Old movies

[clevermanka]

Serger lesson one went great! I scheduled a second one for the week after I get back from Vegas.

On Tuesday, fionnabhar commented on my dancing Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor gif and I wondered how many people have seen Singin' in the Rain. Or any old movie. By old movie, I mean pre-1965 stuff. I've seen a lot of old movies.

When I was a kid I didn't much like other kids, so I didn't spend much time playing with them. My parents both worked outside the home and I spent a lot of most afternoons watching old movies on television. From age nine (which is, I think, when my mom moved to day shift at the hospital and I came home to a blissfully empty house every day after school) to sixteen (when I didn't have to come home at all if I didn't want to, except to sleep), I watched probably five to six movies a week. That's not counting the numerous times I watched The Adventures of Robin Hood or Journey to the Center of the Earth on Saturday morning for a change of pace from Looney Tunes and Land of the Lost. I don't know why those two movies in particular were so frequently shown on Saturday morning television in the late 70s/early 80s, but there they were.

Seventh grade year my best friend was Jaime T, who introduced me to noir movies and her mom's romance novels. Let me tell you there are few things that can help develop a personality like a combination of erotic literature and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. I'm not saying those things made me the way I am, but they certainly sped the process to getting where I was headed anyway. Side note: My favorite books of hers were the Silhouette Desire "Second Chance at Love" series because the women were all either divorced or widowed or something but definitely not virginal and the sex was much more interesting.

Anyway, old movies. Even though there are very few car chases, intricately choreographed fight scenes, or explosions (three of my criteria for seeing a movie in theaters these days), I love them. I think because I saw them as a child outside of the eras in which they were produced, I was able to see them as a glimpse into a slightly more realistic Narnia. I understood that these movies were never meant to portray a world I inhabited. But in spite of that (or maybe because of it), I loved those worlds. Even the bleakest of the noir films had a sort of grim and ruthless beauty that I could admire without actually wanting to share.

Modern movies have a couple strikes against them as far as I'm concerned. One, they're so fucking long. What the hell, people? Ninety-minute movies used to exist outside of kid movies. Just like bands used to start playing before midnight. What happened? The second is that I don't have the pleasant disconnect with modern movies. Modern movies, even outrageous speculative-fictions like Jupiter Ascending, or heck, even the Fast and Furious franchise, all feel firmly set in my current reality. It's a far-fetched reality, but it feels very present to me in a way I can't explain. It's one of the reasons I love modern animated movies. Simply by being animated, they remove themselves from the universe in which I exist and I can enjoy them more...purely? Simply? Easily? Also, they're usually shorter.

Anyone else here an old-movie fan? If so, what were your favorites? Which have you introduced to other people? Which do you still watch occasionally/regularly? Anyone else have positive formative experiences from media consumption (I pretty much assume everyone's got at least some negative ones)?

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

::raises hand:: Of course, they weren't quite so ancient and venerable the first time I saw them.

Modern movies are significantly longer than my average pee interval. I hate that.

[apocalypticbob.livejournal.com]

Mom and I would watch old movies together sometimes. Loved Singing in the Rain, White Christmas will always be my favorite Christmas movie, and I still think The Trouble with Angels has some freaking hilarious and touching moments.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Every holiday season, I tell myself I'm gonna rent White Christmas (or better, Holiday Inn) and watch it with mckitterick. And every year I completely forget. I mean, we could watch any time of year, but...

[manintheboat.livejournal.com]

Mae West :)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Truly a role model for the ages.

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

HEAR HEAR!

[splix.livejournal.com]

OMG, the Errol Flynn Robin Hood is one of my faaaavorites! "You speak treason!" "Fluently!"

I adore the Thin Man movies. My Man Godfrey. All About Eve. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Father of the Bride. Ninotchka. Casablanca. The Philadelphia Story. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Dr. Strangelove. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Blue Angel. Queen Christina. The Day the Earth Stood Still. Sunset Boulevard.

I can go on and on. I'm a nostalgist, so I dig old movies very much indeed, not just for the stories, but for the look and dialogue and cool little details that capture an era.

I have to give separate mention to the holiday movies I cherish - It's a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, The Bishop's Wife - I save those for Christmas. :)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh we're gonna get along great. =D

[splix.livejournal.com]

I think so!! :D

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

A number of my favorite musicals and comedies are pre-1965, including The Thin Man, The Philadelphia Story, The Wizard of Oz, Some Like It Hot, The Music Man, It Happened One Night, anything with Mae West... Wit is something that I frequently find missing from contemporary musicals and comedies, and the screwball comedies of the 30s had it in spades.

As for dramas, Spellbound, Gaslight, The Maltese Falcon, Rear Window, and one whose soundtrack will always haunt my nightmares, Murder on the Orient Express (okay, that was 1974, but it's a period piece with Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman in it). Outside Wes Anderson's oeuvre, it's a lot rarer to find great ensemble pieces these days. But when they occur (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Inception), they can be dazzling.

I read an interview with Diana Rigg the other day, and she commented that there's a huge difference between shooting on tape nowadays and shooting on film, largely because you worked harder to make every take more perfect because film was expensive. That was something I hadn't considered as bieng a material difference between older and more recent screen performances, but it makes sense.

Good (and fun!) food for thought here!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I was so happy when Hollywood had that brief fling with modern musicals in the early 2000s. I wish it had lasted longer.

there's a huge difference between shooting on tape nowadays and shooting on film, largely because you worked harder to make every take more perfect because film was expensive

I think there's a definite trade-off, though, in that film (especially digital film) allows for actors to be more experimental with multiple takes.

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

It does allow actors more freedom, but it also means that directors who are lousy at directing actors are allowed to make big-budget films (George Lucas, Michael Bay, etc.). So yes, different, but not necessarily worse. In fact, I think we've got more talented, versatile actors in film now than we've had in a couple of decades at least. Now, if only we can continue to have film roles that'll showcase more of them...

I know what you mean about the promise of the early oughts being squandered on the celebrity-stuffed, poorly-sung, watered-down spectacles that we get every now and then these days. I mean, there's no WAY Hedwig and the Angry Inch would get made today without big names attached (not unlike how something gets to Broadway nowadays... *sigh*).

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I never understood the hate for Nine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0875034/). I thought it was amazingly filmed and beautifully acted.

there's no WAY Hedwig and the Angry Inch would get made today without big names attached (not unlike how something gets to Broadway nowadays

But when hasn't that been the case?

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

The only old movie experience I really recall from when I was a child was piling up indoors one summer day with some friends from Baltimore (they came down every summer to visit their grandparents and since we were the only kids within walking distance, they made friends with us) and watched Gone With the Wind.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

That's...not one I would necessarily expect kids to watch (for a number of reasons), but it does have some amazing sets and costumes!

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I think we just put it in the VCR because we were curious about it. My mom had recorded it when one of the networks aired it. And good grief that's a long-ass movie!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

YES IT IS. I'm surprised you all made it through the whole thing.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

Me too, honestly. I don't remember much about it, though.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

All of them, especially the musicals. My earliest childhood memories are watching movies with Mum.. she worked nights and so was home with me until I went to Kindergarten.
We also watched a lot of "beach movies" then, and all of the Elvis' of course.

I miss musicals so much.. and people who were dressed to the nines.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

OH BEACH MOVIES. Have you seen Psycho Beach Party (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206226/)? It's a send-up/homage of the genre and just wonderful. I own it on DVD if you can't find it on Netflix.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

It sounds wonderful.. I can't say that I remember ever seeing that one!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

It's hilarious. Great acting and some nice little snarky social commentary on the side.

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the lesson went well and another one is in the works!

I LOVE old movies, especially noir, mysteries, horror. And the Christmas ones. The best Christmas movies are the old ones. Holiday Inn makes me twitch in one particular scene, but it's still one that comes out every holiday.

The old movie that has meant the most to me though, is The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T. It's the only film written by Seuss and it was the most surreal, fantastical thing I had ever seen. As I got older, the movie faded in memory somewhat but it still resonated with me on a cellular level, if that makes any sense. When I was in my 20s, I had a sudden nostalgic need to see it again but I could not remember the name of the movie or enough of the plot to ask around. This was, of course, pre-Google and I was not online in any real format until I was about 27. I struggled for ages trying to remember if this movie was real or just a figment of my imagination. Finally, FINALLY, I stumbled across it in my beloved copy of Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever and I immediately spent a shitton of money to get a VHS copy.

I hadn't thought of this movie in years until tonight, so thank you. Now I am off to hunt down a DVD.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Wow, I need to look into that movie. Sounds amazing!

[write-out.livejournal.com]

It's such a strange little movie. Apparently people walked out of the theater when it was first shown but it's become something of a cult classic since. According to Wiki, Suess was so upset with it, he left it out of his biography. A shame. It's got a lot of interesting layers for a 'kids' movie. I ordered a dvd from Amazon and can't wait to get it! I haven't watched it in so long and it will be interesting to see how I react to a new viewing.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on your re-watch. Was he disappointed in the final product or the response?

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I think to both.

According to Wiki, " Geisel submitted a live-action storyline for The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T in 1951. [1] Geisel followed it up with a 1200-page script, with "themes of world dominance and oppression coming out of World War II."[1] Geisel relocated from La Jolla, California, to Los Angeles during filming to "enable him to be more involved in the production."[1] His influence on set design and choreography is also evident in the film."

Also:

"Reception
At the Hollywood premiere, patrons walked out after 15 minutes, and box-office receipts were disappointing.[4] Bosley Crowther called the film "strange and confused" and said:[5]

Granting the good intentions of Dr. Seuss and Allan Scott, the first of whom wrote the story and the two of whom together wrote the script, the consequence of their effort is a ponderously literate affair, pictorially potential but devoid of sense or suspense. Director Roy Rowland staged it in Technicolor for sheer spectacle. Some of the music by Frederick Hollander has the whisper of wit or melody, but for the most part it, too, is ponderous and lacking in the comment it should give. And the performances by the actors—Tommy Rettig as the boy, Peter Lind Hayes as the plumber, Hans Conried as the piano teacher, Mary Healy as the mother and several more—are largely mechanical portrayals of boneless and bloodless characters in a theatrical dream.

Geisel regarded the film as a "debaculous fiasco",[citation needed] and omitted mention of it in his official biography.[6] The film may have fared better over the years; it currently has a 79% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating.

21st century
In 2002, Peter Bradshaw said the film "has charm, a riotous imagination, and some very weird dream-like sets by production designer Rudolph Sternad and art director Cary Odell"; it's "surreal, disturbing, strong meat for young stomachs."[7] In 2005, the Baltimore City Paper called the film "refreshingly tart and defiant for a children's film, its space-age-by-way-of-Caligari world parks right on the delicious side of creepy. Bring the kids, especially the smart ones."[8]"

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

A 1,200 PAGE SCRIPT. o_O

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. So he might have been disappointed with the final result no matter what! It's only a 90-minute movie.

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

OH LOVE. love loooove love. You hit one of my favorite genres with film noir. My very tip-top favorite film noir is "Night of the Hunter." some folks place it outside of the genre, but they're wrong, if you are looking at it stylistically. The bad guy is played most spectacularly by Robert Mitchum. Now let me just say that I do not find most dudes hot. Robert Mitchum was one hot motherfucker. The movie's kinda campy. But dang, it is just so beautifully shot I want to melt into my seat each time I've seen it (about 6). Also, the old woman at the end, sitting on the porch in her rocking chair with a rifle across her lap? I wanna be that woman when I get old and crusty.

Others that immediately sprang to mind are: Strangers on a Train. Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. Then there are always the keyed up movies with Bette Davis...Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was ...??? who's got words for that?

I don't care about movie length. I like 'em long and I like 'em short. I once heard that there was a standard that movies HAD to be an hour and a half long for box office purposes. This makes sense to me and is probably true. Unfortunately, a lot of movies don't warrant the length and are filled with dumb shit just to make the time mark.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I wanna be that woman when I get old and crusty

I think you stand a very good chance of succeeding at this goal. GO YOU!

Nngngngngn Sunset Boulevard. I think that was the first movie I ever saw that I realized "There is more going on here than I'm catching. I can't wait to grow up and understand this better." So. Amazing.

[chronovore.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, the movies most commonly shown on weekends were imported from Asia, for whatever reason. Lots of kung-fu movies, like Master of the Flying Guillotine which was terrifying, and kaiju movies featuring Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan. Or all of them. I would devour those.

Now I like old movies, but not because I saw them as a kid, but because they seem more straightforward and entertaining. I like Westerns in particular, but older Marx Bros. comedies are a treat.

For some reason I have a harder time enjoying science fiction from that era, but it's probably all the misguided "Science!" being thrown around. Not that it bothers me in Star Trek.

I'm inconsistent.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Pre-Trek science fiction is...pretty awful. With ya, there. Although for me it isn't so much the misguided science as it is, well, everything.

[the-themiscyran.livejournal.com]

I love too many of them to list them all, but a few that I loved enough to buy on DVD are "Laura" (of course :) ), "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" which has the distinction of being the second film to ever make me cry, "The Court Jester" (love Danny Kaye), "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", "Desk Set", "Bell, Book, and Candle", and "Harvey".

Gareth and I also watch "White Christmas" on repeat over the holidays. And just this week, we've been looking up old "Our Gang" clips online to see if we remember the quotes correctly. 😀

And that's the short list. I watched a lot of movies the same way you did, growing up.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I had such a crush on Danny Kaye.



Dick Van Dyke and Danny Kaye were my first two movie star crushes.

[the-themiscyran.livejournal.com]

He was THE BEST. My other early crush was Cary Grant.

Your post has also just reminded me of the time in college that Yosa and I got caught in a sudden, torrential rainstorm downtown. We took our shoes off, and belted our way through "Singing in the Rain" while we danced our back to her apartment. There may or may not have been spins around street signs.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Aw, good times!