Mr. Skeffington

Yes, it’s another movie from the Hazel Flagg collection, but apparently the account has been taken over by hackers or something? So I’m not linking to the tweet.

I haven’t seen this before, and I can’t even remember seeing the name about. And I can’t even remember hearing about it before — and I had to get it on DVD, so I’m guessing it’s not really a major movie?

Bette!

Oh right, this was done during WWII.

The sets seem really cheap? Whenever somebody closes a door, everything shakes. No, it’s got a pretty big budget…

Odd stache.

It’s a very dramatic drama… and moves so slooowly.

It’s a kinda odd movie? The Betty Davis character is supposed to be absolutely adored by all men, but we’re not being shown any reason for that (I mean, beyond the obvious): Her character doesn’t really have much character, so we just have to take all that on faith.

I guess one problem is that Davis and Claude Rains have absolutely zero chemistry going on… but I guess that’s also a plot point, really, but still…

Oh, heh, and now they’re infodumping the point I was typing just now, so I guess I’m understanding the movie well. But it still doesn’t actually make the movie thrilling. I hope it’s going to take off and become funnier now that they’ve gotten the plot (and the sappy bits) out of the way. Possibly.

Oh no! I’d almost forgotten about him! So much drama!

Kids say the darndest things.

Hubba hubba!

There casting here is pretty weird all over — now the daughter is also inexplicably attractive?

Oh no! Don’t get wet! Getting wet is fatal!

And very aging.

Oh my god

That’s genius.

I did quite like this movie, but I’m not sure it actually works? I mean, as a movie? It’s like a catalogue of things that should be annoying, but it’s not?

I do like the war propaganda bits in particular.

Mr. Skeffington. Vincent Sherman. 1944. ⚃

The Big Combo

Man, this looks great.

Yes, Hazel Flagg said so.

Very noir indeed.

I could only find this on bluray in a Portuguese edition. I mean, it has the original English audio, so it doesn’t matter, but it’s pretty weird, eh? Because this edition has been restored really well — except that it’s in 16:9! But whyyy

Man, they’re using lenses with a low f in this movie. The focus puller works really hard in some scenes. And in some scenes, like this, only one person is in focus even if they’re standing pretty close to each other.

It’s a pretty weird choice, but it looks really dramatic.

Very dramatic! This bluray is in 16:9, though, which means that they’ve probably chopped… something. What was this originally? Er… Oh, it was 1.85:1? OK, they’ve chopped bits from the left and right?

Man, that’s some torture.

That’s some excellent henchman work!

I have to admit that I don’t quite follow the plot of this movie, but I like each individual scene. The cinematography is wonderful (when the focus puller manages to keep up), and the performances are so noir…

I want one of those closets!

The Big Combo. Joseph H. Lewis. 1955. ⚂

Stay Hungry

I don’t think I’ve seen this movie before? But the name does sound awfully familiar. Perhaps I’ve read the Mad Magazine version?

Heh heh, parking on the top of a building so that you can have a shot of the streets below without filming on the streets. Hm… the director is Bob Rafelson…

Oh oh oh — Five Easy Pieces and The Postman Always Rings Twice. I’ve seen those.

And also Head, the Monkees movie.

It’s not a very… extensive career, though?

Yes, this is another Hazel Flagg movie.

Is that Freddie Kruger?

IT IS!

Yes, it’s Arnold. I think this movie is mostly mentioned as “and then Arnold tried to do a serious movie”.

It seems like the critical reaction was very positive, and it apparently did well at the box office? But modern audience ratings are pretty negative…

The plot here is so classic that I kinda understand why this is a film that’s been rather forgotten: It’s about a hoiti toity capitalist that’s going to do nefarious things with a couple of city blocks, but there’s one business that refuses to sell! So he goes in and becomes rather enamoured with the people he should be swindling. So… is he going to betray them or not!?!?

I mean, there’s a reason this plot is so popular — I’ve seen at least a couple dozen movies that are variations on this plot — but you have to do something more with it to not just seem… plodding.

And this film almost does that, but then it tips over into ridiculousness.

Can’t fault the wig people.

It’s such a weird movie. It’s mostly a drama, but then it takes these detours into Benny Hill territory. But without any actual jokes that make sense.

The movie does have a certain jenneseqoia — but it’s just a hard sell. It mixes broad farce with drama and ends up not making much sense. If I had a dollar for every scene where I went “wait what?” I’d be able to buy a pretty fancy burger.

But it’s pretty likeable.

Stay Hungry. Bob Rafelson. 1976. ⚂