1940's Hall of Fame II

OK, I just read my own review, I didn't even remember I wrote a review in that format.

The ending was fine for me, not so overly dramatic which then helps keep the film grounded and feeling more realistic. I liked it and might like it more on a second watch.

I'm curious to get some voting list in and see what's trending (did I just say trending, ugh), so far no list, except my own.

I'm watching Ride The Pink Horse on sunday then all i have left is Gentleman Jim. I'm not watching that until we find out about Blix though so it still might be a while before you get mine.

Sounds good. Ride the Pink Horse was one of the movies in this Hof that I really liked.

I didn't either. I realize now that I've gone back and reread my review, that I didn't really mention much of anything haha.

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You mentioned that Charley was way too old to be called kid which made me shake my head in agreement.

As always, @Camo a VERY solid review on Body and Soul and since you posted so much and are kinda finished with talking about it, never mind that it does seem that every thing that could be said, WAS said . . . I do want to mention how much I enjoyed your New York mafia knowledge about who some of the characters may have been modeled after. A bit of a fan of the old crime families and researched my own city (Detroit's) family as well. Very intriguing stuff.
Enjoyed the Union rep story from New England. We had a similar gentleman by the name of Walter Reuther who was a Union rep back in the late 30's, early 40's and gotten beaten to near death, twice when he led a few auto strikes against Henry Ford out in Dearborn. The more dangerous strike breakers who tried to take him out were supplied by the Detroit mafia family.
They actually named a local highway after Reuther for his bravery.

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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

That's interesting about Reuther never heard of him. Don't know much about Detroit other than the stuff them and NY worked on together.

The boxer i was talking about Vincent Gigante didn't actually die until 2005 and he wasn't imprisoned until 1997 50 years after his last fight, which was most likely fixed; actually it's pretty certain it was. Guy was super interesting and nuts could easily write a megapost about him haha.

Detroit was one city that actually stayed under the radar. Kept all the members (literally) in the family and, yeah, all the families through out the U.S. were connected, and everyone did business with everyone. Most folks know Chicago and New York, but there was also New Orleans, Kansas City, St Louis, Los Angeles, and so many others on lesser levels but still very connected. And that was just Italians.
The name Gigante SOUNDS familiar, I'll have to go and look him up.

Yeah i know who all the families were, there were loads of other including ones alot smaller than those like the Dallas and Rochester.

Detroit is still an area of debate, there's still some gambling and loansharking going on but it's very small time and people disagree whether they should be called a Crime Family still at this point. The 9 families the FBI currently recognize are: Genovese, Gambino, Luchesse, Bonanno, Columbo (all New York), Chicago, New England, New Jersey (at least 4 of the NY families operate in NJ too) and Philadelphia. The five NY ones are the largest and most active then the other four are around the same size.

Vincent also had an older brother called Mario Gigante (he's actually still alive, he's 95 or something) who was a Capo in the Genovese Family and most likely introduced him to Eboli when he started boxing at 16.

EXACTLY. The actual family of Tocco/Zerrilli (who were cousins) has retired/died of old age and the street bosses of the 70's - 90's Giacalone's next generation and the other lieutenants; all of which are in the suburbs where the real money is, are still comparatively small to be considered a Family by professional enthusiasts.

The evolution of Vincent Gigante

As a boxer:



Overweight after having quit boxing and stopped keeping in shape:



As a crazy person:



He wasn't actually crazy, it was an act to avoid prison that he started in the late 70's a few years before becoming boss. He would wear a bathrobe and slippers and walk around NYC mumbling to himself with someone helping him walk, it was all completely fake the FBI knew it was but couldn't do anything about it, it lasted over 20 years. An anecdote told from an FBI Agent that may or not be true is that when they went to arrest him once (on charges he got off of due to the crazy act) they found him in the shower with an umbrella

He was actually boss at the same time as John Gotti and was much more powerful. He had Gotti's Underboss killed in a car bombing and was trying to kill Gotti for years but was unable to since the Media and the FBI were always following him everywhere. He also lasted 16 years on the street as boss compared to Gotti's 5 and a half, so it's pretty weird that he's unknown compared to him

Anyway sorry for turning this into the Mafia thread, it was mostly Eds fault haha.

Yes, it IS MY FAULT!! LOL
I KNEW I heard of him! Thanks for the post, camo!!!

One last thing since it's related to my Body and Soul post.

Tommy 'Ryan' Eboli, the person who i thought could have been an inspiration for Quinn/Roberts, during the brawl that saw him lose his license: he's the balding guy on the far left:



Then a normal picture where you can see him properly:



I think if it was revealed that Quinn and/or Roberts was actually Italian then we would have known for sure they were based on Eboli. As he went by the name Tommy Ryan as a boxing manager to give off the impression he was Irish since Italians were looked at closely because of prior Mafia infiltration.

Citizen suggested that I post my review of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir here so:

THE GHOST AND MUIR
Fans of classic movie melodrama will be in heaven with a gem from 1947 called The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, a film where everything works, particularly the non-romantic romance at the center of the story, some imaginative direction, and a lovely chemistry between the stars.

Set at the turn of the century, this is the story of Lucy Muir (the radiant Gene Tierney), a young widow with a daughter who decides to get away from her in-laws and moves into a seaside cottage with her daughter and her maid, despite the fact that her initial visit to the house revealed that it's being haunted by its former owner, a sea captain named Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison).

Mrs. Muir gets a visit from her in-laws who inform her that there is no money coming from her late husband's estate and that she won't be able to afford to stay at the seaside. In order to raise the money to stay, the Captain suggests that Mrs. Muir, a former writer who stopped writing when she got married, "ghost write" his biography, which, naturally becomes a bestseller but also brings Mrs. Muir in contact with Miles Fairley (George Sanders), a writer of children's books, who instantly falls in love with her, setting up a very unconventional love triangle.

Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who a couple of years later would rack up four Oscars for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve, proves to have a golden touch with melodrama, presenting a lilting story of star-crossed lovers who really aren't lovers at all. Mankiewicz and screenwriter Phillip Dunne, who adapted the story from a novel by R.A. Dick, also scored in the creation of this central character...we are in love with Mrs. Muir thirty seconds into the movie and through dialogue and direction, her backstory is revealed without her saying a word...it is clear five minutes into this movie that Mrs. Muir's marriage was not a fairy tale romance and that she can't stand her in-laws and I love the way the backstory is confirmed...she is told all of this by Captain Gregg five minutes after he meets her.

This is also another one of those movies centered around a non-romantic romance. It's not just the practical aspect in that Captain Gregg is actually dead, but the fact that both characters are in deep denial about their feelings for each other. The Captain bristles whenever another man comes within five feet of Mrs. Muir and she actually feels guilt when she enjoys the attention of another man. The relationship reminded me of Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr in The King and I and the chemistry between the actors is just as strong.

Gene Tierney, an actress who the camera loved intensely, is enchanting as Mrs. Muir and Rex Harrison eases into the role of Captain Gregg quite smoothly and we want these two to be together so badly even though it never can be. George Sanders was even more smarmy than he was in All About Eve and little Natalie Wood is adorable as Mrs. Muir's daughter. The film is shot in beautiful black and white, with Oscar-nominated cinematography and also features a lush musical score by the iconic Bernard Hermann. Classic film buffs should eat this one up. Almost 35 years later, the movie was adapted into a television comedy with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare in the title roles,
but that show was but a pale imitation of this amazing movie.

Gideon have you read the other reviews here of The Ghost and Mrs Muir? I thought you might have some comments on them.

I just finished watching I Remember Mama. I might not get much written about it tonight though, since it's getting late for me and I have a bit of a headache.

As per usual, I'm not sure how I'm going to rank these films on my list. If you don't have my list within a week, remind me in case I've forgotten to actually sit down and figure it out haha.

I'm just waiting on sending my list to see if Blix comes back.

Oh! I'll remind you all right

Blix has got until: August 1st 12:01 AM to post some reviews or his film is out.

Ride The Pink Horse

Interesting choice Raul i had never heard of this. Didn't love it but it was solid.

During the first half an hour or so i had no idea where it was headed but i found it interesting anyway because it had introduced various different plotlines. The most important one seemingly being his plan to murder Hugo since that's the whole reason he's in Mexico, also the related Retz who knows everything about him as well as Pila who follows him around like a lost child. Definitely expected it to start following a straightforward story at this point so it was unexpected when it turned out the majority of the film is him waiting it out in Mexico and interacting with the locals until he gets his chance to do what he's here for. It was the right decision as the main Hugo killing story was never going to distinguish itself that much from many other similar stories, it gave the film a bit more juice. For whatever reason i didn't totally love Gagin, the performance was fine but he left me cold alot of the time. He had a kind of robotic delivery, with no emotion behind it or if there was it was almost always anger. Didn't dislike him i just think he could've been written and/or portrayed differently for me personally. Found it interesting that Gagin understood and was aware of the concept of a femme fatale, saying about Marjorie "She's not a human she's a dead fish, you touch her and you get stung", it's rare to see someone confront a femme fatale in a Noir before they've been sucked in. Stuff like that and his military service made me like him a bit more as it was easier to understand why he was so bitter and cynical.

Pancho was pretty great he said some hilarious things, his whole weight being a sign of beauty/a desirable woman kinda cracked me up "10 Dollars? You're crazy, why you waste time on the stick? A guy like you could get himself a princess, a fat one!". I don't think i fully understand why Pila was the way she was, but i liked her anyway. I'm not even sure i'd want her deal explained as i'm doubtful it would be satisfying and i can come up with my own anyway, she was just inexplicably attached to Gagin despite him always being nasty to her. The reason i liked her was simply because she was the most sympathetic and nice character in the film. One of the most curious things about this before i watched it was the title, definitely didn't expect it to be Pila riding a carousel pink horse haha, thought it was going to be some euphemism or saying i hadn't heard of.

One problem i had that was no fault of the film was that the Spanish parts didn't have English Subs in the copy i watched, it wasn't a big deal though as there wasn't too much of it and it was fairly easy to guess what was being said by the english parts both before and after the Spanish. Other than that i really didn't have any problems, well except i'm kinda scared to check if the Mexican characters were actually played by Mexicans or if it was Americans doing impressions which i suspected a few times.

Thanks for nominating this Raul, seriously doubt i would have watched it any time soon myself since i hadn't heard of it and Robert Montgomery hasn't really been on my radar as a direction. Good choice. Only Gentleman Jim left if Blix is still in, guess we'll know by August 1st. Going to be impossible to order this as i didn't dislike a single film. Going in i always hope i like all of the films but i must admit it's easier when there's some you don't so you don't feel bad about having something you enjoyed last.

No, I haven't...maybe I will.