all the "plot" you need for this incredibly silly movie.

I was entertained, but only in terms of how cheesy and off-the-charts cartoonish this is.
Frankie Avalon pulls off two roles here, as himself and as an archetype for a Beatle named "Potato Bug"-you have to see him to believe him.
Annette Funicello is cute, and sings a cute song "This time it's Love".
Guest stars include Stevie Wonder, Boris Karloff and Don Rickles.
Have a few beers or get stoned and you will laugh I'm sure...

[Johann]

The Blues is a pain in your Heart...



Fantastic and timely film, considering the issue of race in America.
Diana Ross gives an Oscar-caliber performance as jazz legend Billie Holiday.
She can act, boy. I'd only ever seen her in The Wiz, which was underwhelming to me.
But here she proves she has the acting goods. We knew she was a mesmerizing singer for the Supremes, but here she really grabs you.
Billy Dee Williams shines as her love interest Louis MacKay, and he's also the best dressed! Wow are his suits amazing in this!
Richard Pryor also provides great support, proving he can act too, not just do comedy.

This film shows us Billie in totem:
early beginnings, getting noticed, experiencing racism first-hand (singing "Strange Fruit" after seeing a black man lynched was powerful), her brutal heroin addiction, her rocky relationships, and ultimately getting to play Carnegie Hall in New York.
This film should turn you into a Billie Holiday fan, if you weren't one already.
Part of the "SPOTLIGHT ON JAZZ" series with TCM host Eddie Muller, this is a must-see.