Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

Who was the Herrmann expert?

Christopher Husted

[SonicMan46]

Naked City (1948) - synopsis and cast below w/ Barry Fitzgerald stealing most of the scenes; the NYC on location filming is one of the highlights of this detective film.  Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes, 86% & IMDB, 7.6 - good review HERE for those interested.  Dave

The Naked City is an American film noir produced by Mark Hellinger, directed by Jules Dassin, written by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald, and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart and Don Taylor. The influential film, shot almost entirely on location in New York City, depicts the police investigation that follows the murder of a young model.
Naked City received two Academy Awards, one for cinematography for William H. Daniels and another for film editing to Paul Weatherwax. (Source)

 

[Karl Henning]

Inspired by @Cato it's high time I watched this:
Ben-Hur. I recall my parents having the soundtrack LPs (handsomely boxed) though I'm not aware of their listening to it after I came into the world.

[SimonNZ]

[Cato]

Tangentially, FWIW, I read this on Facebook:

We didn't watch the Oscars, instead we watched the movie that won all the prizes - sorry, folks - juvenile philosophy tacked on to a kung fu fest.  Dumb jokes.  Best actress acted a lot.  2nd best actress took advantage of the situation and tore thru the scenery.  Oh well — the alternatives were an Elvis imitator and Top Gun boys.  No slapping.  Play on.

Mrs. Cato and I watched it back in January: apparently made by 2 directors who suffer from ADHD.  The actors do what they always do with such stuff: run with it!  Another special effects extravaganza: at times it was okay.  Toward the end I thought: we get the point, The End!  Twenty to Thirty minutes too long!

I have related the following before: many decades ago, actor Richard Basehart, who had been in classics like Decision Before Dawn, Moby Dick, The Brothers Karamazov, La Strada and a good number of other fine movies, found good movie roles harder to come by as he was in his 50's, and was doing a science-fiction T.V. show called Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

He was interviewed by a magazine when he was acting in King Lear on stage, and the interviewer commented that King Lear must be very difficult, after doing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.  His answer has stayed with me for c. 60 years:

"No, it's just the opposite.  Shakespeare is easy in comparison because the lines are there!"

Actors (good ones at least) do their best with crappy scripts...but you can only do so much.  So, I think the actors did their best in Everything...etc., but the lines were not there.

Anyway, we have seen recently:



and...

[Cato]

One of the best Westerns with possibly the greatest musical score for a Western by Jerome Moross:

[Karl Henning]

One of the best Westerns with possibly the greatest musical score for a Western by Jerome Moross:

Gorgeous! And a great fight scene.

TD: An Affair to Remember.

[Karl Henning]

Inspired by @Cato it's high time I watched this:
Ben-Hur. I recall my parents having the soundtrack LPs (handsomely boxed) though I'm not aware of their listening to it after I came into the world.

This was really wonderful and moving. I went in with practically no expectations apart from knowing the score by Rózsa would be superb.

[Cato]

Conerning Ben-Hur (1959)

This was really wonderful and moving. I went in with practically no expectations apart from knowing the score by Rózsa would be superb.

I always liked the great character actor Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate, especially in the scene where he offers his/the Roman government's apology to Judah Ben-Hur.

Few things are as powerful and moving as the scene after the chariot race where Messala meets Ben-Hur in the "operating room."

[Karl Henning]

Gorgeous! And a great fight scene.

TD: An Affair to Remember.

Decades ago the missus and mom-in-law found this and watched the whole ... watching it tonight, I realize how little of it I saw then (the scene with Grant and Kerr at Grant's grandmother's, and the closing scene. This was long enough ago that I'd forgotten that it ends at Christmas. I really like it, a good balance of humor and melodrama.

[Karl Henning]

Few things are as powerful and moving as the scene after the chariot race where Messala meets Ben-Hur in the "operating room."

And Messala is such a rat. Even allowing for the fact that I held next to no hope that the erstwhile dearest friends might be reconciled.

[Karl Henning]

Another one which, years ago, the ladies were watching, and I chanced to join in: Joseph L. Mankiewicz's edgy and whip-smart A Letter to Three Wives. Mankiewicz earned two Oscars for this: Best Screenplay and Best Director. Here's the funny thing for my part: until today, I was unaware that I had seen this at all before. it was only as the movie got started that I suspected. A funny thing about the movie's preproduction is that the source novel is actually A Letter to Five Wives.  Mankiewicz was working on the script and found  that it was running impossibly long, and unsure how to reduce it, sought someone's advice, which was: lose one of the wives. Having done so and happy with the result,  Mankiewicz understood that the script could be tighter still if he reduced the wife population  to three. Promotional material for the movie included a modified magazine sheet with the title of John Klempner's novel adjusted to match the movie. Great use of the Brahms B^b Piano Concerto, though there's a scene which can only cause pain to the LP fanciers among us.

[Cato]

Another one which, years ago, the ladies were watching, and I chanced to join in: Joseph L. Mankiewicz's * edgy and whip-smart A Letter to Three Wives.

* His older brother Herman was also a writer, who went to Hollywood in the 1920's.  He sent a telegram to his friend and fellow writer Ben Hecht which said basically: "You can get millions out here with no problem because your only competition is a bunch of idiots.  Don't spread this around"

Eventually word did get out, and his younger brother Joseph went to Hollywood and was also successful. 

And Messala is such a rat. Even allowing for the fact that I held next to no hope that the erstwhile dearest friends might be reconciled.

I always have that same feeling, even though I know what will happen!

In the book, Messala's fate is quite different: the daughter of Balthasar is involved. Her character is not in the movie.

[SonicMan46]

Well, got some Amazon credit and picked up a couple of physical discs at half price, the first one a 4K and the second an old musical (DVD-R > BD):

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) w/ Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, et al - streamed this film as a rental a few months ago and really enjoyed (more that the 1986 original) - nice review HERE - the story is good and the action scenes outstanding; listening on headphones almost gave me a 'surround sound' effect; and Cruise now at 60 y/o looks pretty good!  Ratings: 96%, Rotten Tomatoes and 8.3/10, IMDB.

For Me and My Gal (1942) w/ Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy et al - short synopsis below; the song & dance routines esp. w/ Judy are the main features of this film for me; reviews mixed, e.g. 2 1/2*/4* both in Leonard Maltin & VideoHound; 100%, RottenTomatoes & 7/10, IMDB - but made early in WW II so the patriotic emphasis is obvious.  Recommended to Garland fans and seeing Kelly in his film debut.  Dave

For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly – in his film debut – and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe and Sid Silvers, based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers inspired by a true story about vaudeville actors Harry Palmer and Jo Hayden, when Palmer was drafted into World War I. The film was a production of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM. (Source)

 

[DavidW]

Cruise now at 60 y/o looks pretty good! 

His painting on the other hand...

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Well, got some Amazon credit and picked up a couple of physical discs at half price, the first one a 4K and the second an old musical (DVD-R > BD):

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) w/ Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, et al - streamed this film as a rental a few months ago and really enjoyed (more that the 1986 original) - nice review HERE - the story is good and the action scenes outstanding; listening on headphones almost gave me a 'surround sound' effect; and Cruise now at 60 y/o looks pretty good!  Ratings: 96%, Rotten Tomatoes and 8.3/10, IMDB.

For Me and My Gal (1942) w/ Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy et al - short synopsis below; the song & dance routines esp. w/ Judy are the main features of this film for me; reviews mixed, e.g. 2 1/2*/4* both in Leonard Maltin & VideoHound; 100%, RottenTomatoes & 7/10, IMDB - but made early in WW II so the patriotic emphasis is obvious.  Recommended to Garland fans and seeing Kelly in his film debut.  Dave

 

Would love to see Maverick; heard good things about it.

His painting on the other hand...

His painting? Not certain what you mean.  Or were you referring to Dorian Gray (Just occurred to me)? 

PD

[DavidW]

Or were you referring to Dorian Gray (Just occurred to me)? 

PD

Yup.

[Karl Henning]

Would love to see Maverick; heard good things about it.
His painting? Not certain what you mean.  Or were you referring to Dorian Gray (Just occurred to me)? 

PD

You caught on before I did!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

You caught on before I did!

You're too kind!

PD

[Karl Henning]

Leave Her to Heaven (1945) Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, dir. Jn Stahl. I knew absolutely nothing of this before watching it. on Wikipedia, it's encapsulated as a psychological thriller film noir melodrama. Some men marry the wrong woman, but find out too late. Quite intense, and strewn with enough "downer factor" that I don't think the missus would enjoy watching it. It is pretty good, though. Both in genre, and in being set mostly in New England, I suppose this has set me up to watch 1957's Peyton Place next ....