1940's Hall of Fame II

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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
wow that's a hard one.. i can only take a guess here and i would say .. hmmm .. some kind of red perhaps?
Check this out....


I thought this was interesting, I was looking for photos of His Girl Friday and noticed that Rosalind Russell's striped jacket was done in different colors. I wonder if any of those colors was what it really looked like?



i think the last one is the real one the hat looks on that one black with grey silverish lines. but like the second pic the most. I dont like the first one much. She's gorgeous anyways
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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
i think the last one is the real one the hat looks on that one black with grey silverish lines. but like the second pic the most. I dont like the first one much. She's gorgeous anyways
Yeah, I agree with all that. I read the director didn't want to use Rosalind Russell and thought she was too old and not pretty enough for the role. I like her!



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
I know! and she was probably younger than Grant, I'm too lazy to look that up.

The director said she had jowls so had to put a dark line of make up on her to hide them. I thought she looked great, myself.



Too old? She was 33, jesus christ
that's what i meant to say however there were different sets of general opinion about age back in 40s. and that's for sure. Just back in 80s i remember 2 possibilities for a girl after graduating a high school. Either she would go to study a university or she would get married and have a family. Now? It's all different story.



I know! and she was probably younger than Grant, I'm too lazy to look that up.

The director said she had jowls so had to put a dark line of make up on her to hide them. I thought she looked great, myself.
citizen you look so stern in that avatar of yours



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
citizen you look so stern in that avatar of yours
Ha! your the second person to tell me that, so it must be true It's not easy finding a non-stern Orson pic, I swear, they all look grumpy which doesn't suit me BTW....I'll probably change it to something more upbeat, at the next avatar change.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
This is interesting about the dialog in His Girl Friday, and this is why that movie is so revolutionary.

From IMDB
One of the first, if not the first, films to have characters talk over the lines of other characters, for a more realistic sound. Prior to this, movie characters completed their lines before the next lines were started.
To capture the film's fast-paced dialogue clearly, Howard Hawks decided to use multiple microphones rather than one overhead boom mike. Since the microphones couldn't be turned on simultaneously, a sound technician had to switch from mike to mike on cue. Some scenes required as many as 35 switches.
Rosalind Russell thought, while shooting, that she didn't have as many good lines as Cary Grant had, so she hired an advertisement writer through her brother-in-law and had him write more clever lines for the dialog. Since Howard Hawks allowed for spontaneity and ad-libbing, he, and many of the cast and crew didn't notice it, but Grant knew she was up to something, leading him to greet her every morning: "What have you got today?"
To maintain the fast pace, Howard Hawks encouraged his cast to add dialogue and funny bits of business and step on each others lines whenever possible.
It is estimated that the normal rate of verbal dialogue in most films is around 90 words a minute. In His Girl Friday (1940), the delivery has been clocked at 240 words a minute.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
Love that! It's funny cause I was just looking at pics of Orson for a new avatar, I didn't see that one but they all really do look stern. I should use the dog!



Odd Man Out (1947) : I believe this was the fourth film I've seen from a director, Carol Reed. Though it wasn't quite my favourite, I still enjoyed it to a certain degree. If I had to place it , I'd put it at the bottom alongside "The Third Man " with "The Fallen Idol " in the middle and "Night Train To Munich" being my favourite. Don't get me wrong, I still think this was a pretty decent flick. However it had too many flaws for me to consider it truly great. By far my favourite aspect were the visuals. I actually saw this as a stylistic predecessor to " The Third Man" with its use of disorted camera angle and minimum lightning. There were couple of scenes that reminded me so much of " The Third Man". Particularly the shots of gloomy alley ways, as well as the shadowy characters coming out of the dark or running away from the camera. Truly stunning cinematography with dark and gloomy ambient that blended with the film's thematics perfectly. James Mason was pretty good and he managed to convey the sense of loneliness and helplessness pretty well. But still, I would of like to see him receive a bit more to work with, instead of being reduced to play a "walking corpse". He did as well as he could, but I felt his character lacked any depth that would make me really care about him. Rather similarly, none of the supporting characters really intrigued me and that's something I feel has really hurt the film. Another thing that bothered me were some glaring pacing issues. The first segment was really promising. The robbery planning, possible power conflict, robbery and the eventual fallout. The tension was there and my interest was at its peak. Sadly, it all went downhill from there and the story just dragged on for too long. Still, I was a pretty big fan of the ending. Thought it was really downbeat, but on another hand satisfying. It was just heart-warming to see Mason's character avoiding solitude in his final moments and having his loved one walk past him into death. Ultimately, this is a film that has impressed me greatly from a technical standpoint, despite me not being invested in the story that much. Perhaps my appreciation could improve on a rewatch.



Agree with you on the pacing and overall i think i only liked a little more than you. I was a big fan of Mason being a 'walking corpse' however, gave the film a horrific dread feeling; can't think of a more hopeless feeling film i've seen recently. I also got a real Kitty Genovese vibe from it, a how would you react to seeing a stranger in this horrible situation; due to that i don't think he had to be developed that much. Think the pacing issues you mentioned had it going on for longer than it should have but i think the 'walking corpse' aspect overall was a positive.

Mostly agree with your review otherwise.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I really liked the "options" that played very significant parts in this movie. Perhaps that's why I didn't have any issue with the pacing, since I enjoyed each scenario for its own vignette.
Along with the camera work, which was pretty d@mn good. Secondary to Third Man, but still, some fantastic shots!
And yes, a truly excellent ending to this movie.
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I'd give her a HA! and a HI-YA! Then I'd kick her.
I think everyone already watched His Girl Friday (1940), but if anyone still needs to watch it, (or just wants to rewatch it), it's scheduled to air on TCM on FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 at 12:00 Midnight, (late Thursday night), Eastern Time. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!!!


If anyone still needs to watch Mr. Lucky (1943), (or just wants to rewatch it), it's scheduled to air on TCM on SUNDAY, AUGUST 20 at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!!!


For anyone who is interested in the possible future Cary Grant HoF, TCM is airing a Cary Grant marathon on SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 starting at 6:00 AM Eastern Time through MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2017 at 6:00 AM. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!!!

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/weekly.h...ate=2017-08-14

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Double Indemnity



I think Double Indemnity is one of the essential film noir. This film never seize to surprise me. I like Billy Wilder's directing and his European oompf (if that's the right word) that he inserts to his movies. I saw Ninotchka that he wrote the screenplay for, Sunset Boulevard that he directed and other awesome movies where this cinema genius was involved with.

I love the way of narration through the movie, where Walter Neff's confession to this record player was displayed? What is the name of that thing guys? And looking at Barbara Stanwyck, I am pretty sure David Lynch likes this movie very much and was inspired by it. I see some implications there in Lynch's movies, which I fully acknowledge.

On the other hand and to be completely honest, the dialogues were a bit laughable, especially the dialogue between Walter and Phyllis characters. I must admit that however I cannot say after 73 years passed. Perhaps it was a thing back then. Maybe MOFO fellows can explain.

Other than that Double Indemnity is a keeper for me. I love the very communication of depravity, lust, dishonesty and psychological impact on a guy meeting a wrong girl. It was honestly depicted in this movie and I can rely on this and personally know the consequences meeting a wrong girl. Of course, I am not talking about committing a crime, just making a general point. It is a very high quality movie.



Double Indemnity (1944)

I've seen this movie several times before, and it's a great movie with a terrific cast, but it has a couple of minor issues that seem to bug me every time I watch the movie.

I still don't find it believable that Walter Neff falls in love with Phyllis so quickly. He pretty much just met her, and he's already willing to help her kill her husband? I would have liked to see a little bit more of them together before they start plotting his murder. (I think we discussed this at length in the first Noir HoF.)

And when they use a signal when Neff was hiding in the car, why would they use three horn honks that would just risk drawing attention to the car, when they could have just as easily used something quieter instead?

These minor issues don't really take much away from the movie, but I just thought they should have been done better. But this is still one of the best noir movies.
you cannot imagine what a lonely man ( as the character was described) is capable of.

Those honks were superfluous, I agree with that.



Double Indemnity

Unpopular opinion time: I didn’t really like this movie. I watched it and all the parts were there but it didn’t do anything for me. I found it stilted (is that the right word?) and unengaging. Even more unpopular opinion time: I don’t care that much for Sunset Boulvevard either. The Lost Weekend is all right. No, The Lost Weekend is good, it’s a really well made film, I just don’t feel much of a connection to it, and it’s kind of the same with this one. And Ace in the Hole. On the other hand, I like Stalag 17 and Sabrina. I really like Witness For the Prosecution, The Apartment and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. And I love Some Like it Hot. I have pondered my reactions to Billy Wilder films and come to the conclusion that I like them more the less serious they are. There’s something a little too serious and straight maybe about his earlier dramas for my taste.

The other thing is, I really like the film Body Heat. And I’d read that it was sort of based on Double Indemnity so I was fully expecting to like it but… I just didn’t. Give me The Postman Always Rings Twice over this any day. The characters and their relationships and motivations didn’t gel for me, the framing structure and the voiceover were distancing, it just seemed to lack emotion.

I know I’m in a minority in this, and it isn’t even as though it’s a badly made film I can pick holes in, it just wasn’t for me.
I respect that however you might have been in a wrong mood at the time of watching.