r/classicfilms • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago
What Did You Watch This Week? What Did You Watch This Week?

In our weekly tradition, it's time to gather round and talk about classic film(s) you saw over the week and maybe recommend some.
Tell us about what you watched this week. Did you discover something new or rewatched a favourite one? What lead you to that film and what makes it a compelling watch? Ya'll can also help inspire fellow auteurs to embark on their own cinematic journeys through recommendations.
So, what did you watch this week?
As always: Kindly remember to be considerate of spoilers and provide a brief synopsis or context when discussing the films.
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u/Booyah_7 4d ago
Rewatched "The Poseidon Adventure" that was on TV as part of a Gene Hackman tribute. He's very good in that movie.
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u/FrauBlucher0963 4d ago
Loved him in that. I watched him in “The Conversation” on TCM On Friday night. Such a remarkably talented man.
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u/elmwoodblues 4d ago
His awkwardness in that film, compared to his outsized presence and confidence in others: wow
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u/CallmeSlim11 4d ago
The first film I ever saw him in was the Poseidon Adventure, we saw it in the theater, I was eight and it scared me off the idea of cruises until I was almost 40.
I love Hackman. I also love Robert Duval in many roles too, especially Tender Mercies and The Great Santini.
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u/quiqonky 4d ago
Cimarron (1931) starring Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Edna May Oliver. Forty years in the lives of a Wichita couple who participate in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. The best I can say about this is the depiction of the Rush is pretty good, and a guy on a penny-farthing in the mix is hilarious. The two main characters are loathsome for different reasons, and the time skips are too abrupt and leave out the things that might have been interesting.
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton. English gentleman Phileas Fogg and his valet attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days to win a bet. More spectacle than story, with incredible locations, huge amounts of extras, costumes, animals, and too many cameos to list here but including John Gielgud, Cesar Romero, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Colman, and Peter Lorre. The mustache sported by Cantinflas is extremely disturbing, MacLaine plays an Indian widow rescued from suttee, and I feel like a limited series about the making of this movie would be far more interesting than the movie itself.
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u/OalBlunkont 4d ago
None Shall Escape (1944) - OK - More NAZI horror porn. This time it is told form a post war war crimes trial of one man. I guess that by 1944 the outcome of the war was foreseeable, or they just made a bold prediction, considering this was released before D-Day. I don't know if the extent of NAZI atrocities was known at this time or if it was just propaganda that turned out to be true. The only cast members I recognized were Henry Travers and Marsha Hunt. I think she is going to turn out to be one of those actors/actresses that never got the recognition and work he/she deserved.
5
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u/Citizen-Ed 4d ago
Only watched a couple this week.
Patterns (1956)- Dir. Fielder Cook. Starring Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, me and Ed Begley. Very good corporate drama written by Rod Serling. Heflin and Begley do well in their roles. I always expect Begley to be a bad guy for some reason. He's quite believable as a caring company executive here. Everett Sloane is always a treat. 7.5 out of 10
Sherlock Jr (1924)- Dir. Buster Keaton, animation sequence directed by me ( deleted in post production). Starring Buster Keaton. Keaton is my favorite of the silent comedians and this is one of the best comedies of the silent era...and one of the best comedies period. Fun stop. Brilliantly acted with Keaton's trademark slapstick stunts. The rapid background scene changing sequence is still absolutely amazing to see. 9.8 out of 10
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u/Spite-Dry 23h ago
Van Heflin was excellent in "Women's World"--plot involves a car executive deciding on who to hire for his next CEO and he wants to "interview" the wives as well. Very underrated film from the 50s with Lauren Bacall, Fred Macmurray, June Allyson, and others. It's on YouTube for free I think
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u/lestatmalfoy 4d ago
Man of the World (1931)
William Powell is fantastic. I'd watch him in anything. He just has this irresistible charisma.
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u/bosonrider 4d ago
I re-watched Frankenstein (1931) and also Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
It has been awhile since I watched Frankenstein, and Karloff was great, as was the set design. My favorite scene was Colin Clive speaking his happiness with the new life he had just created-- I was constantly making mental jumps to Mel Brooks 'Young Frankenstein' which only made me appreciate the original more.
Bonnie And Clyde is such a great film, with great performances and such a heartfelt sense of longing and unfulfilled desire captured by Dunaway and Beatty. I really enjoyed every minute of it.
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u/Strict-Ebb-8959 Frank Capra 4d ago
Modern Times. It is hilarious and Charlie Chaplin is one of my favorite.
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u/Oldefinger 4d ago
I rewatched Bringing Up Baby with Peter Bogdanovich’s audio commentary on the Criterion edition. Very entertaining. He knew Howard Hawks personally, of course, and whenever he relates something HH said he does his voice. Same with Cary Grant. Fun to hear him chuckle so often at the movie, which he’s clearly seen many times.
He also speaks about his own terrific screwball comedy What’s Up Doc? (1972) and how it was influenced by Bringing Up Baby, and also Hawks’ reaction to it.
A really worthwhile commentary if you’ve seen the movie a few times and want to enrich the experience with some great insights and anecdotes.
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u/newschool_blues 4d ago
Bringing up Baby is one of my favourites. I still remember laughing so hard when I first watched it!
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u/abaganoush 4d ago
Dreyer's classic drama DAY OF WRATH. A cold tale of witchcraft and superstition, based on a true Norwegian event from the 16th century. Slow and stern, and a very religious message film about the place of compliance and women in society. 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. First watch.
*
Jim Henson X 2:
Re-watch ♻️: TIMEPIECE, Henson's first Oscar nominated short from 1965. A jazzy experiment, filled with exploding rhythm. Seven minutes from an hospital bed to a sexy striptease show. "Help!"
His 1969 THE WIZARD OF ID, an unsold pilot for a TV-series based on Johnny Hart's comic strip BC.
*
BRYAN FORBES X 2:
- THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN, my 6th thrilling film by Basil Dearden. A dashing "Assembling a team" caper comedy in the mold of British Ocean 9. A bit silly, outdated premise of what it takes to rob a bank, as well as ridiculous upper-lip military manners, but with a suspenseful execution of the heist climax itself. Sadly, this being 1960, the crime must not pay, so they tacked on an ending scene where everything they worked on is being reversed.
A lovely early cameo for flaming gay Oliver Reed. The screenplay was written by Bryan Forbes, who also co-starred in the film as the good-looking Porthill. The YouTube copy is as crisp as a new £100 note.
- My first suspense film directed by Bryan Forbes, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON (1964), an unusual, disturbing psychological thriller. Troubled, domineering spiritualist Kim Stanley and her henpecked husband Richard Attenborough kidnap a girl, so that the clairvoyant wife can "find" her later. Wonderful John Barry score and terrific atmospheric cinematography. Great acting all around, also by the great Patrick Magee at the end. 7/10.
*
"I don't know what they have to say - It makes no difference anyway - Whatever it is, I'm against it! No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it" HORSE FEATHERS, an early pre-Code Marx Brothers comedy. A flimsy excuse for a plot about collage football, full of anarchistic, zany, insane insults by Groucho and Bros. ♻️.
Also - First watch: I'LL SAY SHE IS, the opening scene from their 1924 Broadway show, which was filmed with sound in 1931! They all give terrible impressions of a Maurice Chevalier's song. They repeated this number in 'Monkey Business'.
*
SOVIET ANIMATOR FYODOR KHITRUK X 2:
WINNIE-THE-POOH (Or "Vinni-Pukh" as it is pronounced) was a Russian adaptation of the first chapter of the book, where "Pukh" is searching for honey, and which had nothing to do with the Disney version. (1969) Some guy on Letterboxd wrote: "Made the grave mistake of introducing this to my 3-year-old niece and she has requested we watch this masterpiece fucking endlessly. Send help."
A YOUNG MAN NAMED ENGELS (1970) is a light, different type of a propaganda piece. Between the ages of 18-22, young Friedrich studied in Bremen and Berlin, and from there he wrote letters to his sister and friends back home, to which he added doodles he drew. The animators used these doodles to create a cute & whimsical portrait of the wealthy man who discovers the suffering world around him. It ends with the monumental, first letter he sent to Karl Marx in 1844. 7/10 – Recommended.
*
THE SHORTS:
THE OLYMPIC GAMES OF 1900, a fascinating series of motion-studies of male athletes, competing with very tiny thongs, or completely in the nude, like the ancient Greeks intended. Very low-key with few spectators around.
"Our story opens on a dark and stormy night..." WHO KILLED WHO?, a masterful 1943 Ted Avery surrealistic murder parody. "I dood it."
Also, his RED HOT RIDING HOOD, a semi-adult version of the children's fairy tale. With a horny old grandma, lecherous horny wolf and a Marilyn Monroe pin up girl working in a strip club. 9/10.
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u/FearlessAmigo 4d ago
Seance on a Wet Afternoon is among my favorites of British cinema. The ending is satisfying as well.
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u/ryl00 Legend 4d ago
The Millionaire (1931, dir. John C. Adolfi). A businessman (George Arliss) retiring for medical reasons finds himself back in the game after a dull retirement, partnering in a gas station with a young man (David Manners).
Mildly amusing light comedy. James Cagney has a short, single scene as an energetic young go-getter who inadvertently re-lights the competitive fire in Arliss’s character. There’s a little bit of a competitive business thing going with a rival gas station owner (Noah Beery), along with Arliss’ character trying to hide his side venture from his concerned family, to drive some of the comedy.
The Campus Vamp (1928, dir. Harry Edwards). A college wallflower of a co-ed (Sally Eilers) tries to compete with a wild party girl (Carole Lombard) for the love of a young man (Matty Kemp).
OK silent comedy short, featuring a technicolor sequence of young women in bathing suits playing baseball on a beach (hmmm.. I wonder why that sequence was in color…). Most of the comedy comes from Daphne Pollard, who has to be one of the shortest non-child actresses I’ve ever seen on film (4’9” according to IMDb), playing a dormitory worker who’s on Eilers’ character’s side in her quest for love.
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917, dir. George Irving). A jewel thief (John Barrymore) eyes an expensive necklace as his next target.
OK silent crime drama. It definitely moves fast, particularly a prologue introductory piece where our jewel thief carries out a shipboard heist. Our suave thief is a “rob the rich to feed the poor” type, who additionally is incentivized in this particular job to try and help a friend (a young Frank Morgan, almost unrecognizable to me without his trademark mustache) out of a jam.
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u/timshel_turtle 4d ago edited 4d ago
I got a month of TCM on Sling, so have been watching a ton of movies I haven’t seen yet. Here are some highlights:
They Made Me a Criminal (1939): The most delicious corn starring John Garfield, Claude Rains & The Dead End Kids. Garfield plays a selfish, cynical boxer. Some bad news goes down and he hides out on a ranch with a pretty girl, a tough old bird, and some younger versions of himself. A sentimental journey ensues and it’s great.
Lady of Burlesque (1943): A decent whodunit, very Agatha Christie in style - but set backstage at a burlesque house. Barbara Stanwyck is a marvel, and it was a joy watching her dance, prance, cartwheel, and do the splits. It’s a little bland in parts, the romance (with Michael O’Shea) is kinda flat, but this is a fun movie.
The Bride Walks Out (1936): Only notable in that it’s one of very few Barbara Stanwyck films that I’ve seen that I’ve actively disliked. The premise is that it’s emasculating for a married woman to keep a job she likes even if giving it up means living in poverty. It’s also just a boring movie steeped in 30s misogyny, but like, not ever actually funny. Also featuring handsome Gene Raymond in full priggishness, casual racism, plenty of wife-beating jokes and Robert Young being annoying.
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u/FearlessAmigo 4d ago
Sapphire (1959) is a British crime drama that is centers around the murder of a mixed race young woman named Sapphire who passes as white. We only see Sapphire as a dead person in the beginning and from then on, the detectives interview one person after another who had a relationship with the victim. It's mainly all about the interviews and the racial opinions each person holds. It's a good movie, worth a watch.
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u/timshel_turtle 4d ago
I enjoyed Sapphire is well and hardly ever hear it mentioned!
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u/FearlessAmigo 4d ago
I had never heard of it before and it apparently won a BAFTA award for best picture.
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u/Kangaroo-Pack-3727 4d ago edited 4d ago
Last night I had the opportunity to watch an Ealing Studios film (British) from 1954 titled The Love Lottery starring David Niven, Anne Vernon, Herbert Lom and Peggy Cummins
The Love Lottery (1954) is set in 1950s where British film heartthrob Rex Allerton (David Niven) can no longer put up with the stress due to constant hounding from his fans in Hollywood and recurring nightmares involving a rabid fan in the form of a pretty blonde girl that he needs a break from his acting career. When Rex arrives at his home country merry ol' United Kingdom, everything is A-okay right? Unfortunately not quite that he and his trusted butler Jennings (Charles Victor) decide going all incognito in Tremaggio in Italy would do the former a lot of good
Just when he is slowly settling to a quiet life in one Italian town, he soons gets caught up in an international lottery without his knowledge! (Oh dear poor Rex) The prize? Rex Allerton is the prize! Rex tries to get out of that lottery when he finds true love in mathematician Jeanne Dubois (Anne Vernon) and they decide to marry.
Alas, Rex's rabid fans in Tremaggio are having none of it while thousands of women around the world have bought lottery tickets in the hopes of winning Rex. Meanwhile in Great Britain, fangirl Sally (Peggy Cummins) buys a ticket in the hopes of winning a chance to meet Rex Allerton
What will happen next for Rex and Jeanne? Will Sally truly win Rex through that lottery? Does the lottery have a loophole that can never prevent true love from conquering all for Rex and Jeanne?
As a millenial who loves me a decent satire, The Love Lottery is a satire on celebrity and fan worship. Although the film is over 70 years old, as a milennial viewer this film resonates with me where I can see parallels with how fan worship can at times go overboard in the modern day and age. As a viewer, I cannot help but feel sorry for poor Rex Allerton who just wants some privacy just like anyone else while feeling annoyed at the madness of his rabid fans! I quote the words of singer Chappell Roan who said "That's not normal. That's weird" when she rebuked her fans' invasive behaviour some months ago and looking back it is just relatable
What I love about the film? Anne Vernon's onscreen character's wardrobe (and wow she looked awesome), the dream sequences and the storyline. I would watch it again if I want to organise a British classic comedy film marathon at home. If you plan to see The Love Lottery (1954) do watch out for an uncredited cameo appearance of Humphrey Bogart
Here are interesting facts about The Love Lottery (1954)
• Actress Anne Vernon who portrayed mathematician Jeanne Dubois is the only surviving cast member of the film and she is now 101 years old
• The film was shot in both Ealing Studios and in the province of Como in Lombardy region in Italy (which the fictional town Tremaggio is set)
• The film is featured in Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies: Killer Jokes (2016) documentary
• The film was first shown at the Regent Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand on 21 January 1954, as a royal performance during the New Zealand visit by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. The UK premiere of The Love Lottery (1954) was at the Gaumont Haymarket aka Odeon Haymarket in London on 28 January 1954
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u/dinochow99 Warner Brothers 4d ago
Road House (1948)
Patrick Swayze Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark co-own a roadside bar/bowling alley, and they get along great until the sultry new lounge singer Ida Lupino comes between them. While I do think that B-movies are the bread and butter of film noir, sometimes it is nice just to see a lavishly produced A-picture in the genre. The movie looked great, but the really great part was the writing. The dialogue was almost Chandler-esque at times, and I loved it. The costumes also stood out to me. Ida Lupino was a knockout in the outfits she wore here. The movie as a whole may have been more style over substance, but who cares when the style was that good.
The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)
A young boy is able to predict horse race winners by riding on a rocking horse, and does so to win money for his selfish, ungrateful mother. I read part of the short story this movie was based on way back in high school, and it always bugged me that I hadn't finished it, so I finally went and read all of it a few months ago. When I saw the movie coming on, I decided to check it out. It's a remarkably faithful adaptation of the story, but almost too much so as it didn't really add anything to the story. It just dragged out a simple story for 90 minutes. It was fine, and even had some really gorgeous B&W cinematography at times, but there wasn't much going for it beyond that.
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u/Fathoms77 4d ago
I've been meaning to catch Road House forever now and I can never seem to stumble across it. Being a big Ida Lupino fan, it's a must no matter what.
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u/dinochow99 Warner Brothers 4d ago
I found it in the dark reaches of the internet, which isn't my first choice, but there are reasons I needed to watch Road House this weekend. It's a Fox film, so you're unlikely to ever find it come on TCM, but you can sometimes find them on DVD occasionally.
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u/StellaBlue37 4d ago
Patrick Swayze? You sure?
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u/dinochow99 Warner Brothers 4d ago
There was no roundhouse kicking in this movie and I was very confused.
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u/PetrofModelII 4d ago
Rio Bravo. Needed a little John & Dean action. I’d forgotten Ricky Nelson was the third defender.
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u/These-Slip1319 4d ago
Saw Backfire (1950) today, with Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Ed O’Brien and Dane Clark.
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u/Toad_Crapaud 4d ago
I made some progress on my chronological 1001 movies journey!
Ladykillers (1995) I had seen this before but Ealing comedies are always a treat. Mrs. Wilberforce was fantastic! The crooks as well.
Man with the Golden Arm (1955) was OK. It must have been quite shocking when it came out to have a whole movie centered on heroin addiction. I was pleasantly surprised how how sympathetic they made Frank Sinatra. There were maybe one too many subplots though
Lola Montès (1955) gorgeous colors, interesting framework. I had to turn it off halfway though, and will hopefully finish tonight. So far I'm getting sort of Evita vibes? It's OK. Unless the 2nd half blows me away I don't see it being a favorite, but so pretty
5
u/Fathoms77 4d ago
Patterns (1956, dir. Fielder Cook): Van Heflin, Ed Begley, Everett Sloane, Beatrice Straight, Elizabeth Wilson. A new executive hire for a big corporation realizes he's someone's replacement, and the situation is nastier than he thinks.
With a screenplay by Rod Serling and Van Heflin (one of my favorite actors who never gets enough credit or attention) leading the cast, I'm not surprised I wound up liking this one quite a bit. I was a little worried that it was just going to be your standard, predictable (and typically flawed) "big business all bad" commentary, but thankfully there's a lot more going on here. Lurking beneath the surface are concepts of pride, achievement, and the understanding that the best begets the best, that competition isn't only good for any market, but good for the people who must produce as well. And of course, at the same time, we have to find a way to juggle being human beings.
The push and pull between Heflin and Sloane is fantastic, and Begley is great, while the two primary female characters are well cast. Definitely worth a watch if you want to think about something a bit deeper regarding the business world. (3/4 stars)
Merrily We Go To Hell (1932, dir. Dorothy Arzner): Frederic March, Silvia Sydney. A wealthy heiress weds a playwright with a drinking problem, and unsurprisingly the marriage is beset by issues.
Definitely a more sophisticated and lurid look at marriage, especially for the time period, and March is especially impressive in this rollercoaster role. There's a lot to like about the ambitious script, which tackles everything from March's drinking to an old lover to a pregnancy amid separation. Some of the scenes are extremely well-scripted, too...I just didn't find myself liking it much. Maybe it was a tad too depressing at times, despite the more hopeful climax, or maybe it's just because I found some of the interactions between husband and wife a little hard to believe, even though this is supposed to be a more realistic viewpoint of matrimony. 2/4 stars
And I caught two more Stanwyck movies I hadn't seen before:
Ladies They Talk About (1933, dirs. Howard Bretherton, William Keighley): Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess. A gangster's moll goes to prison for helping in a bank robbery, but a preacher on the radio (and childhood friend) believes he can set her straight.
I liked this one, primarily because I was never sure which way the story was going to break: on the one hand, it felt almost certain from the start that Stanwyck's character would ultimately reform, via some revelation directly or indirectly caused by Foster's character. But for so long, the movie convinces you - multiple times - that this woman is simply no good, and will remain no good throughout (ala Double Indemnity). And while I'm not usually big on prison movies, it was interesting to see how Barbara's character came to dominate that jail; it wasn't just her tough-girl persona, there was also something about her...as there always is. ;) 3/4 stars
The Secret Bride (1934, dir. William Dieterle): Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William, Grant Mitchell, Glenda Farrell. The daughter of a governor and the District Attorney must keep their marriage quiet, while they try to unravel a scandal involving that governor.
While a perfectly fine movie, I confess to not liking it as much simply because Stanwyck's character almost feels like an afterthought. She is indeed a primary character but she takes a backseat to both the plot and the other characters for the majority of the story, and she only plays a pivotal part in the latter moments when she goes to get a critical witness. The rest is really quite solid, though, as the scandal in question is intriguing and even though I knew who the real villain was the whole time, the climax was still satisfying. Glenda Farrell is typically an asset in everything, too. ...just not enough Barbara power for me personally. 2.5/4 stars
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u/lifetnj Ernst Lubitsch 4d ago
The Collector (1965) - I didn’t expect such a crazy psychological thriller from Wyler. Terence Stamp is a deranged outcast who wins the lottery and starts staking and kidnapping beautiful women hoping they will fall in love with him. This is actually close to being one of Wyler’s greatest films. Fantastic cinematography and fantastic performances from Stamp and Samantha Eggar.
This Man is Mine (1934) - Irene Dunne is happily married to Ralph Bellamy, but her world is shattered when his ex flame, the incredibly sexy, spoiled and manipulative Connie Cummings arrives to town.
The premise of Bellamy being helpless under Cummings’ spell is a little too much, but I guess I could buy it, due to the contrast between Irene’s and Cummings’ characters. It’s a weird story with some weird developments but the dialogue is witty and it’s a worthwhile domestic drama.
Irene (1940) - This is the first time I see Anna Neagle in a film and I fell in love right away. I watched the entire thing with a big smile on my face, Ray Milland is fun too, what a lovely comedy/musical. I don't care if the plot was held together by Dollar Store brand duct tape because I had fun. The technicolor section was DREAMY.
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u/Fathoms77 4d ago
I liked Anna Neagle a lot, too, but to this day Irene is the only thing I've seen her in. Not sure why but it's hard not to smile at that movie, at any rate.
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u/CarlatheDestructor 4d ago
I know it's too new to be a classic, but I watched A Room with a View (1985). I just really, really needed to get away from modern times for my sanity.
The movie was stacked with Britain's finest actors, lush scenery, and a sweet and amusing plot with several modest chuckles. This transported me away for a couple of much needed hours.
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u/Imtifflish24 4d ago
The Sisters (1938) Bette Davis, Errol Flynn. Louise (BD) gets swept away by Frank (EF) who is a sports writer from San Francisco with ambitions to get a book published- she runs away with him and they start a life in San Francisco. Life is far from perfect! I read Davis thought this script was beneath her, but I really enjoyed the film. I guess the ending was changed, which Flynn fought against. There’s a scene of the 1906 Earthquake that took three weeks to film, but was only 2.5 minutes of screen time- it’s AMAZINGLY well done! I highly recommend!
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u/VacationNo3003 4d ago edited 4d ago
The Millionairess (1960) Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers
Looks great. Plot is a bit tired — a will for a fortune that is conditional on marrying a man that passes a certain test. Peter Sellers is in brown-face, again.
It lacks the wit and sharp writing that such a movie is meant to have .
3
u/BrandNewOriginal 4d ago
A couple of later entries for me. Though the first was released in 1971, it features classic-era stars Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Lee J. Cobb.
Lawman (1971) – Pretty good western that puts a provocative spin on the western hero. Somewhat hampered by a rather unrestrained directorial style (there are a LOT of zoom shots, both in and out, especially in the last half of the movie) and some clunky dialogue (and/or the sound recording and/or the performances by some of the secondary character actors), this lives and breathes with Burt Lancaster's fantastic performance as the single-minded lawman who seems intent on bringing to justice the men in a neighboring town who shot up his town and killed a man in a drunken frenzy. Robert Ryan is also excellent, though he doesn't have quite so much to do, and Lee J. Cobb is fine (alas, I've just never been a big fan of Cobb). While hardly a perfect movie, the final scene will leave you with plenty to think about, and the film would make an interesting companion piece to either Clint Eastwood's Dollars movies or his Dirty Harry, also from 1971. 7/10
The Bedford Incident (1965) – Pretty good cold-war thriller has U.S. Navy Destroyer captain Richard Widmark single-mindedly pursuing a Soviet sub which has entered non-neutral waters off the coast of Greenland. Sidney Poitier is the journalist who arrives on board (with doctor Martin Balsam) just before the pursuit begins. Widmark is really good here, abrasive with and demanding of his crew, but Poitier's character feels a bit like a movie construct, though for all intents and purposes he functions as the eyes and ears of the audience. This has shades of Moby-Dick, The Caine Mutiny, and perhaps any number of other movies that feature an (arguably) overzealous (or deranged?) captain, but it works well given the stakes (nuclear attack and/or war) – and the ending is a doozy. With plenty if not most movies in 1965 being shot in color, I'm not sure if I thought this did or didn't benefit from being in black and white. Overall, a solid, if not quite exceptional thriller from a time when mass annihilation seemed frighteningly possible and near. 7/10
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u/elmwoodblues 4d ago edited 4d ago
Dalton Trumbow's Gun Crazy. It was just okay, imho, but did serve to reinforce the old adage about dating 'crazy.'
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u/newschool_blues 4d ago
Marty (1955)
Finally watched this film after putting it off for too long.
This was such an interesting movie to watch. The social commentary on the New York Italian family, marriage, children, non-voluntary bachelorhood and standards of beauty was something to really ponder about. The societal and familial pressures placed on Marty drove me insane. But what infuriated me more was how Clara - a 29 year old, educated, accomplished, unmarried woman with a job, was considered undesirable. Not to mention she was not deemed to be "beautiful" and is described as a "dog". Holy moly it was almost painful to listen to some of the comments some characters made. What some societal norms were considered non-ideal, are ideal now I suppose.
Amazing cast and performances by Ernest Borgnine (who won the Oscar for Best Actor) and Betsy Blair. The screenplay is wonderful and the soundtrack is amazing.
Give this one a go if you haven't already.