Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[Barry]

yes a classic indeed... now from 1949 qanother classic in Kind Hearts and Coronets..





The original camera negative was saved from the Henderson's Film Laboratories fire of 1993, just before a massive nitrate explosion destroyed the negatives of many other movies, including several other Ealing comedies.

In the trial at the end of the film, as the camera pans round, you can clearly see a very young Sean Connery sitting on the back row. He is in quite a few sustained shots too. This has never been confirmed but it's definitely him and the timing is right for the start of his film career.

I'll have to re-watch the film, to see. I do love the fascinating 'tit bits' you come up with Grant. Even if I'm not interested in the film itself, your footnotes are always interesting. Well done.

[struth]

I'll have to re-watch the film, to see. I do love the fascinating 'tit bits' you come up with Grant. Even if I'm not interested in the film itself, your footnotes are always interesting. Well done.

its a nice story, but ive no idea if its true. personally i'd say it wasn't. Connery tho was at one time thought to have been the cause of gangster Johnny Stompanato's death, and gangsters were thought to be after him. he went into hiding until it was cleared up.... it was of course lana turners daughter who killed him. Stompanato had flown to england at one time and pointed a gun a sean, who promptly disarmed him etc.. Stompanato was annoyed at a possible affair between sean and lana while they were making a film.

[struth]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003.... yes i watch these a lot ..lol

[struth]

i see david warner died today aged 80..... so will watch this.. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)






great cast and film this...

David Warner suffered from vertigo and had a panic attack before he was due to fly out to the set. Although they had never met and the Englishman wasn't a name to conjure with in Hollywood, Sam Peckinpah was so determined to cast Warner that it was arranged he should sail over to America, even though this meant holding up his scenes three weeks. Warner deeply appreciated this and they made two more films together: Straw Dogs (1971) and Cross of Iron (1977).

[Barry]

Good film.

Sad news about David Warner. I remember being impressed by his (debut?) performance in "Morgan - a Suitable Case for Treatment" (1966). And I liked his performance as 'Dr Necessiter' in "The Man With Two Brains". He was also good in the two films you mention.

[struth]

a quick bogey now... Dark Passage, 1947..





The photo of Vincent before surgery is shown in the newspaper and elsewhere. It represents the height of photomanipulation of the day, with carefully masked double-exposures and careful airbrushing. The lower half of the face is that of character actor [linkKenneth MacDonald. The upper half, from just below the bridge of the nose, is that of Bogart himself.

[struth]

The Maltese Falcon, 1941...





Three of the statuettes still exist and are conservatively valued at over $1 million each. This makes them some of the most valuable film props ever made; indeed, each is now worth more than three times what the film cost to make.

At 357 pounds, 60-year-old British newcomer Sydney Greenstreet was so large that the studio had to specially manufacture his entire wardrobe for the role of Kasper Gutman. The chair in which Greenstreet sits while talking with Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) in the hotel room was also specially made for him; the chairs the prop department was going to use weren't wide enough to accommodate Greenstreet's girth nor strong enough to support his weight.

[struth]

sticking with bogey, a rare comedy, and a very good one too... We're No Angels, 1955..





Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

Bogart could be generous with actors, particularly those who were blacklisted, down on their luck or having personal problems. He stood behind Joan Bennett and insisted on her as his co-star in Michael Curtiz's We're No Angels (1955) when a scandal made her persona non grata with studio head Jack Warner.

[struth]

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, 1966...





According to Eli Wallach, when it came time to blow up the bridge, Sergio Leone asked the Spanish Army Captain in charge to trigger the fuse, as a sign of gratitude for the Army's collaboration. They agreed to blow up the bridge when Leone gave the signal "Vai!" (Go!) over the walkie-talkie. Unfortunately, another crew member spoke on the same channel, saying the words "vai, vai!", meaning "it's okay, proceed" to a second crew member. The Captain heard this signal, thought it was for him, and blew up the bridge. Unfortunately, no cameras were running at the time. Leone was so upset that he fired the crewman, who promptly fled from the set in his car. The Captain was so sorry for what happened that he proposed to Leone that the Army would rebuild the bridge to blow it up again, with one condition: that the fired crewman be re-hired. Leone agreed, the crewman was forgiven, the bridge was rebuilt, and the scene was successfully shot.

There are lots of goofs in this film, not that they spoil the fun too much... When Angel Eyes enters the house at the beginning you can see a radiant station antenna in the background.
Blondie is seen shooting Tuco's rope with a Sharps 1874, 12 years too late for the film's setting.
The American flags flown by the Union army have 50 stars, 97 years too late for the film's setting.

the list is long lol

[struth]

“You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”
classic line from a classic film... great soundtrack too...


Stick with Clint and go for... Two Mules for Sister Sara, 1970....






The story takes place during the French intervention in Mexico from 1861 to 1867. Dynamite was invented in 1867 by Nobel, yet it was not easily available in the US until at least 1868. A common error in westerns..... and.... The French did not celebrate Bastille Day, the 14 July, until 1880.... oh and .... In the tunnel scenes, Hogan and friends are using hand-held carbide lamps. Carbide was not produced in any quantity until 1892, and carbide lamps were not invented until several years later.