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Messages - kjrwe
1
« on: November 17, 2018, 03:42:42 PM »
I'd like to see that one. Thanks for the heads up! Cheers....
2
« on: November 16, 2018, 10:22:55 PM »
It's quite a SCARY noir! It definitely has a horror feel to it.
Highly recommended.
3
« on: November 16, 2018, 10:21:49 PM »
I've read some stuff by Jefferson Farjeon, including a novel where some guy who lives alone decides to go on a holiday. In some public place away from home, he overhears some complete stranger talking to an operator on the phone, asking to be connected to this guy's house! What's even more surprising is that the person on the phone actually talks to someone when connected. Obviously the main character decides to investigate what's going on. Was his home broken into? (Sorry, I forget the title of this novel.)
One of his stories was adapted for the big screen as the 1933 film "The Ghost Camera". I'm quite sure I reviewed it on this thread. It's the one where a fellow realizes that he's come home from holidays with a camera not his own. He decides to develop the negatives. One of the pics shows a man murdering someone! The main character decides to solve this mystery. He starts out by finding the young woman in one of the pics, and with her help & the help of other pictures, they decide to solve the mystery (her brother is tangled up in the mess somehow). It's a fun movie, worth a look.
4
« on: November 16, 2018, 10:14:59 PM »
The note was on his person, in his pocket or something.
5
« on: November 12, 2018, 01:16:52 AM »
Well, you're certainly lucky to have such easy/quick access to the British Library of Crime Classics.
About 7 to 9 years ago, I tracked down as many mysteries as possible from the late 20s, 30s, and early 40s. My local university has many of them and I also requested a bunch through interlibrary loans (ie, I'd have books shipped to me from other cities/towns). It was a real pleasure to read the original source material for some of the films, and to read so many of the books which had never been filmed. It's amazing how they keep filming and refilming the same stories, while so many have been neglected over the years.
I've been watching mysteries, but many I've seen several times in the past and I've already reviewed them on this thread, so I won't bother to mention those again unless I have something extra to add to my comments.
6
« on: November 12, 2018, 01:11:12 AM »
One thing about the note in that assistant's pocket.....the guy was dumped in the river. Wouldn't the note have gotten all wet and therefore be unreadable?
7
« on: November 05, 2018, 11:54:45 PM »
A number of famous mystery authors from that era created detectives which are lesser known, and it's too bad that these lesser-known detectives can't be made more public.
For example, there are plenty of adaptations of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Marple stories, but what about Parker Pyne and Harley Quin? Have any of those short stories been filmed?
And frankly, I think that John Dickson Carr's best detective is Bencolin, who only appears in a few of his early novels. I love the gothic feel of those novels!
The Ellery Queen authors created another detective, but I can't think of his name right now. To my knowledge, he's in four books.
I'll take Doug Selby over Perry Mason....too bad that the author emphasized Mason so much more....
8
« on: October 31, 2018, 09:54:11 PM »
Time to get this thread out of mothballs.
It's been awhile since I've watched any mysteries.
Yesterday I watched the 1971 TV movie "They Call it Murder".
This movie is the only adaptation of a Doug Selby mystery. The Doug Selby mysteries were written by the same author as the Perry Mason books, but unfortunately, Doug Selby is almost completely forgotten, while Perry Mason lives on.
To my knowledge, there are nine Doug Selby mysteries. I've had the pleasure of reading three of them. All of them should be reprinted and filmed.
A pity that all the novels weren't filmed back in the early seventies. Not sure why only the one movie was made. It's maybe a bit on the slow side, but a good story. Jim Hutton's perfect as Doug Selby. Leslie Nielsen is great in a supporting role. He sure had a good voice for film. The others were well cast, too.
9
« on: October 31, 2018, 09:48:34 PM »
Terrific film. At least they showed gangsters in a reasonable way, as compared to something like "The Public Enemy", where the toughest gangster looked like a gum-chewing high school student. (I still like that film, but really....)
The heist sequence (with no music) is absolutely brilliant.
10
« on: September 26, 2018, 09:41:30 PM »
I completely agree with what you wrote about 'modernising' old stories K. I've seen some where they introduce strong language into the dialogue. Of course we can't be sure how some upper-class people may have spoke in the early part of the early 20th Century. But such modern films still make it sound ridiculous when they do that to versions of the old films.
It bothers me especially when they take a classic mystery and have it set in modern times. Don't even get me started on this topic...ha ha.  I could go on forever.
11
« on: September 24, 2018, 11:23:12 PM »
AN INSPECTOR CALLS (2018). Rated 7/10.
This is a DVD version of the J.B. Priestley classic. It doesn't drop into the pitfall of the 2015 version which endeavoured to make it satisfactory for modern day audience which I found irritating. This one is more on traditional lines and I admire it for that. It's got a fab poster cover depicting the Inspector as a bit of a ghost figure. The cast are unknown to me including Martin Nadin as the Inspector. It can't beat the 1954 Alastair Sim version. That's still the one to watch but this latest effort is good.
I didn't realize that there are two new versions of this story. Modernizing the story would be pointless. It's not a modern-day story. If anyone wants to film the story these days, they should probably have it set in the period in which the story was published, and keep things "old-fashioned", so to speak. (Political correctness should be left for scripts based on modern literature.)
12
« on: September 13, 2018, 10:23:12 PM »
Thanks K for letting me know about the radio play. I want to listen to that as well. I've found out that our Radio 4 did an adaptation of 'Philomel Cottage' in 2002. So hopefully I will get to hear that sometime.
2002? Um....I was thinking of a radio play from the Suspense series, starring Orson Welles....
13
« on: September 03, 2018, 10:53:41 PM »
I wondered if you may have read 'Philomel Cottage' K. The film is slow at the start. I've ordered 'The Listerdale Mystery' collection from my local library. It should have 'Philomel Cottage' in it. Basil Rathbone was a great villain.
Yup, I'd read that short story, and I've heard the radio play. All are recommended. Enjoy!
14
« on: September 03, 2018, 10:51:59 PM »
I like Mickey Rooney in this more than in any other of his films. I would liked to have seen him more in this type of movie.
I actually got this on DVD mainly because Peter Lorre is in it. He is always a good watch as a slimy villain.
Another one this is a good film to watch for is Minerva Urecal as the landlady. She has such a noticeable screen presence in a lot of the low budget movies in which she appeared for many years. She was good as the sinister sister in an earlier Bela Lugosi film.
I agree with you about Peter Lorre. One thing I really like about him is that he could give a low-key performance as a villain. Some other actors have to be "extravagent" about it (for lack of a better word), but Lorre could play a sleazy character with that quiet voice of his, and those eyes....
15
« on: September 01, 2018, 12:50:37 AM »
LOVE FROM A STRANGER (1937). Rated 7/10.
It was good to come across a Basil Rathbone film I hadn't seen before. In this he plays a money-grabbing criminal preying on rich women. He veers between charm and insanity at different stages of the action. People who like the 'Gaslight' movies could very well go for this one. 'Love From A Stranger' is a suspense thriller with a particularly startling scene involving a door.
The plot is taken from an Agatha Christie short story called 'Philomel Cottage.' I want to read that now and also see the 1947 remake of this film with John Hodiakl in the lead.
Great film, although the first part of it is a tad unnecessary. In fact, in the short story, the first part of the film is handled in one paragraph. I've always liked Basil Rathbone as a bad boy. He had a good voice for such roles.
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