Whole New Collection Starting

Well my last collection of PD films fizzled out with the last four being "Westinghouse" TV Shows that ran about 52 minutes usually with a couple adds for their latest washing machine. Still, somewhat interesting.

Now I've started a new collection of 50 films and watched the first last night. A film called: "Suffer the Little Children" (or something) and starring Rod Taylor. It was a MTV (made for TV) movie and not that all together interesting. I think the only interesting part was that I worked with Rod Taylor a couple years later in the film "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy." But that's about it.

The other night went out to CompUSA and bought a case that holds 320 discs. I then put 100+ discs into the case last night. I've quickly realized I will not be able to get more DVDs unless I shrink my collection in some way. So this was the best, easiest and fastest way to diminish my collection without really doing so.

More later....

TV films

Hey, I'm back.

Howyadoin'?

I've got a lot on my plate recently so that's my lame excuse why I haven't blogged.

Over the weekend I watched a couple "Studio One" productions as part of my public domain collection.

These two short films (both about 55 minutes) dealt with theivery and murder and all those yummy good things that CONTINUE to enthrall audiences. Even today.

Both were pretty gritty, both in content and appearance. When I think that:

a. These were "live" stage plays and no recorded to be shown later and...

b. These were beamed into people's houses for their enjoyment...

It made me think.

Often times when I'm watching a decent, or half-way decent, PD film I often wonder what it was like sitting in that darkened theater in 1942. You're watching the first half of a double feature. Yeah, it's not that great, but it's got that one actor that you liked and the popcorn is good and when it's over you'll see the News Update and a Warner Brothers Cartoon and then you'll see wht big "A" picture with Katherine Hepburn and Walter Pidgeon and you'll melt away into a chair that, for those 4 hours, you'll call home.

The films were "okay." Quality wasn't great, as you might expect, but I was surprised at some of the violence (a man stabbed, a man hanged) and some of the sexual innuendos.

Enjoyable if short.

Film Noir Rocks!

I must say I'm quite excited. I used a gift certificate to Amazon.com to buy ANOTHER collection of 50 PD films. So that makes 100 (give or take) sitting on the sideline waiting to be viewed.

I'm also about to start Disc 10 in my current run so I'll be done with that collection soon and moving on to the next. (Each collection comes with 50 movies on 12 discs. Each disc holds 4 films and one disc holds 6 films.)

I'm tempted to go to Circuit City and buy the "War Collection" which has 100 films/documentaries on 16 discs and for only $29.95. How can you beat THAT for entertainment?

Oh, and don't fret, my friends - I've got a HUGE stockpile of probably ANOTHER 200 PD films that I haven't even looked at yet. So there.

Anyway, back to the title above. Most film noirs, as you've heard, usually revolve around some dumb cluck who stupidly falls in lust for some femme fatale willing to do anything the guy wants, as long as he's stupid enough to bump off her sig-other. He gets busted, thrown in jail, sig-other dies, leaves her a fortune and she runs off with the pool boy. Well, two of my latest 3 FN movies I've seen have turned that story on their ear.

Yes, one "Please Murder Me" had your typical Film Noir plot-line and was good (with a VERY hot Angela Landsbury all rich and horny over some artist while screwing over the rich attorney who got her off for murder). But two other films turned that typical FN plot on it's ear.

One film was called: "Woman on the Run" and it was an excellent film about a woman in a love-less marriage forced to look for her loser husband who accidently saw a murder happen. The cops want to find the guy, the mob boss wants to find the guy, the tabloid writer wants to find the guy, the wife could, really, care less. But....... In the process of teaming up with the writer, she realizes her husband still loves her and she falls back in love with him - unknowing that the tabloid writer who is working with her - is actually the murderer he saw. Damn good film and under 80 minutes.

The other film was stupidly titled "Cause for Alarm" about another woman in a marriage. This woman, little miss perfect home-maker, is feeling all guilty 'cause her husband suffers from some unknown ailment. One of the symptoms of this ailment is that he's paraniod. Paranoid about the world around him and is soundly convinced that she, and the doctor (a mutual friend) are trying to kill him. He writes up a letter to the District Attorney telling him everything and talks her into giving it to the mailman. After she gives it to the mailman, her husband confronts her, admits what he wrote in the letter, grabs a gun, points it at her and then dies of a heart attack.

As she tries to pry the gun from his hands, she ends up firing it, thus discharging the weapon and putting her fingerprints all over it.

Realizing that her only real saving grace is getting the letter back she does everything she can to get the letter back.

How does it end? Oh, it's a classic ending.

Great stuff.

As a contrast a friend of mine told me to watch Mission Impossible: III and I watched the first 30 minutes but then had to send it back to Neflix because my daughter needs a Mel Gibson film to watch ("Hamlet"). I'll watch the other 96 minutes later.

Movies

November and December saw me trying to catch up with some of the "darling" films of 2006 while still pushing through my PD collection.

Some of the films I watched:

"Thank you for Smoking" - good film, bad Kate Cruise
"The Upside of Anger" - good film, nice twist at the end, didn't care much about the characters, though
"Lord of War" - intense, good, intriguing.
"Weather Man" - VERY good, one of my favorites. Under-rated. Not perfect, but just, dang, good.

Plus a few dozen PD films that don't really stick out.

I did see one film last night: "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" with a young Kirk Douglas. It was great in that 40's melodrama, unbridled passion, slick dialogue, bad-guys turned good guys, type of movie. A-List all the way.

More soon. I promise. :)

My apologies

For my lack of, well, "bloginess." Not that anyone pays attention to my blog anyway. :)

If I'm to make any resolution this year, it's my resolution to try and keep up with this blog. Or, at the very LEAST, make it somewhat interesting.

Thank you.