Welcome to the 176th edition of my long running series. I moved a
step closer into AMERICA'S GOT TALENT. I received a call saying that I
made the first cuts which means that I am on a list for the producers of
the show to possibly call me to audition for the tv rounds. They asked
me to send in a list of five known songs so that they could get approved
by the publisher so I could be going onto television sometime. I seem
to have a lot of violence in this one. I just want to thank everyone who
reads these so now I give you 10 more for this week so read on and
enjoy.
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945): This is a WW2 story which stars Burgess Meredith as a war correspondent who joins the 18th infantry to write his column and to observe the life of a G.I. He was a real person who showed how tough war can be and how lonely life can be in wartime. Robert Mitchum plays Bill Walker, the head of the unit in Mitchum's star-making performance. Many of the extras in the movie were real-life G.I.'s and the real-life Ernie Pyle (Meredith) was killed by the Japanese shortly before this film's release. This is a movie that shows humanity, not so much heroics. I always love watching a movie on TCM and getting to see Rober Osbourne speak on it before and after the movie.
Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965): I now pay tribute to Horton Foote who wrote the screenplay based on the same play of the title. Steve McQueen stars as Henry Thomas, a parolee who becomes the lead singer in a band and hoping to make it big. He is then visited by his wife, played by Lee Remick, and daughter who try to support him but slowly see his temper. Don Murray is the sheriff who tries to keep Henry in line but must take action when his temper gets the best of him leading into quite a climax. This was a real nice but simple story of a man who wants to make it but can't really catch that break. This is a very underrated film that should be seen.
Isle of the Damned (1980): This was the Grindhouse film shown at the Attic in Muncie and was the Indiana premier for this movie banned in many states and I can see why. A group of people go to an island in search of the treasure of Marco Polo, they come upon a group of cannibals. Antonio Giallo directed this and got into a lot of trouble. He apparently had an arrest warrant from the authorities in Argentina and fled. I really don't know the whole story there. If you can obtain a copy, you might want to invite as many friends as possible to make fun of it and make no mistake, it is not for everyone, definetly a one time view for me but I am glad I got to see the Indiana premier.
Brideless Groom (1947): This is my short film for the week and I believe the second feature I have ever used the the beloved 3 Stooges with Larry, Moe and everyone's least favorite stooge Shemp. Shemp is a voice teacher who makes an inheritance but must marry at a certain time to get it which leads into some pretty funny and violent situations. This was a pretty good one and maybe Shemp's best and a good 15 minutes of fun. Much of what the Three Stooges did would not go over well today.
Hard Candy (2005): All I had to say was wow here. This movie is by no means for everyone and is quite disturbing. Pre-Juno Ellen Page stars as a 14 year old girl named Hayley who meets a 32 year old photographer named Jeff, played by. He then realizes that she is not the innocent young girl she claims to be but has questions about him at the same time and does everything possible to get the answers she is looking for. This movie was carried mostly by these two with a very small cast, though GREY'S ANATOMY and ARLISS alum Sandra Oh has a small part. This was a very interesting topic where the younger girl is the predator and a 32 year old knowingly meeting a 14 year old can't be all innocent himself which exposes many gray areas.
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945): This is a WW2 story which stars Burgess Meredith as a war correspondent who joins the 18th infantry to write his column and to observe the life of a G.I. He was a real person who showed how tough war can be and how lonely life can be in wartime. Robert Mitchum plays Bill Walker, the head of the unit in Mitchum's star-making performance. Many of the extras in the movie were real-life G.I.'s and the real-life Ernie Pyle (Meredith) was killed by the Japanese shortly before this film's release. This is a movie that shows humanity, not so much heroics. I always love watching a movie on TCM and getting to see Rober Osbourne speak on it before and after the movie.
Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965): I now pay tribute to Horton Foote who wrote the screenplay based on the same play of the title. Steve McQueen stars as Henry Thomas, a parolee who becomes the lead singer in a band and hoping to make it big. He is then visited by his wife, played by Lee Remick, and daughter who try to support him but slowly see his temper. Don Murray is the sheriff who tries to keep Henry in line but must take action when his temper gets the best of him leading into quite a climax. This was a real nice but simple story of a man who wants to make it but can't really catch that break. This is a very underrated film that should be seen.
Isle of the Damned (1980): This was the Grindhouse film shown at the Attic in Muncie and was the Indiana premier for this movie banned in many states and I can see why. A group of people go to an island in search of the treasure of Marco Polo, they come upon a group of cannibals. Antonio Giallo directed this and got into a lot of trouble. He apparently had an arrest warrant from the authorities in Argentina and fled. I really don't know the whole story there. If you can obtain a copy, you might want to invite as many friends as possible to make fun of it and make no mistake, it is not for everyone, definetly a one time view for me but I am glad I got to see the Indiana premier.
Brideless Groom (1947): This is my short film for the week and I believe the second feature I have ever used the the beloved 3 Stooges with Larry, Moe and everyone's least favorite stooge Shemp. Shemp is a voice teacher who makes an inheritance but must marry at a certain time to get it which leads into some pretty funny and violent situations. This was a pretty good one and maybe Shemp's best and a good 15 minutes of fun. Much of what the Three Stooges did would not go over well today.
Hard Candy (2005): All I had to say was wow here. This movie is by no means for everyone and is quite disturbing. Pre-Juno Ellen Page stars as a 14 year old girl named Hayley who meets a 32 year old photographer named Jeff, played by. He then realizes that she is not the innocent young girl she claims to be but has questions about him at the same time and does everything possible to get the answers she is looking for. This movie was carried mostly by these two with a very small cast, though GREY'S ANATOMY and ARLISS alum Sandra Oh has a small part. This was a very interesting topic where the younger girl is the predator and a 32 year old knowingly meeting a 14 year old can't be all innocent himself which exposes many gray areas.
Real Genius (1985): Gabe Jarret stars as Mitch, a teenage genius accepted at a university for genius programs. He then meets his idol and roommate Chris Knight, played by Val Kilmer, who is quite the party person. They then team up to form a laser which they learn is being planned to be sold to the government so they do what they must to prevent it. It was one of those 80s movies that I say could have only worked in the 80s. The plot is quite absurd but the movie is still very watchable and interesting to see a young Val Kilmer. This one is pretty overlooked and I'm sure the absolute geniuses will love it.
Sunrise (1927): This is my silent film for the week which was directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau. George O'Brien plays The Man and Janet Gaynor plays The Wife who are a farm couple. Then comes Margaret Livingston as The Woman From the City. The Woman From The City then tries to convince The Man to kill The Wife. As you see, no one really has names and this was great for the cinematography and the imagery. There were some very clever camera shots for the time like one of a ghost. This is one of the best silent dramas out there.
Sweet Charity (1969): I now pay tribute to the late Tullio Pinelli, who wrote the original screenplay to this warped musical directed by Bob Fosse. Shirley MacLaine plays a dancer in a sleazy bar who still has faith in the human race no matter how much she is hurt. She then sets out to find the right man and try to get out of the bar. She then meets Oscar, played by John McMartin, who is the perfect man but has a hard time telling him the truth about what she does. There are many good performances from Chita Rivera, Barbara Bouchet, FANTASY ISLAND alum Ricardo Montalban and the most amusing was Sammy Davis Jr as Big Daddy who lead a religious group of hippies. There are some pretty bizarre images in this movie, especially Davis' scene but is pretty different and quite enjoyable with good musical numbers like IF THEY COULD SEE ME NOW.
How Ohio Pulled it Off (2008): This is my documentary for the week which I got off of the Documentary station on the television. Last week, I included RECOUNT which took a look at the election of Bush and Gore and the big dispute over the votes in Florida. This focuses on the election between Bush and Kerry and this time we have Ohio believing there was a conspiracy in the voting. It takes a look at both sides but shows how they believe Ohio was screwed over by the electoral system. There is not much I need to put in here about this since I think you all know what to expect but something interesting to watch if you find it on Doc.
Can You Hear Me Thinking? (1990): I got this from a Judi Dench boxed set I checked out which includes a lot of her early work on the BBC network before she became known as M in the James Bond films. She plays a mother who sees that her son is having issues and must decide with her husband what is best for him which then comes into some disagreements. It is an interesting look at a family with the oldest having a lot of problems starting with he does not want to go to school and then he does not want to work and has a pretty strange ending. Worth a look for an early Judi Dench.
Well, that is it this week, I look forward to watching Wrestlemania on Sunday night with the friends and maybe I'll get that call from AMERICA'S GOT TALENT. Leave your comments, tell me what you love and what you hate and stay tuned next week which so far includes my idol Bruce Campbell, Keri Russell, and Sam Elliot.
FUN LITTLE FACTS
Burgess Meredith (G.I. Joe) played The Penguin in the tv series BATMAN in the 60s. Val Kilmer (Real Genius) played Batman in the 1995 film BATMAN FOREVER
Sammy Davis Jr. (Sweet Charity) was originally cast as Bill Ringa in the 1959 film NEVER SO FEW but due to a feud between him and Frank Sinatra, he was pulled out the cast to be replaced by Steve McQueen (Baby the Rain Must Fall)
Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy) played the role of Curly in a 2002 Broadway version of OKLAHOMA and won a Tony. My facebook friend Corby played the part in the version at Muncie Civic Theater.
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