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1
« on: Yesterday at 10:59:52 AM »
This was remade as The Lost Man (1969) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064602/ At least that's what Alexander Walker says it is. Can't find it around, though. Good OST by Quincy Jones.
2
« on: Yesterday at 01:04:44 AM »
The War Wagon - Clair Huffaker  I don't remember I ever saw the movie, but if I did I don't remember a thing about it. Judging from the trailer and the synopsis they left little of the novel: basically only a reformed version of the mechanism of the assault to the gold carriage. The character played by Wayne seems to be completely different from the one of the novel: that does explain the change of the original title ( Badman). The story is basically that of the plan to steal the gold and the relationship of the main character (a badman with a code) and his accomplices in the heist, among whom there is his little brother. 7/10 because it is short (not even 130 pages) and the way the coup is planned.
3
« on: November 30, 2023, 09:47:28 AM »
Breakheart Pass - Alistair MacLean  I hadn't realized I had the novel in my library when I watched the movie, I would have read it back to back. Anyway it is a page-turner, can't find anything wrong as it keeps going from one plot turn to the other and it moves faster than the movie. The finale it is more satisfying, no clash Indians vs troops but a series of tricks concocted by the hero. 10/10
4
« on: November 29, 2023, 10:18:49 AM »
Wow - I did see the film "Johnny Guitar" once, didn't like it at all, and found Crawford disgusting....
If I remember well was the same feeling Kirk Douglas said he proved after having XXXXX her. Kudos anyway to him for having managed to get it up at all. It remains a mystery, though, how she could have such a career. And for so long.
5
« on: November 28, 2023, 01:17:16 PM »
It's funny how the cover of the hb edition (this one is the very copy given by the author to Nicholas Ray):  pictures Vienna as much more mature woman of the one slightly modified for the pb (and which is more in line with the character depicted in the novel). Almost like the publisher of the hb knew Crawford was gonna play it (which is possible), while those at Pocket Books insisted on a more attractive figure.
6
« on: November 28, 2023, 01:06:15 PM »
Johnny Guitar - Roy Chanslor  I would have given it a !0/10 if the author had not spent a lot of pages explaining Vienna and Johnny backgrounds. Vienna has got a problem with men, she's a virgin and that's why, apart from being young and beautiful, Joan Crawford (who wrote a kind of preface for the paperback) could never have played the part as it was thought up for the novel. The difficult relationship between Vienna and Johnny is driving most of the action while in the movie this cannot come to the fore because of Crawford Dearest casting, it is rather Crawford vs. McCambridge. I gave 8/10 to the movie. 8-9/10 the novel. P.S. I've recently read the usual good book by Alexander Walker, published more than 50 years ago on Hollywood actors :  and a chapter analyzes Crawford career. He also seems unaware of C.'s scarce femininity 
7
« on: November 27, 2023, 02:37:05 PM »
Outland (1981) It is funny to see how state of the art computer technology was applied to a vision of a distant future. Still the movie is good, especially in the last scenes, though one wonders how moronic the second hired killer can be. 7\10
On a bigger screen the rating goes up: 8/10
8
« on: November 27, 2023, 12:01:52 PM »
Garfield rightly praises the performances of McCrea and Stanwyck but the script itself is quite original (I suspect it was an inspiration for Peck's Stalking Moon) though clearly partly stealing from Stagecoach; and it has the further merit of running exactly 70'. Sure, it has a paternalistic attitude towards Indians, the boy Apache is clearly not of that ilk and the end, with Dehner and Acosta killing each other, is too simplistic. But it keeps you interested from start to finish. 7-8/10
9
« on: November 25, 2023, 05:26:22 AM »
After The Ring Carl Brisson plays again for H. the role of the cuckold. Heavy melodrama without a single element of interest.
10
« on: November 25, 2023, 01:01:38 AM »
Champagne (1928) Halfway between comedy and melodrama, nothing remarkable except some shots through a glass and a 360? pan. Worth a vision, though.
11
« on: November 24, 2023, 11:11:39 AM »
The Farmer's Wife (1928) Light-hearted comedy with a Cinderella kinda plot. It has some funny scenes and solid actresses, especially the 4 harridans. 6-7/10
12
« on: November 24, 2023, 10:29:09 AM »
"Big budget was lavished on it but if you can stay awake all the way to the end of it you're more insomniac than I am". (Garfield) Unless one has shelled 1 euro for the dvd and watched it in two sessions. But sure, I had to force myself to go to the end because when just you are thinking is going bad it gets worse. The characters and dialogues are so stilted that you wonder how somebody like LeRoy could ever think of involve himself into this crap. Still, I save the title song, the Warnercolor and Lois Smith. So, instead of 2/10 I give it 3/10.
13
« on: November 24, 2023, 10:18:44 AM »
Raping makes much more sense considering the mindset of the criminals.
Sure, but in this novel the protagonist plays on the gang leader's unbalanced personality to prevent other gang members from doing it. In the text it is quite made explicit that the attitude of these outlaws toward the other sex knows no rule.
14
« on: November 24, 2023, 01:35:51 AM »
The Ring (1927) Another melodrama with a boxing scenario that has got many visual interesting visual solutions (see the subjective rendition of the effect of a punch, for example). I think any fan shouldn't miss it. 7/10
15
« on: November 23, 2023, 11:32:16 AM »
Man of the West - Will C. Brown  This novel (first published under a different title and awarded some prize) is excellent. I ought to re-watch the movie to understand what doesn't work with the transposition, apart from Cooper's casting. But an element that probably doesn't come to the fore is the unbalanced personality of the character played by Cobb and which does explain some of the plot turns, expecially those involving London. And, CJ, she is not raped in the novel (though rape is named as a custom of these outlaws) and that's because of the role played by Cobb. 9/10
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