Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

My wife really liked Bridge of Spies, we often agree on films luckily.

I hated Spielberg's War Horse and AI, so it's not like I love everything he does, but yeah this one was a good one.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Maureen O'Hara, Robert Newton, Charles Laughton
Genre: Adventure

Synopsis: On the rugged coastline of Cornwall, England in 1819, a group of murderous criminals operate out of the Jamaica Inn, luring passing ships to their doom on the rocky shore. As the ships flounder and the crew try to swim ashore, the outlaws attack, leaving no man alive to tell the tale of the stolen bounty.

Review: Hitch had made 23 previous feature length films before making Jamaica Inn which is based on the Daphne Du Maurier novel. Hitch would make two more films from Daphne Du Maurier novels: Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963). Jamaica Inn marks the last of the films Hitch would make in England before heading off to Hollywood.

This was also one of Hitch's least favorite films. Much of the problem stems from Hitch not having control over the film. The star, Charles Laughton was also the producer and as such, the star of the film had control of the shots.


Jamaica Inn was a box office success, though as part of Hitch's canon, it often finds itself at the bottom of his films. Some of the blame can be attributed to Charles Laughton's choice of performance. Laughton who's one of cinema's greats, choose to play the aristocratic Bannister who's losing his mind, as an eccentric almost comical character. His performance is boisterously larger than life. The exaggerated make up and facial applications dramatically change the actors look, unfortunately it makes him look buffoonish. This works against the story because he's the antagonist that puts the young Irish woman Mary in peril (Maureen O'Hara).

Despite some problems, the film is still a treat to watch. The opening scene of the shipwreck and murder of it's crew is outright disturbing. Hitch really poured effort into these dark scenes and they still pack a punch today.

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Director: John M. Stah
Cast: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain
Genre: Film Noir, Drama, Thriller

A writer meets a young socialite on board a train. The two fall in love and are married soon after. But her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of both of them...and everyone else around them too.

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Nice write up Citizen. I really enjoyed watching this film for the 9th HOF. It was a great performance from Gene Tierney

Thanks Raul, glad you liked it. One of these Hofs, I will nominate another Gene Tierney film. I can think of a couple that would be interesting. Who knows when that will be???

I really enjoyed Leave Her To Heaven as well. Those stills make me want to throw it on again.

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Letterboxd

I like to see it on Blu Ray.

Me too. I went on Amazon right after I posted. No transfer yet.

Believe it or not, I have never seen a Blu Ray movie, that's true....and funny thing, I do own a Blu Ray player, crazy I know.

They are getting cheap. Now that UHD is getting started, you can move into Blu-ray.

I don't even know what UHD is ultra high def? is that the same as 4K?

You got it.

I had a feeling that you would like Bridge of Spies. I almost didn't watch it because I thought it was just a war movie, but it turned out to be one of my favorite movies of the year. It might even have gotten my vote for Best Picture. I liked it more than all the other movies that were nominated.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Dead Man Walking was another movie that surprised me. I expected it to be just another predictable movie about an innocent man facing the death penalty, but I was wrong, and it turned out to be a much better movie than I expected. And I'm not a big fan of Sean Penn, so that wasn't easy.

I was surprised that Leave Her To Heaven didn't do better in the HoF. I thought it was one of the best movies nominated. (Sometimes I think this forum needs more older people. There are too many youngsters here who just don't appreciate the great old classics. )

Don't feel bad. I have three Blu-Ray players, and only about a dozen blu-ray discs.

But I recently noticed that Walmart and Best Buy sell a lot blu-ray movies for under $10, so hopefully I'll add a bunch of blu-rays to my DVD collection around Black Friday this year.

Hurrah ... I'm finally caught up
Great stuff and I look forward to keeping up in real time in future lol.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Louis Calhern
Length: 78 minutes
Genre: Prison Crime Drama

About: An overly confident hoodlum (Spencer Tracy) who is convicted and sent up to Sing Sing prison. He's full of fight and believes he will soon be running the joint, but the no nonsense warden sets him straight.

Review: Three good things about the movie:

1, The title! Is that a cool title for a film or what? Based on the novel that was written by a real life warden, Lewis E. Lawes...20,000 Years in Sing Sing tells the story of the prison from the viewpoint of it's newest member, Spencer Tracy.

2, The second best thing is that this is filmed at Sing Sing! Writer Lewis E. Lawes who was still the warden of Sing Sing at the time, allowed the movie crew to actually film inside and outside the prison. This gives the film a very real look as you are seeing Sing Sing circa 1932.

3, The third best thing is Spencer Tracy! If you only know him from his latter roles when he was much older, you should check him out as a young tough punk. He looks the part! And I believe he was as tough as his character was portrayed.


Bonus reason for watching this: Bette Davis decked out as a babe with platinum blonde hair, false eyelashes and a pretty snazzy art deco style dress. Miss Davis had this 'glamour look' at the insisting of Warner Bros studio. After 1934, she refused to have the glamour look and became the Bette Davis most of us remember.


I thought this was a good early precode movie. Nothing too risque happens, so it can't really be called a precode, except that it was made before the Hays Production Code went into effect.

Good story, good acting and a fun time at only 78 minutes long. What more could you ask for?

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Thanks, I appreciate that. I didn't know you like the movie so much. I'm glad a few people did.

Thanks Chyp! I appreciate the read and the reps I'm always happy to chat movies anytime

This still of Gene Tierney alone made me want to add this film to my watchlist.