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Movie thoughts 1/30/16
Saturday, 30 January 2016 10:15 pmSo I was watching this old TV movie (Murder on Flight 502) where there's a murderer on an airplane, but they don't know who it is. One thing they know is that there's a guy dressed as a priest but that's he's not a priest, the priest he's pretending to be is dead. And the guy on the ground talking to the pilot says, "The FBI is running him through their files."
And my question is, the FBI is doing what exactly? They don't have his picture, they don't know his name. All they know is that he's pretending to be a priest who is dead. Oh, and he's wearing nail polish. (I don't know.) What would you type in to find this guy?
I love movies like this. Molly Picon is in it, and Ralph Bellamy, and Walter Pidgeon. I love seeing the classic actors and actresses when they're old and still wonderful.
One of my favorite things is seeing actors and actresses that you seldom see together. The best way to do that is to watch the early stuff and the late stuff. If you want to see Katharine Hepburn with Henry Fonda, you have to wait until On Golden Pond. (I loathe that movie, by the way.) If you want to see her with Robert Young and Ralph Bellamy, you have to go back to 1934's Spitfire. If you want to see James Stewart and Bette Davis together, you have to wait for Right of Way. If you want to see him with Ginger Rogers, you have to go back to Vivacious Lady in 1938. There was a lot that was great about the studio system, in terms of producing wonderful movies, but it also limited which actors and actresses* worked together.
Next I watched Congratulations, It's a Boy!, another TV movie. I'm specializing in ABC movies of the week right now. I knew Bill Bixby was in it, but I got the delightful surprise of Ann Sothern, too. I wasn't crazy about her character, but still: Ann Sothern.
And after that, Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate, which I remember from when I first saw it. But it's been over forty years, and now I know who Myrna Loy is, and Helen Hayes, and Mildred Natwick. (And Sylvia Sidney, but I'm not crazy about Sylvia Sidney.) It's not quite a pilot for The Snoop Sisters, but Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick are close to the same characters. I really enjoyed that one. It's a light murder mystery.
Then came A Touch of Evil, a take on Diabolique with Barbara Stanwyck and Barbara Parkins. I knew somebody was trying to drive Barbara Parkins crazy—I recognized the Diabolique set-up as soon as it started—but I didn't guess who.
And now I'm watching Curse of the Black Widow, a Dan Curtis TV movie. James Storm has a tiny part at the beginning, which is no surprise. And of course the music is by Robert Colbert. It's also got Tony Franciosa playing a Kolchakesque character. And Max Gail is a cop in it. I love seeing Max Gail.
It's surprising how much character they packed into these little movies. They were on network TV in the seventies, they were under two hours, but there's a depth to them You don't even find in some theatrical releases. (As I'm writing this, they set a giant spider on fire and a house blew up for no reason. I don't care, I stand by my assessment.)
I love watching movies on youtube. There are so many strange things I've never heard of, it's so hit-and-miss, it's like back in the old days, watching whatever afternoon movies were on. I love the grab-bag feel of it.
*I dislike that the word actress isn't used anymore, that women are calling themselves actors. In the seventies we fought for terms that included us; this seems like a step backwards.
And my question is, the FBI is doing what exactly? They don't have his picture, they don't know his name. All they know is that he's pretending to be a priest who is dead. Oh, and he's wearing nail polish. (I don't know.) What would you type in to find this guy?
I love movies like this. Molly Picon is in it, and Ralph Bellamy, and Walter Pidgeon. I love seeing the classic actors and actresses when they're old and still wonderful.
One of my favorite things is seeing actors and actresses that you seldom see together. The best way to do that is to watch the early stuff and the late stuff. If you want to see Katharine Hepburn with Henry Fonda, you have to wait until On Golden Pond. (I loathe that movie, by the way.) If you want to see her with Robert Young and Ralph Bellamy, you have to go back to 1934's Spitfire. If you want to see James Stewart and Bette Davis together, you have to wait for Right of Way. If you want to see him with Ginger Rogers, you have to go back to Vivacious Lady in 1938. There was a lot that was great about the studio system, in terms of producing wonderful movies, but it also limited which actors and actresses* worked together.
Next I watched Congratulations, It's a Boy!, another TV movie. I'm specializing in ABC movies of the week right now. I knew Bill Bixby was in it, but I got the delightful surprise of Ann Sothern, too. I wasn't crazy about her character, but still: Ann Sothern.
And after that, Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate, which I remember from when I first saw it. But it's been over forty years, and now I know who Myrna Loy is, and Helen Hayes, and Mildred Natwick. (And Sylvia Sidney, but I'm not crazy about Sylvia Sidney.) It's not quite a pilot for The Snoop Sisters, but Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick are close to the same characters. I really enjoyed that one. It's a light murder mystery.
Then came A Touch of Evil, a take on Diabolique with Barbara Stanwyck and Barbara Parkins. I knew somebody was trying to drive Barbara Parkins crazy—I recognized the Diabolique set-up as soon as it started—but I didn't guess who.
And now I'm watching Curse of the Black Widow, a Dan Curtis TV movie. James Storm has a tiny part at the beginning, which is no surprise. And of course the music is by Robert Colbert. It's also got Tony Franciosa playing a Kolchakesque character. And Max Gail is a cop in it. I love seeing Max Gail.
It's surprising how much character they packed into these little movies. They were on network TV in the seventies, they were under two hours, but there's a depth to them You don't even find in some theatrical releases. (As I'm writing this, they set a giant spider on fire and a house blew up for no reason. I don't care, I stand by my assessment.)
I love watching movies on youtube. There are so many strange things I've never heard of, it's so hit-and-miss, it's like back in the old days, watching whatever afternoon movies were on. I love the grab-bag feel of it.
*I dislike that the word actress isn't used anymore, that women are calling themselves actors. In the seventies we fought for terms that included us; this seems like a step backwards.