Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

I have never read the book and don't plan on it. Not as well versed as you either as I have only watched it three times. Part II twice and part III once. I didn't hate part III either but if I have the time to spare and feel like that type of film I can't imagine not throwing on the original.

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“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Welles looks really scary in these screenshots.

Of course not. Why are you always so hostile and so resistant to anyone asking you anything?

That was a perfectly reasonable and politely worded question, an "I don't remember" would have sufficed, jesus christ.

Your question sounded like it was demanding a very specific answer which I didn't have. But this is not virgin territory for us, is it Camo?

Just ignore the book. I was quite obsessed with The Godfather at one point and used to discuss it on an Organized Crime message board...haha. The book goes into alot more (contradictory) detail so it was necessary to read it if i wanted to participate in half of the discussions. All you're missing is detailed descriptions of Sonny's manhood (what it's often referred to in the book) and his sex technique. The scene during the wedding where Tom catches Sonny with a bridesmaid that lasts about 30 seconds is like a chapter and a half in the book

Huh? How should i have worded my question of what was your problem with the film? This is what i posted, what is demanding about it?:

I followed that up with posting my thoughts on the watchabllity of The Godfather then ended it with "it's not for everyone of course", coz i was made aware of why you didn't like it.

There's not a single thing that's demanding about that question, if anyone disagrees please post why. Should i have posted a detailed disclaimer before posting it rather than talking to you like an actual person? As i said an "i don't remember" or an "i just wasn't into it" would have been fine, i just thought there could have a reason you didn't like it which is why i inquired further.

Again, jesus christ.

I thought Rules Don't Apply looked like a type of movie you might be interested in. There's some big name stars in supporting roles too. I'm interested in reading your review....I really found the script meandering and dazed, sort of like Beatty. I'm not a fan of Warren Beatty, I've never liked him. Though he was good in Bugsy.

To me the most interesting aspects of Piranha are the special effects of the fish...and the legacy of Roger Corman. It's a fun cheesy popcorn B movie, what else do we need to know

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Writers: Robert L. Richards (screenplay), Collier Young (story)
Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor
Genre: Film-Noir

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Wow, Rules! I've never seen Act of Violence, but the description & your review is making me put it on the list (I love movies about guys trying to escape from Nazi prison camps!)

Van Heflin is an interesting figure - to me, he never looked happy - always shaken, worried, a little off. Or maybe that's just the impression I got from movies he was in. Didn't he play the sweating, unhappy, nervous guy who sets off the bomb on the plane in Airport (1970)?

I'm looking forward to your review of Wall-E.

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

I like Citizen Kane, but most of the time, I'd rather watch Looney Tunes than Citizen Kane.

Van Peebles seems an unusual choice as director for something like this. Nice to see Cage back on the big screen and I LOVE James Remar so I will be adding it to my watchlist.

"You want me to hold the chicken?"

"Yeah, I want you to hold it between your knees."

There's no actual scenes of Nazi prison breaks, that has all happened a few years in the past, off screen.

Van Heflin is the man! I swear he's got one of the coolest names for an actor. Yeah I think you're right about Van being in Airport 1970...and he does seem nervy-sweaty all the time which makes him a perfect casting choice for Act of Violence.

When watching the movie, know that what you are seeing is factual, all the major happenings in the movie actually happened in real life. It's a very ironic and tragic story.

Yes, Heflin played the bomber DO Guerrero in Airport...he received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

Van Heflin was in a lot of great films. I just looked and was surprised at how many there were. Some of his greats, that I've seen are:

Westerns
3:10 to Yuma 1957
Shane 1953

Film Noir
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers 1946 (with Barbara Stanwyck)
Possessed 1947 (with Joan Crawford)
Black Widow 1954 (with Ginger Rogers)

Musical
Presenting Lily Mars 1943
Till the Clouds Roll By 1946

Dramas
Madame Bovary 1949 (with Jennifer Jones)
Green Dolphin Street 1947 (with Lana Turner)
East Side, West Side 1946 (with Barbara Stanwyck)

For some reason I thought Van Heflin was one of Hollywood's famous suicides - but I was wrong! (He died of a heart attack).

I discovered the reason for my confusion was not due to Airport (where Van Heflin blew himself up on the plane), but because he was in a version of The Three Musketeers (1948) with actor Gig Young - and it was Young who committed a murder/suicide.

Director: John Sturges
Writers: Sydney Boehm & Richard Brooks (screenplay), Leonard Spigelgass (story)
Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett, Else Lancaster, Jan Sterling
Genre: Film-Noir

"A small town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor when the skeletal remains of a pregnant prostitute turn up on a Massachusetts beach."

Don't you hate it when pregnant prostitutes get killed...I sure do. But you know it's a film noir so someone has to get knocked off. And so Jan Sterling who's a B-girl, takes a powder...which is too bad as she was aces in the first 15 minutes of the film.

That's why I'm talking about her, because even with the little screen time she had, she made an impact. If you recognize the name Jan Sterling, and most likely you don't...then let me say that she was in Ace in the Hole, the noir she's most famous for.

But once she's dead and buried, there are more actors that get a chance to stand out...and one of them is the detective, Ricardo Montalban.

Mystery Street is ahead of it's time as it gave the lead role to a Hispanic actor...and most importantly Ricardo gets to play a regular person and not some caricature. He's really good too as the gentile and even courteous detective hot on the trial of the killer.


Mystery Street is a different kind of noir as for the first time it introduces to audiences forensic procedural detective work. In a way this reminds me of the TV show Quincy. The forensic work is given a lot of time and the film gets into specifics of modern crime solving.

This didn't really even feel like a noir, there's no femme fatales, it's more of an investigative film with an innocent man who was last seen with the B-girl. The man is believed to be guilty...and only forensics can determine the real killers identity. This all worked very well and it made for an interesting, one of a kind film.


Else Lancaster has a plumb role as a likable but a tawdry landlady who withholds evidence that could clear an innocent man so that she can black mail the real killer. She's such a naughty landlady!

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Nice layout and tour of the film, Citizen! I'm keeping my eye on you, bro! Ha! Gonna need some help when I take the task of going back in time to when movies were fresher.

I spy Ned Glass in one of the photos from Mystery Street (guy in a lab coat).
Wasn't sure if it was him, but checked IMDB to confirm.
He was best known as Doc (the shopkeeper) in West Side Story and TV shows Julia and Bridget Loves Bernie.