Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

I agree with you that it was more of a comedy romance drama with some music, but IMDB lists it as a musical because it features a bunch of songs. IMDB tends to list several genres for most movies, probably because they want all the movies to come up in any search that the movie might fit it, even if it's only a little bit close.

Did you like Kim Novak's singing?

I don't think she did her own singing in the movie. I think her voice was dubbed, but I don't remember whose voice was used instead of hers.

I didn't think so, but I didn't read about it either. She does have a throaty voice and it sounded like her. I'll have to look it up.

Yep. (not to mention the REMAKE of the Magnificent Seven, now with an updated all-PC cast!)

There's been some mention of the length of Kurosawa's films - thinking back to Red Beard, it's over 3 hours also. But I remember watching it in parts and (not that I recommend viewing most films this way) it lent itself well to watching it this way because, in addition to the main story there were a couple vignettes in it (smaller stories related by other characters in the film) and since there were smaller stories told within a larger story it didn't seem to interrupt the flow by watching the movie in intervals. (if that makes any sense.)

Actually, Red Beard was a bit like a Japanese version of Dr. Kildare (but set in Japan of the 1800's.)

It makes sense that whoever's voice they used to dub her voice would sound similar to hers. They don't want it to be obvious that it's a dubbed voice.

I remember being shocked when I first found out that Michael Paré didn't do his own singing in Eddie and the Cruisers. The guy who did his singing voice (John Cafferty) was almost an exact match to his voice.

A PC cast for the remake...oh nuts!

Now that's interesting. I wouldn't have thought of that. Did Red Beard perform samurai surgeon with his sword....just kidding, I haven't seen many Japanese language films but I did really like one called Twenty Four Eyes, but no else did. Well I reviewed it up there...or is that back there...somewhere I did recently.

You know I still have never seen Eddie and the Cruisers. Though I remember hearing the song Dark Side by John Cafferty on the radio. I thought he sounded like Bruce Springsteen.

The first ones good, I never saw the sequel.

I bet GBG did....Orson says good night and good meals

The sequel (I think it's called Eddie Lives) is pretty good, but it's nowhere near as good as the original. The first movie has a better story and much better music.

I actually like John Cafferty's voice better than Bruce Springsteen's voice, but I think Springsteen's songs are better. (I'm talking about John Cafferty's other albums, not the movie soundtrack, vs. the few Springsteen songs that I know.)

Have you seen the previews for the new Magnificent Seven?
They've got white guys (of course), a black guy (Denzel in the Yul Brynner / leader spot), an Asian guy and a Native American.

I'm not saying I mind it... (it might have been a cool idea of a western group of inter-racial mercenaries if it was an original movie), I just don't like when things are done (and done quite obviously) for PC reasons.

Thinking about Red Beard, it's quite a lot like Dr. Kildare because the main plot is about an older Dr. known for his bad temper but remarkable skill, who takes on a young intern in his hospital (makes you wonder if the writers weren't inspired by Kildare?)

Other than myself and Pussy Galore (who was the one that nominated it for the 50's HoF).

The Gazebo(1959)
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Length: 1h 40min

Synopsis: A Television director, Elliott Nash (Glenn Ford) accidentally kills a blackmailer and buries the body under the new gazebo that is being built in his backyard. His wife (Debbie Reynolds) and best friend (Carl Reiner) keep asking questions, which makes him increasingly a nervous wreck.

This, it's a smart, well paced, interesting film that I'd never heard of. If you think of this as a rom com you will be wrong, it's a drama, with light comedy but not zany screwball comedy. The comedy comes out of a dark situation of a TV producer being black mailed. In fact forget it's suppose to be a comedy at all, this is a crime thriller with a lighter touch.

Glenn Ford, is excellent in this as the nervous TV producer who's being black mailed by a mysterious person. Normally I don't find Glenn Ford that effective in movies, but here he's on the mark. Debbie Reynolds is looking fine in this film, damn she is tiny! Her waist size is incredibly small. A young Carl Reiner is good in this too...and his role as a family friend who's got the hots for Debbie, makes for a good side plot in this film, can he be trusted?

I liked the opening scenes that show the workings of a live TV show being produced in the late 1950s. This film kept me guessing and kept my interest. Oh...I also thought a young Martin Landau as a gangster was good!

The Gazebo is a hidden gem from the 1950s.

I liked the Hitchcock telephone call.

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Great review of The Gazebo. I agree with your feelings about Glenn Ford, and IMO this is his best movie.

I agree. It's one of the best parts of the movie.

Mark, Thanks for recommending this movie to me a while back. It's one of my new favorite movies.

To be fair, this all PC cast of the remake of The Magnificent Seven doesn't seem like a case of being forced upon the movie. But more the fact that the director himself is black and that he's used Denzel Washington in his most famous films before and knows him to be a great actor, he's also using Ethan Hawke who he worked with in Training Day. Like The Equalizer, he's updated it because he thinks the original idea is cool, and that he has a great actor who he can work with in that role. Not that I particularly liked that film, but he seems like more an auteur and frequent-collaborator with his own unique flavour rather than someone who does something because he's been forced to do so, or to fill quotas

I'm not sure about that director. I liked The Equalizer a bit, but I was disappointed in Training Day, Brooklyn's Finest, and Shooter. I watched the trailer for the new Magnificent Seven, and I'm just not feeling it.