tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post6064679676532998992..comments2024-03-28T20:53:54.312-05:00Comments on Orange Crate Art: Twelve more moviesMichael Leddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-75643229223930472352023-08-16T22:11:58.305-05:002023-08-16T22:11:58.305-05:00I think movies sometimes get described as noir bec...I think movies sometimes get described as noir because the word sparks interest. It sells. I’d think of <i>The Naked City</i> as what's sometimes called a semi-documentary. Also a police procedural. But above all, a great movie. : )<br /><br />I rewatched <i>The Big Clock</i> after reading the novel — that's why the humor seemed off to me.<br /><br />The early Kubrick <i>Killer’s Kiss</i> is a lot more noirish than <i>The Killing</i>. I bet you'd like it.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-78952648469070497632023-08-16T17:07:27.215-05:002023-08-16T17:07:27.215-05:00I haven't read the novel and only chose to see...I haven't read the novel and only chose to see the film because of the write-up and promo images.<br /><br />Odd you should not the almost excessive humour. As I was watching it I imagined Cary Grant (and for a fleeting moment) James Stewart as George Stroud.<br /><br />Of the five films that I saw in The Cinemateque's series: "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Big Clock" (1948), "The Naked City" (1948), "The Killing" (1956), and "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959) ; it seemed that the MF and OAT were the most "noirish". The Elisha Cook scenes with his wife in "The Killing" as well but the rest of the movie was to much the heist-film.<br /><br />Seeing The Maltese Falcon on a "big screen" was definitely a thrill.<br /><br />"The Naked City" seemed particularly un-noirish. Almost domestic in its way. Even reminiscent of those "Jam Handy" instructional films. Howard Duff, though, was a stand-out.shallnothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091785623505779725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-38646939089049555672023-08-16T11:57:24.653-05:002023-08-16T11:57:24.653-05:00He was born Harry, was billed as Henry, but went b...He was born Harry, was billed as Henry, but went back to Harry to avoid being confused with the Henry Morgan who was in radio and, later, TV. That Henry was a humorist, or something like that.<br /><br />Henry/Harry is terrific in that movie. For creepy menace, I think he outdoes Elisha Cook Jr.<br /><br />Have you read the novel, by Kenneth Fearing? (It's been reprinted by New York Review Books.) It's terrific, better, I think, than the movie (though I really like the movie).<br /><br />(This comment takes the place of a previous one in which I had the facts mixed up.)<br />Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-52356685337006436832023-08-16T09:37:28.799-05:002023-08-16T09:37:28.799-05:00I saw “The Big Clock” last night at the Vancouver ...I saw “The Big Clock” last night at the Vancouver Cinemateque as part of their August noir festival. Who’d have believed that Ray Milland and Harry Morgan were ever, sort of, that young?<br /><br />After the film some folks were talking about the appearance of “Henry” Morgan as they and you above named him. I wonder if the name confusion is because on M*A*S*H he played a character who replaced a character whose name was “Henry Blake”?shallnothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091785623505779725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-46973074674395996262019-03-20T08:35:44.468-05:002019-03-20T08:35:44.468-05:00That’s quite a range.That’s quite a range.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-23573855409697520492019-03-20T01:02:34.823-05:002019-03-20T01:02:34.823-05:00Seance is great. This can't be a spoiler becau...Seance is great. This can't be a spoiler because you included in your summary. It wouldn't be as affected if the execution of the kidnapping wasn't brillant. Baby Jane isn't so bad either and to think, directed by the same guy who did "The Dirty Dozen."zzihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933063994246150989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-625078735938002402019-03-13T16:04:21.182-05:002019-03-13T16:04:21.182-05:00Something like that, I’d say. There’s a lot of Huc...Something like that, I’d say. There’s a lot of Huck too in the idea of freedom as an escape from restraint and responsibility — Ben even has a raft, though it holds only one, and it’s in his parents’ pool. :)Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-73450626354282325952019-03-13T15:31:49.787-05:002019-03-13T15:31:49.787-05:00Ah, yes, I see. The Other Person is made to serve ...Ah, yes, I see. The Other Person is made to serve as a vehicle and a mirror.<br />Frescahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323129046492056942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-24278799598564970662019-03-13T13:30:35.536-05:002019-03-13T13:30:35.536-05:00Yes, I think the Ben-Elaine scenario is all too mu...Yes, I think the Ben-Elaine scenario is all too much like Huck stealing Jim out of slavery. The one person becomes the other’s daring, rebellious purpose. (What would Huck do or be without Jim?)<br /><br />Funny — I just saw <i>The Player</i> (dir. Robert Altman), which I’d never heard of before noticing it in the library. It’s a meta-Hollywood movie. Buck Henry is in at the start pitching a sequel to <i>The Graduate</i>, in which Ben and Elaine are still together, and Mrs. Robinson, who’s had a stroke and can’t speak, lives with them. So much for lighting out for the Territory.<br /><br />I’ve never seen the AFI tribute — thanks for the link.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-23734881581328646592019-03-13T09:58:52.327-05:002019-03-13T09:58:52.327-05:00P.S. Never mind! My sloppy reading--you watched th...P.S. Never mind! My sloppy reading--you watched the ORIGINAL K.T., which gets two stars, not the remake, which is better. I got that turned around.Frescahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323129046492056942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-28046232180106166612019-03-13T09:57:08.177-05:002019-03-13T09:57:08.177-05:00I always enjoy your movie round-ups!
This idea to...I always enjoy your movie round-ups!<br /><br />This idea totally intrigues me, but I can't see it:<br />"Ben’s pursuit of Elaine Robinson is really Huck and Jim all over again."<br />(Rescuing her from a kind of slavery of social convention is his ticket out?)<br />Can you say more about that?<br /><br />Glad you could watch <i>The Heartbreak Kid</i>. A real pair of bookends, Nichols & May...<br />You've seen Elaine May salute Mike Nichols at the AFI?<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjBxiDmJyU<br /><br />In her speech (which is masterful), she says Ben & Elaine won't be happy--<br />after watching <i>Heartbreak Kid</i>, I thought, this is her skewering anything feel-good in that story or any delusional self-congratulations on the part of the viewer.<br />Merciless!<br /><br />You can see why Nichol's movie is a lasting hit,<br /> and May's is out of print. <br />I wish we had 100 movies directed by her, and not just the four.<br /><br />Oh--and I'm curious: <i>Kindergarten Teacher</i>?<br />You made it sound good--better than the book, but only two stars? What's wrong with the movie?Frescahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323129046492056942noreply@blogger.com