1940's Hall of Fame II

That leaves me with The Sea Wolf which i'm looking forward to, for as it is @edarsenal nom and i am expecting something highly adventurous.

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You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.

hope you enjoy Sea Wolf, Nestorio! Just to give you a heads up it does play out more like a noir/thriller on the high seas.

Great review on Double Indemnity and, I think, the recording device was simply a reel to reel tape recorder.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Mr. Lucky (1943) : I don't have any real objections here. Thought this was a very charming and enjoyable romantic drama whose value was also elavated by its obscurity. Cary Grant was naturally the main attraction of the film and was pretty good as a crafty hustler who falls in love with a wealthy socialite during one of his schemes. I found it interesting how despite embodying a similar immoral screen persona like in " His Girl Friday ", I didn't actually hate Grant's character. Quite the contrary, I believe Joe was a character who was very easy to root for and hope he'd have a change of heart. Sure he was cynical and knavish, but never an intimitading presence. And it was also pretty clear he would never double cross people he cared about, as evidenced later in the film. Outside Grant, I really liked Laraine Day and uncorrupted kindness she implemented into her character. I have to say though, the story was a tad predictable and dialogue was kind of sloppy at times, but other than that I found "Mr. Lucky " to be a very pleasant suprise. My personal favourite was the scene where Cary Grant was knitting. Really hilarious sequence ! As for the ending, I didn't dislike it. However, I believe it would be much more effective if they closed the film with a scene where Joe is departing on a ship, with Dorothy crying desperately in the background. But hey, that's just me and I generally prefer more downbeat endings ahead of sometimes imposed happy ones.

The Sea Wolf is the only nomination left for me. I actually tried to watch it today, but had a pretty miserable time trying to hear what the actors were saying. Since I don't have available english subtitles and the sound of a copy is pretty bad, it was definitely a problem so I decided to stop it after first 20 minutes . I especially had a lot of trouble with Barry Fitzgerald and his drunken mumbling. Couldn't understand what the guy was saying to save my life. I'll probably give it another shot in a day or two, when my concentration level will be higher.

the first time I tried re-watching Sea Wolf I had the same problem but if you get one with subtitles or better sound, definitely go that way.

Thought the knitting was pretty funny in Mr. Lucky as well and I honestly thought they WERE gonna end it with Grant leaving her at the dock.

Normally I avoid doing so, but I think I'll have to watch "The Sea Wolf" on laptop with my headphones on. The sound on a telly is pretty bad, even when I put the volume on maximum.

And yeah I too believed they were gonna end it with the "dock scene" and I wish they did because it would've been much more effective.

I'm glad that you liked His Girl Friday. One of Cary Grant's films that I like to tell people to watch (mainly because it is a little different from the sort of role that you see him in) is Penny Serenade. Have you ever heard of that one? If you want to see him portray a different sort of character (a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination, by the way), and you do enjoy sentimental films, then I think that is a good one to watch. Irene Dunne (from I Remember Mama) is also in it with him.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

It's also from George Stevens the director of I Remember Mama.

Yup, that was his moral code. Quote from the movie, "Never Give a sucker an even break. But don't cheat a friend. I believe in that, I live by it."

Ahh...words to live by! I thought that quote was so cool that I rewatched that part of the DVD like 3 times.

The Sea Wolf (1941) : To conclude this tournament , another great adventure flick nominated by Ed. It looks like so far we've both very much enjoyed each others nominations, so I hope this positive trend will continue in the 14th HoF ! To be honest, I was not suprised at all by how much I was entertained watching this. As I said before, I'm a big Jack London fan so I came into it with a pretty big expectations and I can gladly say they were even exceeded. Edward G. Robinson was an absulute powerhouse here ! Now that I've seen several of his films, I can comfortably say this was his best performance. He was simply instrumental as a ruthless, manipulating captain who exploits other people's weaknesses to his own advantage. Kind of reminded me to Robinson's character in Key Largo, expect here he was much superior. Only thing that didn't seem very realistic to me was how Robinson was so dominating in a hand to hand combat. It was a kind of humourous seeing him having his way against the much younger men. Either way, I thought the characterization of Captain Larsen was great and I also believe he was a clever alegory for an oppressive political regimes at the time which defintely gains more significance to his character. Probably the next best performance was by Barry Fitzgerald. I normally dislike the actor and the characters he plays, but I guess he kind of served the purpose here. He did a pretty good job of making his character detestable, as I was kind of saddened he wasn't eaten by sharks in the end, hehe. Garfield and Lupino were solid as well and I'm probably in the minority here that wasn't bothered by their romance. I thought it served nice as a sub-plot and a counterbalance to all the heat and tension that well along the primary survival theme and a battle for power. I also shiped the sea setting and a sense of isolation that went with it. Don't really have anything else to add, except I wish my viewing experience was a bit better. At first I kind of struggled because the video quality wasn't the best and the english subtitles weren't available, but I did adapt as the film progressed. My only complaint would be that the rest of the characters didn't seem so interesting next to Captain Larson and there were some parts that could've been more properly developed like Larson's brother plotline for example. Other than that a great nomination which similarly to "Mr. Lucky " gets extra points from me because of its obscurity .

That's it from me !

@Jeff Costello


Great review Jeff...It's always cool when someone finds an Hof movie that they love, and it sounds like you really enjoyed the The Sea Wolf.

I know you had a hard time finding a copy with English subtitles. Myself, I often didn't know what Barry Fitzgerald was saying either and English is my first language. I mean I just couldn't make out what the heck he was saying.

I'm with you, Edward G. Robinson is a first class actor! I've never seen him give a bad performance. He can do tough, he can do soft, he can dramatic and comedy. He's one of my favorite actors. I hope we see him in future Hofs.

I'm glad you decided to join some Hofs, you've been a great member

Alright, time for me to crack down and finish. Rewatching Double Indemnity tonight.

Go Raul Go...

You should come to Newfoundland for awhile. If you can make out what the old men here are mumbling about in their thick outport accents, then you'll never have a problem understanding anyone else again haha.

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Double Indemnity



My second favorite Wilder. The writing is brilliant and the story is one that keeps you intrigued for the duration of the film. I love the grittiness and the shadow look of the film. Makes it feel like you are right there with these characters in the film. And the top 3 billed actors all do a great job. I really think this is my favorite McMurray performance and I agree with everyone that he had great chemistry with the other two leads. One of my favorite scenes was Stanwyck hiding behind the door when Robinson and McMurray we're talking. Kind of an edge of your seat scene that I thought was very well done. Overall, a film that is flawless to me and a no brainier to be very high up on my 40s list. I think it will make the top 10 easy overall.

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Cool, it looks like we're almost done. I just updated the 1st post with the links.

As Blix dropped out and Gentleman Jim was removed it through off the movie count, so on some members it looks like you have less movies to watch than you do. So let me know if this is correct:

@edarsenal needs these 3
Day of Wrath
Beauty and the Beast
I Remember Mama

@Nestorio_Miklos needs these 2
Mr Lucky
The Sea Wolf

@rauldc14 needs these 2
Mr Lucky
Ride the Pink Horse

Let me know if you've seen them, if you've watched them before you don't have to watch them again if you can remember the movie.

I actually saw I remember mama. I don't know how to collect the link for it, or I would.(Gonna need to know before I host my HoF in the middle of September though) But it is about 4 posts AFTER my review of The Sea Wolf.

Here's a link for Ed's review of I Remember Mama.

Glad to hear you enjoyed, The Sea Wolf, so much, @JeffCostello. And yes, we definitely seem to running a mutual enjoyment for nominations thus far. Very cool.
I remember you mentioning that you are a big Jack London fan was very curious to see how the movie fared. Pretty wonderful to see that it exceeded it. I'm guessing the book may actually go a lot more into the brother sub plot. Does it?
And yes, Robinson IS a powerhouse in this. A true force to be reckon with.

and really enjoyed your review @rauldc14 for Double Indemnity. Completely agree about the scene with Stanwyck behind the door.
My favorite was the final confrontation with Stanwyck and Murray. Especially Stanwyck revealing her true self to him.
Seen a number of Stanwyck roles and seeing then put a grin on my face, thinking: "THERE'S the Stanwyck I know." I practically started cheering for her to get the upper hand. lol
Robinson really played a great counter balance to the scheme being played out.