Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Play it daddy-o.

Oh, it’s one of those movies…

Edward Everett Horton!

Claude Rains!

Some guy!

I think I’ve seen this before, actually… but it must be a long time ago.

Or has this ever been remade under another name?

I guess the guy who plays the main character here is Robert Montgomery? I’ve seen him in other movies before, but he’s not one I’ve, like, noticed… so I don’t know if this is the character he usually does or not: Kinda stupid, kinda goodhearted — you know, a boxer who plays the sax. And he does it well! But it’s not particularly charming, either.

Cary Grant was originally going to do the role, but that didn’t happen. But that would have been awesome.

That’s a more fun shot of him on imdb.

It’s a really sweet movie. Very enjoyable.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Alexander Hall. 1941. ⚄

Impulse

I’m not at all sure why I have this movie, but it might be part of the Hazel Flagg collection? I have no way to find out now.

It might even be the wrong Impulse — there’s several movies with that name.

It’s directed by Sondra Locke, who’s more famous as an actor…

Hey, it’s her!

It’s that guy!

Did car tires use to explode more in The Olden Times? It’s never happened to me…

This is one of those late-80s/early-90s “erotic thrillers”, but it’s very odd. It’s pretty tense and pretty well made, but it’s just kinda odd.

The few people who’ve seen it hate it!

To live and die in L. A.

Oh my god! The killer was the only guy it could have been!

Oops, spoilers.

I mostly liked this movie, but it really fell off during the last half. It’s got a good mood going on, but it’s gets a bit dull after a while.

Impulse. Sondra Locke. 1989. ⚂

The Reluctant Debutante

I’m not really all that keen on Vincente Minnelli — sure, he’s done some good movies, but he’s also done a who lot of duds, I think?

Mrs. Fletcher!

Anyway, I’d forgotten that Minnelli sometimes filmed Italian style even when filming abroad — i.e., recording no sound on the set, but dubbing everything afterwards.

I think I bought this because it was on the Hazel Flagg list, but the list is gone now, so I don’t quite know…

This is indeed exactly like I remember Minnelli’s movies — witty, pretty and like a confectionery cake that’s had a bit too much decoration.

My general side-eyeing of these movies might just be me being a philistine and not enjoying the dubbedness of it all. I’ve got problem with a lot of Italian cinema… Not that it stops me from watching Italian movies or anything.

Ooo mirrors.

The plot and characters of this movie are so old-fashioned that it must have felt like an anachronism even back in 1958.

Right, so it bombed:

According to MGM records it earned $1,555,000 in the US and Canada and $1,425,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $355,000.

It is a fun movie — plenty of delightful details. And I like the general silliness of it all. It’s very fluffy and frothy. But it feels oddly static, which perhaps isn’t that odd, since the plot is very, very basic, and you could basically do it in a ten minute short, but instead it’s a (short) full movie. It just needs more — and first and foremost, more jokes. The gags that are here work well, but there’s too few of them.

The Reluctant Debutante. Vincente Minnelli. 1958. ⚃