Watched last night

[dpgmel]

Prompted by a thread elsewhere on this forum I watched William Cameron Menzies' very enjoyable B-movie horror The Maze, which is all about strange goings on in a Scottish castle. The set design is way above average for this sort of thing (unsurprising given the director) and the script and performances are also above par. The film is a bit slow in places but the wonderfully bonkers ending more than makes up for any flaws the film may have. Highly recommended.

Oh That ending ! I can see it still, great stuff

[CaptainWaggett]

Fighting Stock (1935). Amusing if slight comedy where Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn fall out with neighbours while renting a country cottage on hols. Not sure if it's just me but Tom Walls seems to spend a lot of his films lusting after young flesh in a frankly rather creepy manner, I know times have changed but even so Blackmail also rears its ugly head and confusion abounds when a creepy character is after one of the ladies (...not Walls).

Dishonour Bright has Walls at his creepiest, IMO though it's hard to judge what audiences were meant to think at the time. I do find the success of the Aldwych farces a bit baffling (Ralph Lynn was supposedly the highest paid actor in Britain c1934 which makes it a bit of a mystery why his film career ended so abruptly ) but Walls did morph into a competely splendid character actor in the 1940s

[TimR]

I watched a couple of episodes of Come Back, Mrs. Noah - which ran here briefly at the height of the popularity of Are You Being Served, but I had not seen it.

With Molly Sugden and the team of Croft and Lloyd I was hopeful, but it's a poor show. I don't know if that is stepping on toes; maybe it is beloved in Britain, but my jaw dropped at the lameness of the jokes and the cornball situations.

But it's impossible to dislike her.

[wadsy]

I watched a film called The Big Game 1974

It's about a Scientist who hires two security specialists to guard a secret weapon & it wasn't very good.

However it did star two of my favourite actors Stephen Boyd & Ray Milland as well as Cameron Mitchell &

luscious France Nuyen!

In his book "Wide Eyed in Babylon" Ray Milland mentions how Cameron Mitchell asked him why he was appearing

in such a turkey to which Milland replied that he'd never been to South Africa before!

[CaptainWaggett]

I watched a couple of episodes of Come Back, Mrs. Noah - which ran here briefly at the height of the popularity of Are You Being Served, but I had not seen it.

With Molly Sugden and the team of Croft and Lloyd I was hopeful, but it's a poor show. I don't know if that is stepping on toes; maybe it is beloved in Britain, but my jaw dropped at the lameness of the jokes and the cornball situations.

But it's impossible to dislike her.

Nope, it vanished without trace here

[batman]

Steve Reeves in The Trojan Horse. This film boasts one of the biggest ever budgets for an Italian 'peplum' and it certainly shows on screen. The sets are impressive (but not overblown) and the battle scenes are spectacular. Unlike other versions, the villain of the piece here is a decidedly cowardly and sneaky Paris, while Helen (of Troy) is portayed as a very unlikeable character. This aspect of the film lifts it above the Robert Wise version (which did have a better Ajax) and the recent CGI heavy Brad Pitt version. Steve Reeves is excellent as Aeneas and John Drew Barrymore is a lively Ulysses. Highly recommended.

[Rowdon]

This film boasts one of the biggest ever budgets for an Italian 'peplum' and it certainly shows on screen. The sets are impressive (but not overblown)

Glad to see you're working your way through the box, Batman. Your reference to impressive Roman sets reminded me of the clip below: excellent titles for an OK biopic of Sid James and Barbara Windsor - it's the bit beginning at 2.20 which is really nice. It's all trickery, you see.

[Harbottle]

Oh, Daddy! (1935). Alfred Drayton is the driving force behind the village 'Purity League', under his thumb is his nephew Lord Pye (Leslie Henson) while Rupert Boddy (Robertson Hare) is the secretary of the po faced organisation. Lord Pye and Boddy slip the leash when occidentally on purpose avoid the Purity conference in Birmingham for the bright lights of London. Naturally they imbibe in the forbidden delights of night clubs and the demon drink, and confusion abounds with Pye lusting after his step-daughter who he does not know. The most amusing section of the film is the final third when they return back to the village.

[CaptainWaggett]

Oh, Daddy! (1935). Alfred Drayton is the driving force behind the village 'Purity League', under his thumb is his nephew Lord Pye (Leslie Henson) while Rupert Boddy (Robertson Hare) is the secretary of the po faced organisation. Lord Pye and Boddy slip the leash when occidentally on purpose avoid the Purity conference in Birmingham for the bright lights of London. Naturally they imbibe in the forbidden delights of night clubs and the demon drink, and confusion abounds with Pye lusting after his step-daughter who he does not know. The most amusing section of the film is the final third when they return back to the village.

It's a rare on-screen outing for Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson whose snakey hips were no doubt disapproved of by the Purity League

[Harbottle]

It's a rare on-screen outing for Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson whose snakey hips were no doubt disapproved of by the Purity League

Indeed, in fact while watching I wondered if it might be a popular society for some at BM

[Bernardo]

Dead Man's Chest (1965) - IMDb

I can only say that Dead Man's Chest is worth a watch any additional information would spoil it. An early John Thaw with a young voice is the lead. It is a lesson in how a good actor becomes great with 'an edge' to their voice.

[cassidy]

I had a bit of an Audie Murphy evening, kicking off with an old History Channel biography and then following that with "To Hell and Back" 1955 with Audie playing himself during the second World War where he became America's most decorated war hero. (Tony Curtis was the first choice for the part). Enjoyed both.

[Gerald Lovell]

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). Viewing number umpteen of this, but it still makes me laugh and marvel. What a sublime piece of film-making.

[TimR]

I watched The Golden Bowl again - the Ivory-Jhablava version. The book is an exceptionally complex masterpiece and took me months to read. The film is like a snapshot of an epic. Some of the roles are poorly written and cast - Uma Thurman is a bizarre choice of casting - completely wrong - and Nick Nolte is too crass and blunt for the role of Verver. But the roles are poorly written as well and have little relation to the book. However Jeremy Northam is excellent as the prince and James Fox and Anjelica Huston are well suited as the Assinghams.

I watched the film again mostly to watch Kate Beckinsale. She is outstandingly good as the princess - a difficult and subtle role.

She is also gifted with the best American accent I have ever heard, by far. It fascinates me. I listened carefully and never heard a slip, either of nuance or timing or emphasis. Jane Seymour did a very fine job in War and Remembrance, but even she slipped slightly a few times. But Beckinsale is perfect. (And beautiful, which is nice)

[Elaine]

More Episodes of Poldark. There are an awful lot of these to get through, enjoying them though.

[cassidy]

I watched Timeshift : Dear Censor. The story of film censorship in Britain and was amazed that while they concentrated in the 50's on The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause and then went on to Nudist films in the early 60's before going on to later years, Hammer never even got a mention. From my books on Hammer there seemed to be plenty of correspondence with John Trevelyan regarding Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, Camp on Blood Island etc.
Seemed strange.

[Harbottle]

Pot Luck (1936). Twit Ralph Lynn is conned out of a priceless vase but thankfully retired Inspector Tom O'Walls of the Yard is on the trail. Quite a fun if at times breathless comedy-thriller, with Robertson Hare as the clueless owner of the creepy Wrotten Abbey the lair of the criminal gang.

[batman]

The last two episodes of Planet Dinosaur, the BBCs latest CGI dinosaur extravaganza. This has been an excellent series (well narrated by John Hurt) with some superb dinosaur action and a huge amount of up to date information about recent dinosaur discoveries. A fine follow up to Walking With Dinosaurs. Highly recommended.

[Gerald Lovell]

Quatermass and the Pit (1967). For me, the best of the Quatermass stories, an engrossing watch from beginning to end, with crisp direction from Roy Ward Baker and nicely-judged performances from Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley and Julian Glover. The nominal lead, James Donald, seems very stiff and emotionless though.

[CaptainWaggett]

I've seen a fair amount of rubbish so far at this year's London Film Festival but if I see a better film than The Artist in the next few months I'll be very pleasantly surprised. Superb stuff - if it comes to a cinema near you, rush at once (it won't be nearly as much fn on dvd).