What was the last movie you saw?

Cockleshell Heroes (1955) Royal Marines Commandos are subjected to a series of rather strange tests in order to determine which of them are actually qualified for a mission. The 1st such test involves parachuting miles away from the base, wearing German Army uniforms and returning to base within a certain time limit. Major Stringer RM (José Ferrer) is the one who devised the test, & he runs afoul of Captain Hugh Thompson (Trevor Howard), who is a strict rule & regulations type, who insists that Stringer's odd ideas will not produce, because their lack of discipline.

Anyway, the two eventually come to terms, & the mission proceeds. They will use canoes to paddle into enemy ports and attach explosives to the hulls of enemy ships.

Supporting cast/characters:
submarine commander (Christopher Lee). I am unfamiliar with any others.

8/10
 
Jeffbert said:
Fistful of Dollars (1964) I had intended to watch just the 1st 10 & final 10 minutes, but as I was running a full scan on my PC, I watched the whole thing on the DVR. As though anyone reading this does not already know the story, Sergio Leone, literally made a Western version of Yojimbo, and was sued by Kurosawa & Toho because of it. Anyway, the lone Ronin/gunfighter enters a town torn apart by two, count 'em 2 rival families, & sells his talents to each, playing both sides against the middle.
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Sure they sued! And no doubt they intended to pay something to Dashiell Hammett's estate (see Red Harvest). Ha!
 
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT 1967- The one scene that doesn't work for me is when they are drilling and their faces have the dumbest expressions. They are supposed to look disturbed but it looks funny to me especially Andrew Keir's expression. It just looks funny. Otherwise, this is quite a good sci-fi horror mystery film.
 
This was a movie that I saw on television as a child and always remembered it but couldn't remember what it was called. Finally, recently, I found it on Prime. The Unfinished Dance, with Margaret O'Brien, Cyd Charisse, Karin Booth, and Danny Thomas. This is a movie about a disturbingly intense little girl who idolizes a ballerina. She decides to play a prank on another dancer who is her idol's rival, and accidentally causes a tragic accident. From then on, she's tormented by guilt and fear of discovery.

The ballet sequences weren't bad, but on the other hand, I've seen better. The acting was about what you would expect of a 1947 melodrama.
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
Monsters Crash the Pajama Party (1965)

Only half an hour long, this was originally shown as part of a live spook show in movie theaters. At one point, folks dressed up as monsters enter the theater and grab a young woman as if they were going in and out of the film. Other than that, what we have is an ultra-cheap parody of monster movies. A guy wearing a coat with the words MAD DOCTOR on it rants at the audience a while, then the opening credits are spoken while a guy in a gorilla suit messes around. The actual film has some young women staying in a spooky house for a sorority initiation. The Mad Doctor and his vampiric assistant Draculina and a guy in a gorilla suit capture one of the women and turn her into a gorilla. The boyfriends of the women show up, as does a werewolf. It's all played for broad comedy. The werewolf's pants fall down to reveal his boxer shorts etc. Very silly stuff.
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I particularly liked the flasks labeled Empty Bottle and Colored Water. Appropriate for a short of high standards! :X3:
 
AE35Unit said:
Eh? That looks totally unrelated!
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Not really. Hammett was the first I know of to use the man who comes to town playing opposing forces against each other to wipe them out. In Hammett's case, a portly operative from the Continental Detective Agency.

And I'm not the first to note the similarities in the plots.
 
Randy M. said:
Not really. Hammett was the first I know of to use the man who comes to town playing opposing forces against each other to wipe them out. In Hammett's case, a portly operative from the Continental Detective Agency.

And I'm not the first to note the similarities in the plots.
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There's also an amusingly bad sword-and-sorcery version of the same theme, The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984).

My review from some years ago:

The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)

Takes the Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars theme -- scruffy lone wolf antihero wanders into town and sets two different gangs of bad guys against each other -- and sets it in a fantasy world. David Carradine is the Warrior. He arrives at a desert town, where two warlords fight for control of a well. This world has two suns, which I guess explains why there's nothing around but rock and sand. (What do these people do for food?) Carradine demonstrates what a great fighter he is by quickly slaughtering half a dozen soldiers at the well, so that the boss of the other side will hire him. That guy has this hilarious bipedal lizard companion that wear clothes and seems to serve as his advisor, even though all it can do is croak out what sounds like somebody clearing a throat. This thing looks like a Muppet. Later, we'll have a giant multitentacled monster that looks just as silly. Meanwhile, the other boss has the Sorceress prisoner, trying to force her to enchant him up a magic sword that will allow him to defeat the other guy. By the way, the Sorceress spends almost the entire movie topless. Since this isn't sleazy enough, we also have a scene with a four-breasted stripper. To complicate matters, some slavers with goofy-looking prosthetic faces get mixed up in the battle for the well. A whole bunch of stuff goes on, so I can't accuse the movie of being boring, at least. It's cheap and stupid, but ridiculously entertaining.
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Detour (1945) Wonderful! What a great example of Noir! Made by PRC, which our host Muller said had two meanings, one of which was Pretty Rotten Crap. :LOL: But, this film is an exception!

Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is hitchhiking to Los Angeles, & gets a lift from Charles Haskell Jr. (Edmund MacDonald), whose right arm and hand show wounds, which he says came from a woman. Little does Roberts know, he will soon meet this woman. So, the two men take turns driving and sleeping, and while Roberts drives, Haskell sleeps. Oops, it starts raining, so Roberts pulls over & begins attempting to awaken Haskell, to tell him he must put up the top. When he opens the passenger door, Haskell slumps out the door, bonks his noggin on a conveniently placed rock, and dies. Roberts is thinking how will he explain this?

Now, the fun begins!
...
So, having taken Haskell's identity, possessions, car, etc., & having buried Haskell, Roberts now drives along, needs to stop at a gas station, & casually invites a hitchhiking woman to join him. Vera (Ann Savage), who Muller describes as a "hitchhiking harpy from Hell" is the same woman who injured Haskell's arm. Not enough for ya? She turns to him, and demands, "Where did you leave his body?" :ROFLMAO: But this is just the beginning of Robert's woes!

Do not read the next spoiler, unless you will never watch this film!
She eventually demands that Roberts pretend to be Haskell, collect the inheritance she just read about in the paper, in an article about the missing Heir. She grabs the telephone takes it into the bedroom locks the door, oh, she is drunk, & wraps the phone's cord around her neck, as she falls asleep. Yep, Roberts grabs the cord, and pulls hard. Oops! strangled her! :eek: Final scene has the Police arresting him, as he narrates, "fate, or some mysterious force can put the finger on you or me for no good reason at all."

9/10!
 
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Recently, I watched a movie called 'Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.' It's a spy action-comedy, and I really enjoyed it!
 
OFFBEAT - 1961 - Undercover cop finds himself beginning to regard the crooks as his friend. Pretty involving story. Strange that Anthony Dawson's character was named Dawson!

Kill Baby Kill - 1966-- Seen it before. Story isn't much to write home about but the visual style is very colorful.
 
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