Movie Monday: COUNT YORGA

Tonight at 8pm on TCM is Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN, get past the annoying zythraphone and you've got one heck of a movie.  It's followed at 10 by CITIZEN KANE which is a movie you should see if you haven't, or even if you have.

On Tuesday night (also at 8pm) you can catch the original SCARFACE (1932) which is a classic gangster pic and stands head and shoulders over the one everybody thinks of when you say Scarface.

Thursday night at 8pm is MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) which is a King Kong movie for people who don't like too much excitement or who scare easily.  The special effects by Willis O'Brien (who did the original Kong) are excellent.

As an added feature to Movie Mondays I want to point out DVDs worth your time.   This week, the COUNT YORGA double feature available in the Midnight Movies collection from MGM.

COUNT YORGA is essentially a retelling of Dracula set in modern day (1971) California.  It's got a pretty solid cast and the material is treated with respect so you end up with a decent film released by American International.  The sequel is also offbeat and well done.

TCM: Summer Under the Stars Begins

Summer Under the Stars features a single movie star each night and showcases an evening of their films.  Tuesday is Paulette Goddard and at 8pm they are showing THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) which is Charles Chaplins parody of Hitler and politics of the time.

On Thursday at 1:45am is THE LOST HORIZON with Ronald Coleman-- the film about a group of explorer's who find a hidden nirvana with the fountain of youth is one that was lost for a number of years but is absolutely a film that keeps you glued to the set from beginning to end.

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE is on Friday at 8pm, if you were interested in seeing this Film Noir I mentioned last month here's your chance.

Saturday at 8pm is STAGE DOOR featuring a cast that includes Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball-- it's a terrific little drama about the trials and tribulations of trying to make it big on the stage.  Melodramatic in parts, but in a good way.

FLASH GORDON: PURPLE DEATH from OUTER SPACE

This is the feature version of the great Flash Gordon Serial FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS-- the three Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s-40s were the direct inspiration for both Star Wars and Indiana Jones and feature amazing special effects (for their time).  Buster Crabbe is the best Flash Gordon ever on the screen and Charles Middleton is perfect as Ming the Merciless.

I'd recommend you watch the full serials but if you are someone who has trouble with the continued storytelling the feature versions are fast paced entertainment.

Flash Gordon Spaceship to the Unknown is the feature version of the original Flash Gordon Serial and it's even better than Purple Death because there is no comedy relief character in this one-- those almost are never funny.

FILM NOIR WEEK: KISS ME DEADLY

This is a movie that starts at 60mph and keeps going until the wheels fall off.  Ralph Meeker is the best Mike Hammer ever committed to film, and I'm including Stacy Keach-- Meeker isn't a pretty boy, he's a tough as nails hard boiled PI who punches his way through the film.

The opening sequence is pretty shocking-- even for it's time (1955) and if you manage to follow the plot you'll be pretty amazed at the ending as well.

Film noir should be tough and gritty-- and this one fits the bill.  Perfect for a hot summer night.

FILM NOIR WEEK: Postman Always Rings Twice

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE is almost the same story as Double Indemnity.
Lana Turner runs a roadside diner with her older husband and she wants more.  When John Garfield happens by she decides to go for it and the two of them hatch a plan to murder him and collect the insurance money.

It's ending isn't as strong as DOUBLE's but it's interesting to watch the two films to compare and contrast.

This disc I'm recommending also has DIAL M FOR MURDER, THE MALTESE FALCON and THE BIG SLEEP on it.  I already own all of these movies but I might just order this myself anyway!  The movies are that good.

FILM NOIR WEEK: Double Indemnity

I've taught a few Film Noir classes in the past and one of the toughest things to start with is just what is film noir and what movies qualify?

1941's STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR certainly has a lot of the elements, so does THE MALTESE FALCON (also 1941) but I'd argue that REAL film noir must have certain elements:

1. Dark shadowy cinematography (the term Film Noir translates into Dark Film).
2. A Femme Fatale-- she's no good and usually leads the protagonist down a dark road.
3. A protagonist who is either equally dirty him (or her) self or makes a bad choice.
4. The film has to be American.  The French coined the term in reference to post WWII American films they were watching.
5. The ending should be pessimistic or at the very least end on a dour note.

I'd even quantify by adding there has to be death involved, and there should be hot weather.  Film noir's are dark and sweaty.

Using those qualifications Billy Wilder's 1944 film DOUBLE INDEMNITY becomes the first film noir.  Perfect because our protagonist is none other than Fred MacMurray-- the guy who was the dad in MY THREE SONS, the professor in FLUBBER, and the physical basis for Captain Marvel.   This guy is red white and blue white bread-- but in this movie he's lured by Barbara Stanwyck into a plan to murder her husband and collect the insurance money.

This Week on TCM: FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO

Tuesday night at 8pm is Billy Wilder's excellent Five Graves to Cairo.  This is one that you'll be riveted to.  Great cast, set design and cinematography.

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE

If you're thinking WALKING DEAD type zombie you're going to be disappointed.  I Walked With A Zombie (1943) features voodoo created zombie slaves in its plot and it's done by Val Lewton who was a master of creating mood and atmosphere.

It's on this disc with another Lewton classic, THE BODY SNATCHER which features Boris Karloff and Henry Daniell in a sort of take on the real life story of Burke and Hare, two mid nineteenth century men who were convicted of grave robbing for the purpose of science.

Both of these are great movies.

MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE

Next week I'm only covering movies in the FILM NOIR genre so let's take a look at one of the best Noir-parodies ever made, 1947's MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE with Bob Hope as a baby photographer turned private detective.  Not sure which line of work is more dangerous.

There are two rules to watching these old comedies-- the first is to pay attention, the writing is smart and assumes you are listening so a lot of the ad libs are the best parts.   In one scene, Hope and co-star Dorothy Lamour are attempting to escape from a mental asylum so they stop at the coat closet before leaving.

Hope:  All I could find is this old rag.
Lamour:  That's mine.
Hope: Oh, it's nice material.

The second rule is that you have to watch a decent print.  A lot of these oldies are available in bargain bins but you aren't getting a bargain most of the time.  If the print is watery or washed out it becomes hard to watch.  Choose releases from companies like ROAN, KINO, TCM or the major studios over titles from ALPHA, MAYDACY and the countless others.

Give this one a shot-- if you appreciate Film Noir this is a good way to whet your appetite.

The Road To Morocco

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made seven "Road" pictures and I'm a late convert to them.  Frankly, I don't like musicals, or even movies that have instances where the characters break into song.  I manage to stomach it in the early Abbott & Costello and Marx Bros films although it's another matter completely if Groucho is doing the singing.

But manning up I got through this one on TCM a few months ago and it got me to go out and buy this Road set.

Hope and Crosby end up in Egypt after their boat is sunk during World War II-- and they manage to ad-lib their way through most of the adventure.  There's great chemistry between the two leads and a lot of in-jokes to keep things light.

Be warned however, if you are one of those PC types there are things in here that might get your panties in a bunch.  But if you're able to not take things too seriously this is a great way to forget what troubles ya and just have a few laughs.  Unlike today's comedies, this one has brains.

July Experiment: SPider Babies

They say July is the hottest month of the year here in New England-- I'd argue that August holds that title, but I'm not a weatherman.   I hate the HHH days-- hazy, hot, humid.  Ugh.

A few of my friends love this weather and I honestly can't understand why.  Maybe they were baby spiders in a previous life so they love the heat and wet that reminds them of their days in the cocoon.  I hate spiders too, so I guess the universe is tied together.

To get through this god-awful month I'm turning the blog's attention to the thing I love almost as much as art and telling stories-- movies.

A different movie each day, recommended to you and why you should hunt it down.  Most of these will be readily available, but some may take some work to find.  If you're interested in locating the ones that are not commercially available drop me a line and I'll send you the email of a couple of collectors who might be able to help you, or just jump over to IMDB and see what they have to say about my picks.  Either way--  a month of movies to get us through these days of cookouts, bugs and changing your clothes three times a day.

First up;
SPIDER BABY
1968 Directed by Jack Hill
Stars; Lon Chaney, Carol Ohmart
Genre; Horror, Cult Bizarre

Spider Baby is one of those movies that make you scratch your head and wonder exactly what pills the film makers took when they came up with this one.  The story of a cannibalistic family who trap visitors who come to call on them is nowhere near as graphic or disgusting as it would be if they filmed it today.  It's done very much in the style of George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) in that the violence is very stylized.

A strange and odd film which has become a cult classic.  Available from Netflix, occasionally shown on TCM (Usually in the middle of the night) and at Amazon.