Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    This movie was not particularly well reviewed, despite having solid stars in all the leads and most of the second string cast and, as well, no slouchy acting. I've read loads of reviews of this movie, though, which means that critics paid attention to it, even if they found it hard to take for all sorts of reasons.
    I've always liked it. I'm not sure why this movie was mostly excoriated. The story is solid. The acting is solid. Maybe the subject matter was uncomfortable for a lot of (male) critics to handle. Maybe it exploded their personal views of elite hookers. I don't know. Doesn't matter. Now I own it.
    More later.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Barbra Streisand	Claudia Draper	Richard Dreyfuss	Aaron Levinsky	Maureen Stapleton	Rose Kirk	Karl Malden	Arthur Kirk
  Eli Wallach	Herbert Morrison	Robert Webber	Francis MacMillan	James Whitmore	Judge Stanley Murdoch	Leslie Nielsen	Allen Green

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1987
    Directed by Martin Ritt.

Labels: barbra-streisand, courtroom, eli-wallach, psychological2

# posted by gail @ 12:22    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    I am truly surprised that I don't already own this movie. At the time I purchased this collection, I assumed I did and just shrugged off the fact that I'd now own two copies. But, I see it hasn't been there, until now. I've seen this movie a few times, perhaps more than a few through the years, because, initially, it was one of Mom's favorites, and, once I'd watched it with her, it became one of mine, as well. Plus, as she pointed out every time the movie commenced, "That music is haunting! I can't get it out of my head!"
    So, yes, this one I've watched, with and without Mom, and I'm pleased to now have a chance to add a copy of it to my collection.
    More later.
    The Clint Eastw50d Collection Volume 4.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Clint Eastwood	"Blondie" Man With No Name	Eli Wallach	"The Rat" Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez"The Rat"	Lee Van Cleef	Angel Eyes The Bad	Al Mulock	Elam
  Aldo Giuffrè	Union Cpt Clinton	Aldo Sambrell	Angel Eyes Gang	Benito Stefanelli	Angel Eyes Gang	Antonio Casale	Jackson/Bill Carson
  Livio Lorenzon	Baker	Enzo Petito	Gun Shop Owner	John Bartha	Sheriff	José Terrón	Thomas "Shorty" Larson
  Lorenzo Robledo	Clem	Luigi Pistilli	Father Pablo Ramírez	Mario Brega	Cpl Wallace	Rada Rassimov	Maria

  
    One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1966
    Directed by Sergio Leone.

Labels: clint-eastwood, eli-wallach, revisionist-western, spaghetti-western

# posted by gail @ 12:27    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Maybe it's because this is a Roman Polanski movie and I have yet to watch one of his that I don't love, but I love this movie. So well done, so intriguing, great mystery, great thriller. Come to think of it, that's a category I should add, "thriller". I'm sure I've already got some listed that I didn't think of as "thrillers" but, rather "suspense", but this is a good time to add that category, as, no matter how many times I watch this movie, it's definitely a thrill for me.
    Not only was Roger Ebert surprised and pleased by this film, one of his colleagues, Jim Emerson was, as well, and weighed in twice [first article, second article] on Polanski's achievements vis a vis this movie. I can't agree with Ebert and Emerson more.
  Update 6/2/2022:  This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Ewan McGregor	The Ghost Writer	Pierce Brosnan	Adam Peter Bennett Lang	Olivia Williams	Ruth Lang	Kim Cattrall	Amelia Bly
  Timothy Hutton	Sidney Kroll	Tom Wilkinson	Paul Emmett	Jon Bernthal	The Ghost Writer's Agent	James Belushi	John Maddox
  Robert Pugh	Richard Rycart	Tim Preece	Roy Quigley	David Rintoul	Grieving Father	Eli Wallach	Old Man

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2010
    Directed by Roman Polanski.

Labels: adventure1, drama6, eli-wallach, mystery1, neo-noirC, political2, roman-polanski, thriller2, tom-wilkinson, tragedy1

# posted by gail @ 20:56    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I know, I know, this is, overall, a third rate movie, even though it's aligned with the trilogy. Some of the actors absolutely suck, those who don't simply throw away their parts, probably because those they were acting with sucked, and the story is a little over the top. But, hey guys, its a trilogy. This part completes the epic. It's important to know how the saga ends, and, believe me, this ends it. It's almost as though Coppola was thinking, "Okay, okay, we have to round it out. I don't really want to do this again, but it's necessary. If I'd stopped after the first, well, no problem, but the second begs the third. So, let's get this over with and we can all go home." Ended, it is. Everyone's either dead or finished. Tawdry, yes, but fun to watch if you're doing a Godfather marathon.
  NOTE:  I've purposely linked the title to Roger Ebert's fine, forgiving review of this last movie in the trilogy. I sought it out wondering why the movie didn't seem to make the cut. Although I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons, including the speculations I wrote above, Ebert has some more which I found eye-opening and, in fact, cause me to always watch the trilogy as a unit, now.
    Just because I can't resist, one more link, to an interesting and insightful article by Pablo Villaça, another of Ebert's "far flungers" about Kay Corleone's clothes throughout the trilogy. Ebert was still with us at the time this was published. I'm sure it must have amused and delighted him.
  Update 6/2/2022:  This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Al Pacino	Michael Corleone	Diane Keaton	Kay Adams-Corleone	Talia Shire	Connie Corleone	Andy García	Vincent Corleone
  Eli Wallach	Don Altobello	Joe Mantegna	Joey Zaza	George Hamilton	B. J. Harrison	Bridget Fonda	Grace Hamilton
  Sofia Coppola	Mary Corleone	Raf Vallone	Cardinal Lamberto	Franc D'Ambrosio	Anthony Corleone	Donal Donnelly	Archbishop Gilday
  Richard Bright	Al Neri	Al Martino	Johnny Fontaine	Helmut Berger	Frederick Keinszig	Don Novello	Dominic Abbandando

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1990
    Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Labels: action1, al-pacino, andy-garcía, diane-keaton, drama5, eli-wallach, gang-movie, period2, popcorn-and-soda2, revenge2, violence2

# posted by gail @ 20:29    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This collection, dear Reader, is my prize. I stumbled across it while looking for a copy of one of my all time favorite movies, A Face in the Crowd. After Donald Trump was elected U.S. President, I couldn't get this movie out of my head. I was not alone in this. Four Films That Explain the Rise of Donald Trump, a thoughtful article written by Sean Mulvihill on the Roger Ebert website, meditates on this, as well. Interestingly, long before Donald Trump was elected U. S. President, I owned all of the four films Sean Mulvihill talks about. Our library, at the time I was ravenous to watch A Face in the Crowd, didn't have a copy (it does, now; I suspect there were several people requesting it after Trump's election). Every copy I found for sale was horribly expensive. Then, I noticed this collection that included this movie. It was priced out of my range but I kept my eye on it, day after day, month after month. Finally, it dropped by half, which brought the price down to just under $2.00 a movie. That I could afford. I scanned the collection of the other 14 movies. Some I'd seen, some I hadn't, two I already owned (which meant I could give copies of those movies to my actor niece, both of which are classics). I knew of all of them and was excited about seeing all of them. The list below is what was contained in the collection. There are still four (or, maybe five, I can't remember) that I haven't seen. Owning this collection is a delight. I'd never paid much attention to Elia Kazan as a director. Now, I'm much better educated!
  • 
    A Letter to Elia:  The collection includes an "intensely personal and deeply moving tribute" to Elia Kazan by Martin Scorsese and a coffee table type book about the films and Kazan's development. The tribute is pretty much a vanity project, but the book is interesting and the tribute is not a complete waste of time.
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2010
  
  
  • 
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Dorothy McGuire	Katie Nolan	Joan Blondell	Aunt Sissy	James Dunn	Johnny Nolan	Lloyd Nolan	Officer McShane
    James Gleason	McGarrity	Ted Donaldson	Neeley Nolan	Peggy Ann Garner	Francie Nolan	Ruth Nelson	Miss McDonough
    John Alexander	Steve Edwards	B.S. Pully	Christmas Tree Vendor	Ferike Boros	Grandma Rommely	Charles Halton	Mr. Barker

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1945
  
  
  • 
    Boomerang:  Pretty interesting legal drama. Made me wonder if this created a standard by which all legal dramas are now measured.
      Arthur Miller appeared in this movie as a suspect in a police lineup.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Dana Andrews	Henry L. Harvey	Jane Wyatt	Madge Harvey	Lee J. Cobb	Chief Harold F. Robinson	Cara Williams	Irene Nelson
    Arthur Kennedy	John Waldron	Sam Levene	Dave Woods	Taylor Holmes	T. M. Wade	Robert Keith	Mac McCreery
    Ed Begley	Paul Harris	Karl Malden	Det. Lt. White	William Challee	Stone	Lewis Leverett	Whitney

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1947
    → film-noir1; lee-j-cobb
  
  
  • 
    Gentleman's Agreement:  Dated but engaging film about anti-Semitism in the U.S. Disturbing despite its datedness.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Gregory Peck	Philip Schuyler Green	Anne Revere	Mrs. Green	Dorothy McGuire	Kathy Lacey	June Havoc	Elaine Wales
    John Garfield	Dave Goldman	Albert Dekker	John Minify	Celeste Holm	Anne Dettrey	Jane Wyatt	Jane
    Dean Stockwell	Tommy Green	Nicholas Joy	Dr. Craigie	Sam Jaffe	Prof. Fred Lieberman	Harold Vermilyea	Lou Jordan

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1947
    → gregory-peck
  
  
  • 
    Pinky:  An unusual take on discrimination in the U.S. South. Shows, obliquely, how idiotic, and yet how powerful, it is.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Jeanne Crain	Patricia "Pinky" Johnson	Ethel Barrymore	Miss Em	Ethel Waters	Dicey Johnson	William Lundigan	Dr. Thomas Adams
    Basil Ruysdael	Judge Walker	Kenny Washington	Dr. Canady	Nina Mae McKinney	Rozelia	Griff Barnett	Dr. Joe McGill
    Frederick O'Neal	Jake Waters	Evelyn Varden	Melba Wooley	Raymond Greenleaf	Judge Shoreman	Juanita Moore	Nurse

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1949
  
  
  • 
    Panic in the Streets:  An early plague movie with a film-noir twist. Engaging.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Richard Widmark	Lt. Cmdr. Reed, M.D.	Paul Douglas	Cpt. Tom Warren	Barbara Bel Geddes	Nancy Reed	Jack Palance	Blackie
    Zero Mostel	Raymond Fitch	Alexis Minotis	John Mefaris	Dan Riss	Nef	Guy Thonajan	Poldi

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1950
    → film-noir2; jack-palance
  
  
  • 
    A Streetcar Named Desire:  My write-up, including Actor/Role table, is linked to the title.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • 
    Viva Zapata!:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Marlon Brando	Emiliano Zapata	Jean Peters	Josefa Zapata	Anthony Quinn	Eufemio Zapata	Joseph Wiseman	Fernando Aguirre
    Arnold Moss	Don Nacio	Alan Reed	Pancho Villa	Margo	Soldadera	Harold Gordon	Francisco Ignacio Madero
    Lou Gilbert	Pablo	Frank Silvera	Victoriano Huerta	Florenz Ames	Señor Espejo	Richard Garrick	Old General
    Fay Roope	Porfirio Díaz	Mildred Dunnock	Señora Espejo	Henry Silva	Hernández	Ross Bagdasarian	Officer

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1952
  
  
  • 
    Man on a Tightrope:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Fredric March	Karel Černík	Terry Moore	Tereza Černík	Gloria Grahame	Zama Černík	Cameron Mitchell	Joe Vosdek
    Adolphe Menjou	Fesker	Robert Beatty	Barović	Alexander D'Arcy	Rudolph	Richard Boone	Krofta

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1953
  → marlon-brando
  
  
  • 
    On the Waterfront:  I am ashamed to admit that I have not watched this yet. I keep avoiding it, despite my curiosity. I'm not sure why but will report back when I've watched it.
      Yes, Roger Ebert christened this movies as one of his Great Movies.
      Yet another movie, by the way, that has actors who were later stars playing small, uncredited roles.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Marlon Brando	Terry Malloy	Karl Malden	Father Pete Barry	Lee J. Cobb	Michael J. Skelly	Rod Steiger	Charlie Malloy
    Eva Marie Saint	Edie Doyle	Pat Henning	Timothy J. Dugan	John F. Hamilton	Pop Doyle	Ben Wagner	Joey Doyle
    Fred Gwynne	Mladen Sekulovich	Martin Balsam	Gillette	Pat Hingle	Jocko	Nehemiah Persoff	Cab Driver

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1954
    → pat-hingle; nehemiah-persoff; marlon-brando; lee-j-cobb
  
  
  • 
    East of Eden:  My write-up, including Actor/Role table, is linked to the title.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • 
    Baby Doll:  This is a dark, satirical romp that is multi-layered. I've watched it twice in astonishment. Each time I notice something else bizarre. Everyone performs exquisitely.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Karl Malden	Archie Lee Meighan	Carroll Baker	Baby Doll Meighan	Eli Wallach	Silva Vacarro	Mildred Dunnock	Aunt Rose Comfort
    Lonny Chapman	Rock	Eades Hogue	Town Marshal	Madeleine Sherwood	Nurse	Rip Torn	Dentist

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
      Release Date: 1956
    → southern-gothic; eli-wallach
  
  
  • 
    A Face in the Crowd:  Watch this movie because Donald Trump is President of the U.S. Watch it because Andy Griffith's performance will blow you away. It will make you wonder how the hell he got stuck in Mayberry.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Andy Griffith	Larry Rhodes	Patricia Neal	Marcia Jeffries	Anthony Franciosa	Joey DePalma	Walter Matthau	Mel Miller
    Lee Remick	Betty Lou Fleckum	Percy Waram	Gen. Haynesworth	Paul McGrath	Macey	Rod Brasfield	Beanie
    Marshall Neilan	Sen. Worthington Fuller	Kay Medford	1st Mrs. Rhodes	Lois Nettleton	Nurse	Rip Torn	Barry Mills

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1957
  
  
  • 
    Wild River:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Montgomery Clift	Chuck Glover	Lee Remick	Carol Garth Baldwin	Jo Van Fleet	Ella Garth	Albert Salmi	R.J. Bailey
    Jay C. Flippen	Hamilton Garth	James Westerfield	Cal Garth	Barbara Loden	Betty Jackson	Frank Overton	Walter Clark
    Malcolm Atterbury	Sy Moore	Bruce Dern	Jack Roper	Robert Earl Jones	Sam Johnson	Ross Apperson	Attorney Armstrong

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1960
    → southern-gothic; pat-hingle
  
  
  • 
    Splendor in the Grass:  The first time I saw this movie I was unmoved. After I received this collection I watched it again and became surprisingly caught up in it. The final scenes are perfect.
      Both TCM and Emmanuel Levy have a flurry of pages about this movie. I've linked the title of the movie to the TCM posts. A list of Emmanuel Levy's posts about this movie is here. They all look interesting.
      In addition, DVD Savant has a review well worth reading in this post about the Natalie Wood Signature Collection. The review for this movie can be found as the third movie reviewed down the page.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Natalie Wood	Wilma Dean Loomis	Pat Hingle	Ace Stamper	Audrey Christie	Mrs. Loomis	Barbara Loden	Virginia Stamper
    Zohra Lampert	Angelina	Warren Beatty	Bud Stamper	Fred Stewart	Del Loomis	Joanna Roos	Mrs. Stamper
    John McGovern	Doc Smiley	Jan Norris	Juanita Howard	Martine Bartlett	Miss Metcalf	Gary Lockwood	Allen Tuttle
    Sandy Dennis	Kay	Crystal Field	Hazel	Marla Adams	June	Lynn Loring	Carolyn
    Phyllis Diller	Texas Guinan	Sean Garrison	Glen	Mark Slade	Rusty	William Inge	Reverend Whitman

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1961
    → pat-hingle
  
  
  • 
    America America:  Haven't watched this yet but I suspect I am going to fall in love with it. It's an old world/new world historical drama with an emphasis on character; right up my alley. I'll report back.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Stathis Giallelis	Stavros Topouzoglou	Frank Wolff	Vartan Damadian	Harry Davis	Isaac Topouzoglou	Elena Karam	Vasso Topouzoglou
    Estelle Hemsley	Grandmother Topouzoglou	Gregory Rozakis	Hohannes Gardashian	Lou Antonio	Abdul	Salem Ludwig	Odysseus Topouzoglou
    John Marley	Garabet	Joanna Frank	Vartuhi	Paul Mann	Aleko Sinnikoglou	Linda Marsh	Thomna Sinnikoglou

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
      Release Date: 1963
    

Labels: carroll-baker, eli-wallach, elia-kazan, film-noir1&2, gang-movie, gregory-peck, jack-palance, karl-malden, lee-j-cobb, marlon-brando, martin-scorsese, melodramaB, natalie-wood, nehemiah-persoff, pat-hingle

# posted by gail @ 19:47    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  This is one of my parents' historical favorites. I remember watching it in the theater but discovered, upon rewatching it (I got it for my mother's birthday this year) that I'd misremembered quite a bit of it and apparently mixed it up with another movie that featured the great prairie land grab, which isn't covered in this film. My mother, who has become much more sophisticated about the depictions of Native Americans in movies, although there is actually little in this film but N.A. hearsay, was unsettled enough by what it included to voice her objections. Otherwise, we both enjoyed the sprawl, became surprisingly involved in the stories, loved some of the individual performances (Will Geer's, in particular, as the patriach of a river pirate family and Carroll Baker's surprisingly subtle performance as a pioneer wife). I was intrigued by the Civil War sequence, as well. My mother devoured the entire movie and breathed a satisfied sigh through a satisfied smile when it was over. "Let's start that again," she said. Luckily, we had another movie which she was equally anticipating, Jeremiah Johnson. This movie will be one of those "snowy/rainy day when I'm baking" movies, I'm sure. I don't think I'll become as fascinated with it as I have The Ten Commandments, of which I often find myself needing a fix, but I don't think I'll ignore it when I'm playing it for Mom, as I do some movies.
  P.S.  There are so many stars in this movie that I almost considered only listing one per section. The point of these listings, though, is to highlight actors in whose work I might like to luxuriate on, say, a couple of back-to-back snow or monsoon days. Leaving this movie out would be a travesty to that desire.
    Thus, in order to make the listings a bit less jumbled, I'm setting them up as did Wikipedia, by section in the multiple tables below.
    The movie is narrated by Spencer Tracy.
  
  The Rivers   

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  James Stewart	Linus Rawlings	Carroll Baker	Eve Prescott Rawlings	Debbie Reynolds	Lilith Prescott van Valen	Karl Malden	Zebulon Prescott
  Agnes Moorehead	Rebecca Prescott	Walter Brennan	Col. Jeb Hawkins	Brigid Bazlen	Dora Hawkins	Lee Van Cleef	River Pirate

  
  The Plains   

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Gregory Peck	Cleve Van Valen	Robert Preston	Roger Morgan	Thelma Ritter	Agatha Clegg
  David Brian	Lilith's attorney	John Larch	Gambler Grimes	Clinton Sundberg	Hylan Seabury

  
  The Civil War   

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  George Peppard	Zeb Rawlings	Andy Devine	Cpl Peterson	Harry Morgan	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant	John Wayne	Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
  Russ Tamblyn	Confederate Deserter	Raymond Massey	President Abraham Lincoln	Ken Curtis	Cpl. Ben	Jay C. Flippen	Huggins

  
  The Railroad   

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Henry Fonda	Jethro Stuart	Richard Widmark	Mike King

  
  The Outlaws   

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Lee J. Cobb	Marshal Lou Ramsey	Eli Wallach	Charlie Gant	Carolyn Jones	Julie Rawlings
  Mickey Shaughnessy	Deputy Stover	Harry Dean Stanton	Member of Gant's Gang	Jack Lambert	Member of Gant's Gang

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1962
    Directed by Henry Hathaway, John Ford and George Marshall.

Labels: carroll-baker, dad-favorite, debbie-reynolds, eli-wallach, gregory-peck, harry-dean-stanton, henry-fonda, james-stewart, karl-malden, lee-j-cobb, mom-favorite1, spectacle2, spencer-tracy, thelma-ritter, western

# posted by gail @ 13:18    0 comments    email......this post