What was the last movie you saw?

MAGIC (1978) A magician Corky Withers (Anthony Hopkins) who uses a ventriloquist dummy, loses his mind, and begins believing that the dummy named Fats, is alive, etc. He projects onto the dummy all his wicked thoughts.

I vaguely recall the ad, Hocus pocus, I sit on his knee... now he is me... magic is fun... we're dead. or something like that.
 
ANNA KARENINA (1935) Anna Karenina (Greta Garbo) is married to Karenin (Basil Rathbone), a rather boring government official, but has eyes for the dashing Count Vronsky (Fredric March), with his chest covered by military medals, etc., & has an affair with him. Karenin, is offended, and demands she either remain faithful to him, and retain her relationship with their son Sergei (Freddie Bartholomew), or go with Vronsky, and forever lose access to their son.

Vronsky, for his part, must either stay with his regiment and forsake Anna, because of military rules, etc., or leave the military to be with her. Both choose each other, and consequences follow.

Not quite my type of film, but the cast attracted me.
 
KING OF THE UNDERWORLD (1939) Physician Dr. Niles Nelson (John Eldredge) becomes involved with gangsters, and is drawn into being their personal doctor. His wife, aslo a surgeon, has no idea he is so employed, but since they moved from a lower-class neighborhood to an upper-class one, he has not been taking patients- at least- none to her knowledge. Because he is in their hideout when the police raid the place, he is killed. Now his widow Dr. Carole Nelson (Kay Francis) is suspected of also being involved, so she has 90 days to clear herself, or her license will be revoked. Determined to get the gang led by Joe Gurney (Humphrey Bogart) responsible for her husband's death, she goes after them with gusto.

One of thy film's features, is the poor education of the gangsters. She insults Gurney, and he takes it as a compliment. So, Gurney, thinking very highly of himself has an educated type begin writing his biography, whose details could land Gurney in the electric chair; Gurney is not worried, though, he plans to kill the guy once the book is finished. The guy Bill Stevens (James Stephenson), overhears the plan, and when he meets the doctor, he tells her that this biography will be his SWAN SONG. That line, is really the only thing I recalled about this film. :giggle: She, as well as the audience, knows what this means, but the gangsters do not.

Just over an hour, this film moves rather swiftly; very satisfying.
 
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) This is one WWII film I did not want to watch; but, somehow did anyway. So, there are these 3 veterans, 2 portrayed by big-name actors, & one who actually was in the war, & lost both hands in the process. Well, they meet & become acquainted on a military transport plane going from an Army Air force base to a small Midwestern town. Two of them had inversions during the war; that is, going for prominent jobs to lower ones, or vise-versa. One, Technical Sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March) had a white-collar job in a bank, the other, Captain Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) was a soda-jerk in a drug store. The third guy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), I do not recall his position in life, but having lost both hands, he must adjust to the changes. His girlfriend, will she still want to marry him, or not? That, as well as the difficulties of going through life without hands. I can tell you, because I was in a homeroom for crippled kids, & there was one boy who had neither elbows nor knees, just stubs. He had those hooks for hands, and such, and the difficulty using them for 'normal' things, such as writing, eating, etc.

The one scene that stuck in my mind was when Derry went to a field covered with partially disassembled aircraft. There were rows upon rows of engines, fuselages, etc.
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I recall a radio talk show guy talking about the military's overwhelming desire to bring the boys home, and just shoving equipment off aircraft carriers into the sea. Then, just a few years later, needing to build new ones, for the Korean War.
Yes, my ex's father (UK Navy) used to talk about that. I just seemed such a horrible, and rather stupid, waste chucking all those planes overboard.
Especially considering how devastated the British manufacturing industry was by war's end. He never told me who gave the order :unsure:
 
Skeletons (2010) - and this is what I've been looking for every time I pick up a DVD I've never heard of. Skeletons is a low budget British film about two bickering men, working for a mysterious Colonel, who provide a service for people. A service that changes their customers' lives in not altogether expected ways. I won't say more because discovering what they do is part of the fun of the film. And it's just wonderful: very funny, mysterious, touching and odd. Very very odd. (One of the characters turns Bulgarian.) I love watching films where I have no idea what is going to happen. Some films you know exactly how they are going to play out before the end of the first scene and the rest of the watching is a matter of appreciating (or not) the interesting, skillfull way way the film makers arrange their dominoes as they all tip over. With Skeletons I was guessing right up to the last scene. I loved it. One of the out-takes in the extras on the disc is entitled, "Cat-Faced Women of the 1940s" which I think is the best title for a deleted scene I have ever seen.
 
OUR GANG in TINY TROUBLES (1939) Alfalfa's baby brother is too noisy, & as mama said the baby was found in the hollow of a tree, Alfalfa thinks he can swap the kid for a quieter one. But a midget pickpocket posing as a baby :unsure: is adopted as the answer to prayer. Too dumb to be cute.
 
HARD TIMES 1975 - This movie has great rewatch value. Even if you know how the fights go, they are still suspenseful. I don't think it would be like that if Charles Bronson's character was played by Don Knotts.
 
HIT AND RUN (1957) A young mechanic (Vince Edwards), lusting for his boss' (Hugo Haas) wife Julie (Cleo Moore) murders him. But did he run over the boss, or the boss' identical twin brother, who had just then, arrived? NOIR ALLEY, & Muller's always interesting intro & exit talks.

I think I earlier mentioned something about identical twins not remaining identical, because of habits differing, etc.
 
Skeletons (2010) - and this is what I've been looking for every time I pick up a DVD I've never heard of. Skeletons is a low budget British film about two bickering men, working for a mysterious Colonel, who provide a service for people. A service that changes their customers' lives in not altogether expected ways. I won't say more because discovering what they do is part of the fun of the film. And it's just wonderful: very funny, mysterious, touching and odd. Very very odd. (One of the characters turns Bulgarian.) I love watching films where I have no idea what is going to happen. Some films you know exactly how they are going to play out before the end of the first scene and the rest of the watching is a matter of appreciating (or not) the interesting, skillfull way way the film makers arrange their dominoes as they all tip over. With Skeletons I was guessing right up to the last scene. I loved it. One of the out-takes in the extras on the disc is entitled, "Cat-Faced Women of the 1940s" which I think is the best title for a deleted scene I have ever seen.
I saw this not too long ago. Unique, clever, and fun.
 
Three thousand Years of Longing

Directed by George Mad Max Miller and starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba and all I can say is that I thought it was BEAUTIFUL I wont say any more but I highly recommend this.
 
SHANKS (1974) Malcolm Shanks (Marcel Marceau) As a puppeteer whose performance becomes live action. So, this old guy dies, and Shanks, using the old guy's technique, reanimates the corpse using electrical stimulation. Thoroughly amusing awkward positions! :LOL: Eventually three corpses are thus animated, & the guy keeps the controls in his pockets.

William Castle who directed had a small role as a shopkeeper. I saw so many brands of products! Cigarettes, MARLBORO, PARLIAMENT, etc., cigars, KING EDWARD IMPERIAL, etc. COCA-COLA was all over the place. BROMO SELTZER. Chewing gum, WRIGLEYS three varieties, etc.

A very different kind of puppet film!

Almost forgot: when the old guy had electrodes attached to a dead frog, the sound effects from War of the Worlds's Martian War machines' death ray was used.
 
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Movies and Television Get All Mixed Up Double Feature:

Queen for a Day (1951)

The popular radio and very-soon-to-be television series, in which the audience would vote to see which female contestant had the most heartbreaking story and would be crowned Queen for a Day and get a bunch of prizes, serves as the unlikely linking story for this anthology film, based on previous published works by noted authors.

"The Gossamer World" by Faith Baldwin (Women's Home Companion, August 1948) -- the parents of a young boy who lives in a fantasy world discover he has polio.

"High Diver" by John Ashworth (Harper's Magazine, May 1948) -- a young man takes up the dangerous profession of the title in an attempt to earn enough money to go to college.

"Horsie" by Dorothy Parker (Harper's Bazaar, December 1932) -- an unattractive visiting nurse is secretly mocked by the rich folks whose newborn baby she cares for.

The gimmick of linking these tales to the radio series is really odd. The stories aren't terribly interesting, with the last one being the best

What Makes Sammy Run? (1959)

A two-part adaptation of the 1941 novel of the same name by Budd Schulberg that was broadcast on a TV series called Sunday Showcase. Originally in color, but the surviving copy is black-and-white. There was a 1949 version broadcast on The Philco Television Playhouse which is lost. Anyway, this is the story of Sammy Glick, who rises from copyboy at a New York newspaper to a powerful Hollywood producer, by lying and cheating and stealing credit from others. As a portrait of a louse, it's effective. The word "damn" shows up quite a lot for American television of the time.
 
Murder by Contract (1958) - tight gangster B-movie about a contract killer. Apparently very influential on Scorcese, who used scenes in Taxi Driver. I love the concision of the scenes, within 5 minutes we know exactly who the main character is and what his motivations are. Excellent tough guy dialogue that borders on the pretentious when a job makes him question his life choices.
 
FUNERAL IN BERLIN 1966 - An easy to forget film since it seems to blur together with other similar films of the time like the Quiller Memorandum. I never remember much about it after a viewing. Then I think: hey, I haven't watched that in a while-maybe I should. Then I do, and realize why I forget it.
I like the mundane aspects of the Harry Palmer character and my antipathy towards James Bond films is due to the uneven tone between serious and comedy. This is much more serious but it feels dated (excluding the transvestite bar scene). Actually, Michael Caine went from that bar scene to Dressed To Kill. And he mentions he has his inflatable Batman suit--and years later, he's Alfred.

SEXY CAT - 1972 This story feels very current considering the focus on comic book economics and gender identity. A comic book character (identical to Spider-man's Black Cat) seems to come to life in order to kill off people associated with its financial success. A Spanish giallo, it is rather crude in narrative and technique (including a snake getting slashed by a sword). But the reveal of the killer is an interesting twist (too bad they didn't give the audience the chance to learn it on their own by switching the chronology of two sequences). They reveal the identity, and then the detective clues in to the truth from the height of a dart board in a room of a kidnapping victim confined to a wheelchair. If they had showed that room earlier, it would have let the audience make such a connection.
 
King Of Jazz. 1930 fantasy bio/tribute to popular band leader Paul Whiteman (remembered mostly today for commissioning George Gershwin's masterpiece Rhapsody In Blue) told in variety show form sometimes wild, sometimes crazy, sometimes outright bizarre. Just think The Ed Sullivan show maxed out on magic mushrooms.
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RASHOMON (1950) Story of rape and murder told by multiple witnesses, etc. Title refers to the name of the place where several men go, to take shelter from the downpour. the woodcutter (Takashi Shimura), the priest (Minoru Chiaki), and the listener, each tell their own versions of the story, of how Tajōmaru, the bandit (Toshiro Mifune) tricked the Samurai (Masayuki Mori) into leaving his wife alone on the road, while the bandit led the Samurai away, on a wild goose chase, for expected wealth. Then, led her to her husband, whom he had tied up. Rape followed.
 
GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING (1956) Owen (Robert Stack), a Southern man seeking gold arrives in a Western town, just before the Civil War begins, and is given a hostile welcome by the majority, Northerners, who assume he will take sides with the South once the war begins. There are also a few Southerners, all there seeking, but apparently not finding gold. Jumbo (Raymond Burr), the villain seeks his own ends, and in the process, throws fuel on the fire.

A very different type of Western movie, & I enjoyed it.
 
DUEL AT DIABLO (1966) A man Jess Remsberg (James Garner), seeking revenge for the murder of his Comanche wife, is hired to scout in front of a wagon train going through Indian territory to some other town, escorted by cavalry. Toller (Sidney Poitier), an ex army sergeant is there also.
 

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