Print

[narfstar]

Pretty cool thanks. Lots of typical hero antics long before Superman.

[profh0011]

About time I updated my list before it gets away from me...

BEAST FROM THE HAUNTED CAVE  (a heist film crossed with a monster movie!)
SKI TROOP ATTACK  (same locations & cast as above, set in WW2)
BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND  (WW2 Pacific island flick whose 2nd half turns into a tight, 2-man drama)
HOUSE OF USHER  (this was wider widescreen online than on TCM)
THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS  (really sick horror-comedy, 2nd time I've seen this in 47 years)
LAST WOMAN ON EARTH (low-budget post-apocalyptic drama)
CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA  (same locations & cast as above, the funniest of the 3 horror-comedies)
PIT & THE PENDULUM  (one of the BEST Poe flicks, an original sequel to the actual Poe story which contains elements from multiple sources)
THE PREMATURE BURIAL  (unmittigated nerve, when you find out at the very end of the movie that this has the exact same plot as PIT & THE PENDULUM, but different)
THE INTRUDER  (shocking social commentary, the only film Corman ever made that lost money, and one he was almost lynched while trying to make; featuring the EVIL side of William Shatner!)
TALES OF TERROR  (my least-favorite of the 8 Poes, but only because I love the other 7 so much; my favorite part is the final story, with Basil Rathbone)
THE RAVEN  (I know it's nuts-- but this is my favorite Jack Nicholson movie!)
THE TERROR (3rd time for me-- the 2nd time was only a month ago!!)

[profh0011]

Movies RUINED for me before I ever had a chance to see them "cold":

PLANET OF THE APES   (my cousin Gerry)
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS  (my best friend Jim)
PSYCHO   (a PBS Hitchcock documentary)
CITIZEN KANE   (not sure, probably multiple sources)

I could include VERTIGO... except, I didn't realize it was being spoiled for me... and when I finally did see the film, it did come as a surprise, and when I got to that part, I actually laughed, thinking, "So THAT's where he got it from!"

"It came out ten years ago-- I assumed you MUST have seen it by now!"
(my best friend Jim)

[profh0011]

Time for another update on the marathon...

X: THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES (Ray Milland's favorite of his films, a scientist lets his ambition get away from him as things go from bad to worse and beyond)

THE HAUNTED PALACE ("the" classic Lovecraft film, an odd case where the angry mob is RIGHT and the one reasonable man in the story learns at the climax he's dead wrong)

DEMENTIA 13 (an unusual "PSYCHO" style thriller set in a Irish castle)

OPERACIJA TICIJAN (also known as "PORTRAIT OF TERROR", a Yugoslavia thriller that reminded me a lot of "THE THIRD MAN", with William Campbell & Patrick Magee both trying to get their hands on a valuable missing painting)

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (this one qualifies as "art" in my book)

THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (a mystery where you don't realize until the climax that the clues have been right in front of your eyes from the very beginning of the story)

VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET (a Russian space epic about an expedition to Venus, with one Amercian actress replacing a Russian actress, and Basil Rathbone being inserted as the scientist in charge back on Earth, who gets top billing despite not having anything to do with the rest of the movie)

QUEEN OF BLOOD (another Russian film is used for stock footage in this mostly-original sci-fi / horror film that has a LOT of elements similar to the later ALIEN;  Basil Rathbone and John Saxon make the most of it.)

THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS (legend has it the entire cast & crew were ready to walk off the movie when the producer announced he was changing the name from THE NIGHTSTALKERS to the one they used; not that bad of a film, except there's 20 minutes of footage shot after-the-fact to pad it out for TV syndication that adds NOTHING to the story that mostly shows military officers on another location talking talking talking for no purpose, and a jet bomber strafing run that shows just how cheap the effects in this thing really were)

THE WILD ANGELS (Roger Corman sparks an entire genre here, with Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Dick Miller, and poor Frank Maxwell winds up as the only likable character in the entire film that goes out of its way to show just what IRREDEEMABLE SCUM some biker gangs really are made of!)

THE SHOOTING (minimalist, existential, ultra-low-budget western with Warren Oates & Jack Nicholson that plays as a much bleaker, pointless version of TRUE GRIT!)

RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND (Cameron Mitchell & Jack Nicholson as outlaws chased by a posse who are after a separate band of outlaws, and desperately try to avoid getting stung up for crimes they DIDN'T do, never mind the ones they actually did)

DEVIL'S ANGELS (John Cassavettes as the leader of another biker gang, who learns too late that just because he's the only guy in the gang with any brains and sense of reason, he CAN'T control a mob that unruly and violence-prone; Leo Gordon as the local sheriff caught between violence waiting to explode, and a town who want to see him replaced; in the end, everybody makes the wrong decisions, and Cassavettes rides off just as all hell literally breaks loose and escalates off-camera).

THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASASACRE (I was unable to find this to watch for free, so instead, I watched a 90-min. documentary about the real-life events, which I had once seen years back on The History Channel).

[Captain Audio]

If you liked "Man with the x-Ray eyes"

Try "the 4D Man".
Robert Lansing as the scientist that goes too far.

"Dementia 13" is an old favorite, I have it on disc and watch it now and again.

"THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS "
Is another favorite, the first few minutes on the plane are truly chilling.

Only film on your list that I don't remember seeing is "PORTRAIT OF TERROR".

"Queen of Blood" is not that bad, the story deserves an updated remake.
I really liked the scavenged Soviet film scenes, I'd like to see the original these came from.

"Voyage to the end of the Universe" is another film re cut and dubbed from a Soviet era Czech film ''Ikarie XB-1''. both versions have been available on youtube.
The scene of exploring a derelict space craft is very effective. European Sci fi films of that era often had far more realistic space suits than those used in US or UK films.

[jimmm kelly]

These days I'm most interested in finding TV shows online from different periods in my past. I want to relive the experience of watching these favourite shows.

One of the shows I've just begun to embark on watching again is STAR TREK. The recent death of Leonard Nimoy prompted me to do so.

The struggle for me is whether to watch them in the order they were broadcast or in the production order. On the one hand, because I want to relive how I saw these shows as a kid, broadcast order seems right. On the other hand, the continuity works best in the proper production order--you can better see how each character develops from episode to episode.

Finding all the shows online isn't easy and I may have to break down and buy the DVD set. But I've noticed that episodes have been remastered with added effects. Since I'm all about seeing the shows as they were first brodcast, I'd rather not have those added effects.

I suppose I can't be too fussy about this. When the show was first on, we had a black and white set--so I never actually saw any episodes in colour--not until a few years later when we got a colour set and I could watch the shows in syndication.

[profh0011]

What I've found watching STAR TREK in production order is, there is often a lot of little subtle bits of continuity you might never have thought of watching them the other way.

Also, I play with the order in a FEW key cases.  For example, I make a point of watching "WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?" before "THE NAKED TIME". Although they were both filmed and run the other way, it's clear to me they were WRITTEN to be seen this way.  They just make more sense this way.

Also, and I know this is nuts... I like to watch "THE OMEGA GLORY" right around the same time as "MUDD'S WOMEN", as both were written as possible pilots.  By the time "OMEGA" was dusted off and shot (almost 2 years later), too many of its plot elements had been reused in other stories, making the whole damn thing seem like a really bad rehash that wasn't thought out... rather than the early, crude attempt it was.  (It also helps to pretend that planet actually was a "lost colony" of early Earth exploration.  NOTHING else makes sense out of the ending at all.)

Another fun bit that crops of as a result of this is, I like to pretend that "Simon Van Gelder" was actually "Ron Tracy" when I watch "DAGGER OF THE MIND".

Another glaring example of continuity screwded by NBC was "COURT MARTIAL", filmed right before "THE MENAGERIE".  The opening scenes of "MENAGERIE" actually references events in "COURT MARTIAL", which was run quite a few weeks later!

[profh0011]

A few years back, I was collecting a lot of images of old movie posters, and I was reminded of just how many old sci-fi movies I have still never seen to this day.

Now that I'm going berzerk watching movies online for free, I'm having a blast catching up with loads of stuff I read about decades back.  I'm focusing on the Roger Corman films right now, but I fuilly intend to go back and find as many old-fashioned sci-fi space movies as I can when I get a chance.

I just reached a point where several Corman films in a row are NOT available anywhere online, and if this continues, I may start jumping around before long.  Right now I'm watching "HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS", which was linked on the same page as "THE WILD ANGELS".  Though Corman had nothing to do with it, the only actor in I know is Jack Nicholson, who got 2nd billing.  This one looks and feels almost like a TV movie compared to some of the others, though that's not a bad thing, as so far it has a coherent plot, and Stu Phillips did the music.

[narfstar]

HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME. My wife and I seldom watch foreign language films that we must read subtitles. This one was a rare and worthwhile exception. It is one of the first and few world wide recognition movies from Venezuela. It kept me guessing and thinking they had made some mistakes until the end. They did a fantastic job of tying up all the ends. I frequently figure out movies, so I love movies that I get taken in by. This one had me on several points. We watched in on Netflix.

[jimmm kelly]

What I've found watching STAR TREK in production order is, there is often a lot of little subtle bits of continuity you might never have thought of watching them the other way.

Also, I play with the order in a FEW key cases.  For example, I make a point of watching "WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?" before "THE NAKED TIME". Although they were both filmed and run the other way, it's clear to me they were WRITTEN to be seen this way.  They just make more sense this way.

Also, and I know this is nuts... I like to watch "THE OMEGA GLORY" right around the same time as "MUDD'S WOMEN", as both were written as possible pilots.  By the time "OMEGA" was dusted off and shot (almost 2 years later), too many of its plot elements had been reused in other stories, making the whole damn thing seem like a really bad rehash that wasn't thought out... rather than the early, crude attempt it was.  (It also helps to pretend that planet actually was a "lost colony" of early Earth exploration.  NOTHING else makes sense out of the ending at all.)

Another fun bit that crops of as a result of this is, I like to pretend that "Simon Van Gelder" was actually "Ron Tracy" when I watch "DAGGER OF THE MIND".

Another glaring example of continuity screwded by NBC was "COURT MARTIAL", filmed right before "THE MENAGERIE".  The opening scenes of "MENAGERIE" actually references events in "COURT MARTIAL", which was run quite a few weeks later!

Thanks, I'll refer back to this as I go forward in my viewing.

Up to now, I've sort of gone back and forth between broadcast order and production order. I started out with the first pilot, then the first broadcast show, then the second pilot and so on.

As I just watched Mudd's Women yesterday--because I knew it was early in the production order as well as one of the possible pilots--I'll take your advice and view The Omega Glory next.

I guess I may end up watching a few shows more than once as I skip around. But that's no hardship since I love the original series more than words can say.

[profh0011]

I like to start a run of STAR TREK with FORBIDDEN PLANET.  (heehee)

Then it's...

THE CAGE   (1st Spock)
WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE   (1st Kirk)
THE CORBOMITE MANOEVER   (1st McCoy)

I have all 3 of these on store-bought videotape.  I wish I had more.  maybe one of these days...  The rest I taped off Philly's Channel 17 in early 1980.  The antenna signal was abominable... and a few of the early ones have (GASP!) commercial breaks near the beginning.  (I got off work at 5 PM, the show started at 5 PM, and I was using the timer to start the recordings until I got home within 10 minutes.)  But they're UNCUT!!!  Which makes a HUGE difference, and makes even the worst of all possible picture quality more tolerable than it might be.  (So when I see people complaining about different levels of DVD quality, I have to shake my head.)

THE OMEGA GLORY
MUDD'S WOMEN
THE ENEMY WITHIN
THE MAN TRAP
WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?  (out of sequence, deliberately)
THE NAKED TIME
CHARLIE X
BALANCE OF TERROR
DAGGER OF THE MIND
MIRI (watched this again 2 years ago... will NEVER sit thru it again!!!)
CONSCIENCE OF THE KING
GALILEO SEVEN  (skipping this one regularly)
COURT MARTIAL
THE MENAGERIE  (2 parts)
SHORE LEAVE
THE SQUIRE OF GOTHOS
ARENA (note how, after 2 light-hearted stories in a row, the pre-credit sequence lures you into thinking you're in for a 3rd... NOPE!!!!!)
THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR  (think of this as an unused OUTER LIMITS episode).
TOMORROW IS YESTERDAY
THE RETURN OF THE ARCHONS
A TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON  (2 eps. in a row with planets run by computers)
SPACE SEED  (the ending is the best part... ruined later by the movie sequel)
THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
DEVIL IN THE DARK
ERRAND OF MERCY
CITY ON THE EGDE OF FOREVER  (another one I skip regularly-- yes, I said that)
OPERATION: ANNIHILATE!  (the monsters in this are later mentioned in "THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES"-- really!)



Incidentally, I believe "MIRI" started life as a major rewrite of the shelved "OMEGA GLORY".  Think  about it!

[jimmm kelly]

My sister was at one time perhaps even more into STAR TREK than I am. She taped all the shows off the TV and then I got her all the store-bought tapes so she would have a whole set. I'm not sure if she still has those. She had a lot of cool stuff that she hasn't hung onto.

If I knew that she would watch them, I would probably get the DVD set for her. Next time I'll see her, I'll have to ask some probing questions to see if she's still interested in STAR TREK.

She's one of the reasons I enjoy these shows so much. I see them as much through my sister's eyes as my own.

FORBIDDEN PLANET is like the prototype for STAR TREK. It even has a Canadian actor as its lead. Actually two--as both Nielsen and Pidgeon were Canadian. TREK held up the two Canadians rule with Shatner and Doohan.

[profh0011]

Both LOST IN SPACE and STAR TREK owed a lot to FORBIDDEN PLANET.  The technology, to a large degree, wound up in LIS, while the general concept & attitude became ST.

Which makes it all the more crazy that I never saw FP until around 1980 or so.

It's a shame BATMAN happened to LIS.  The guy who wrote the "Batbook" actually said he was always a bigger LIS fan, and he preferred it when the show got...  "silly".  OY.

[josemas]

Been on overtime at work for over a year now so have fallen way behind in participating here.

Gonna try to start playing catchup.

Feature films watched since I last posted on this topic[

Philomena (2013), The Warlords (2007), The Brain that Wouldn't Die (1962), Tarzan of the Apes (1918), Geronimo (1993), Hollywood Varieties (1950), Cantinflas (2014), 2 Guns (2013), Contraband (1940), The Flying Saucer (1950), Hollywood Rhythm (1950), Safe House (2012), Godzilla (2014), The Man from Painted Post (1917), Kentucky Jubilee (1951), The Raid 2 (2013), A Volvar Joven (1947), Son of the Pink Panther (1993), The Kid from Gower Gulch (1950), Non-Stop (2014), Phantom of the Opera (1943), Dial Red O (1955), Divergent (2014), Red Raiders (1927), Sudden Danger (1955), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Lone Survivor (2014), Calling Homicde (1956), Labor Day (2014), Chain of Evidence (1957), Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Ted [Unrated] (2012), Why Be Good? (1929), Footsteps in the Dark (1957), Last Stand at Saber River (1997), Anzio (1968), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), The Pink Panther (2006), Compliance (2012), The Dragon Painter (1919), Rage at Dawn (1955),  Brannigan (1975), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), The Croods (2013), Shaolin Wooden Men (1976), Hangman's Knot (1952), The Apparition (2011), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), The Santa Incident (2010), Ten Wanted Men (1955), Million Dollar Arm (2014), Wild River (1960), Walk the Line (2005), Green Lantern: First Flight (2009), Rocky Rhodes (1934), Home Alone (1991), The Ivory-Handled Gun (1935),  Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951), Infernal Affairs (2002), Journey to the Christmas Star (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Behind the Candelabra (2013), Stranger on Horseback (1955), A Most Wanted Man (2014), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Noah (2014), Casper's Haunted Christmas (2000), Trouble in Store (1953), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Her (2013), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), A Christmas Story (1983), A Christmas Carol (1938), We Are the Best! (2013), Cold in July (2014), The Prairie Pirate (1925), One Good Turn (1954), Escape Plan (2013), When a Man Sees Red (1934), About Time (2013), Despicable Me 2 (2013), and 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (2008)

And that brings me up to the end of 2014.

More to come

Joe

[profh0011]

No fair! You need to COMMENT on each film! (Okay, just the ones worth commenting on.)

[jimmm kelly]

Movies RUINED for me before I ever had a chance to see them "cold":

PLANET OF THE APES   (my cousin Gerry)
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS  (my best friend Jim)
PSYCHO   (a PBS Hitchcock documentary)
CITIZEN KANE   (not sure, probably multiple sources)

I could include VERTIGO... except, I didn't realize it was being spoiled for me... and when I finally did see the film, it did come as a surprise, and when I got to that part, I actually laughed, thinking, "So THAT's where he got it from!"

"It came out ten years ago-- I assumed you MUST have seen it by now!"
(my best friend Jim)

Scrolling back a bit to this post. With the exception of VERTIGO, I believe I saw all of these on TV when I was young enough that no one had spoiled them for me yet.

VERTIGO was a special case as it had been taken out of circulation for many years. It was thought to be Hitchcock's lost masterpiece. But it was re-released in 1983 and by then I was at university with my film friends and we all went to see this movie that we knew nothing about. After it ended and the houselights came up, i was still sat in my seat unable to move. It took me a good five minutes before I could say anything at all.

[profh0011]

Somehow I missed all 5 of the films that were taken out of circulation, when they were reissued in the early 80s.  But I did get to see both REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO when they were "restored" and then reissued again, in the 90s.

Of course, both films found their way into Brian DePalma's BODY DOUBLE-- which I saw in the 80s on cable.  I remember somehow I'd loaned a tape of it to my Dad before seeing it myself, and he complained that at some point it after it ended, the tape "turned into a porno".  A couple weeks later I watched it, and realized, he'd turned the film off BEFORE it was over!!  I kept watching... and then discovered the "everything you thought was going on in the first half was a LIE". thing.  Years later, when we saw VERTIGO together, I realized, that was where DePalma got it.

And then... slowly... I also realized that I'd read a novel with the exact same structure, about 15 years before I'd ever seen the DePalma movie.  It was Ian Fleming's CASINO ROYALE.  I never liked that book when I read it (well, I didn't like the 2nd half-- couldn't figure what the HELL Fleming thought he was doing).  But decades later, Hitchcock gave me a new appreciation for it.  I've been wondering since... did Hitchcock swipe the idea from Fleming?

I was stunned when I saw the Daniel Craig film, and found out they'd actually adapted the book almost verbatim-- in the 2nd half of a much bigger new story.

[narfstar]

My wife and I have been binge watching Leave It to Beaver. Love that series. Binge watching was her thing but I do not recommend it. She began to see too much repetition that you do not notice watching it in small doses.  Has anyone taken my suggestion to watch HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME yet? Would love to know if it got you like it got me.

[profh0011]

Another problem with watching multiple episodes of some shows back-to-back is, the stories begin to blur together, and it can be hard to remember what happened in which episode.

A better alternative is to watch several different shows in rotation, one episode each.

[bowers]

 Just watched the trailer for "House at the End of Time". Looks pretty creepy and downright good!
My spouse and I are also catching up on our Beaver. A new channel is also giving us Burns and Allen, Guns of Will Sonnet, Branded, Circus Boy, and Rin Tin Tin. Cheers, Bowers

[narfstar]

I know youtube has Burns and Allen, I have not checked on the rest. Youtube has IT'S ABOUT TIME. Yes HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME is creepy and good. It took my by surprise in several places which I love when that happens.

[josemas]

Feature films watched in January and this time, at Henry's request, a few brief comments here and there-

The Wind Rises (2013) always glad to see another Hayao Miyazaki animated feature.,  The Invisible Man (1975)-pilot for the short-lived David McCallum TV series.  FX good for the period., As You Were (1951) the Hal Roach studio teamed Joe Sawyer and William Tracy in a series of  eight short comedy features between 1941-1952  All that I've seen are pleasant but nothing special. , Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)- fun Betty Grable musical, Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)  offbeat vampire flick., 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009)  the middle installment in the live-action trilogy adapting the popular manga series.  Overall satisfying translation to film,  The Occupants (2013), Mr Walkie Talkie (1952)  Tracy and Sawyer's final film together., The American (2010), Rio 2 (2014), Firewall (2006), 16 Blocks (2006), The Sentinel (1977), Stop That Cab (1951)  I never even knew that Sid Melton had starred in some movies.  I'm so used to seeing him doing supporting bits in tons of TV series from the 1950s through the 1990s., Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) a slight comedown after CC at the Opera but still fine fun., Neighbors (2014), The Legacy (1978), Leave it to the Marines (1951),  Sid Melton again.  Like the previous starring bit the film is made on the cheap and only moderately funny. Locke (2013), 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (2009), The Crimson Trail (1935)  another Buck Jones western.  Jones made some very solid oaters for Universal and Columbia in the 1930s, Luck (1923) although unknown to the public now-a-days, Johnny Hines made a series of popular comedies in the 1920s, Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936)  starting a run of watching the second half dozen Hoppy films, The Mark of Zorro (1940)-  probably the best Zorro film ever.

[jimmm kelly]

You've watched NEIGHBORS (2014), but have you ever watched NEIGHBOURS (1952) by Norman McLaren?

[profh0011]

As with Lon Chaney over Claude Rains, I MUCH prefer Douglas Fairbanks over Tyrone Power.

[jimmm kelly]

Sorry, but for me the only real Zorro is Guy Williams. I know he never did a movie--although I think some of his episodes were strung together to make a TV movie of sorts.

By the time I discovered those other guys, I was a grown-up and it was too late for them to replace Guy Williams in my imagination.

In fact, my second Zorro after Guy was Frank Langella in the TV movie of THE MARK OF ZORRO (1974). Seeing that movie as a young teenager was partly what made me join the military after I got out of high school, believe it or not.