Now that I have Movies, The TV network, I’ve been able to see movies I’ve never heard of or I was so young that I didn’t understand the premise. In the last two weeks I’ve seen The Owl and the Pussycat which I certainly didn’t know Doris, the Barbara Striesand character was a prostitute. I did recall Felix, played by George Segal in the skeleton suit, but had no idea why he was dressed that way.
Cactus Flower was a great film with Goldie Hawn and Walter Mathieu that I had never seen.
If I talk about a few movies I’ve already mentioned, I’m sorry. I’ve made a list and since I didn’t write a review I’m just talking about what I’ve seen and remembering if I had seen the film when I was a child.
We’re Not Married, Let’s Make it Legal, Let’s Make Love and Don’t Bother to Knock were all part of the Marilyn Monroe birthday tribute. I had seen Let’s Make Love when I was really young and as an adult I added Don’t Bother to Knock to my VHS collection. This was probably the first film about the baby sitter going mad. There’s something about watching Marilyn Monroe on film. The camera loves her. And even though some of her parts were smaller in We’re Not Married and Let’s Make it Legal, you still remember her.
I remember the film Picnic when I was a kid, but didn’t know the story. It is a sexually charged film starring William Holden as the stranger that comes to town. It sort of reminded me of The Long Hot Summer which I have in my collection and I decided to watch. It stars Paul Newman as the stranger that comes to town and stirs up trouble.
Other films that I’ve been able to watch include, The Last Picture show which I had seen back in 2005 for the first time. I finally got to see Serpico with Al Pacino. I wasn’t really a fan of Al Pacino’s for some reason. Perhaps because I was too young to watch some of his films or the films didn’t interest me. One day I saw Cruising and then I started back tracking to see some of his other films. I saw Dog Day Afternoon and eventually I saw the Godfather Films after a friend suggested it. They are all a part of my collection now. Serpico is based on a true story about a cop that doesn’t like what he sees.
I saw The Rose with Bette Midler. I never saw this one and all I knew about Janis Joplin was that she was a singer who died. I’m glad this movie was on as the theater where I work will be doing a play, One Night With Janis Joplin. Bette Midler was great as the troubled singer.
In the mornings, Movies The TV Network shows westerns. I’ve seen Rio Grande, The Gun Fighter and a few others. I’m trying not to let it consume my life, but I love watching movies and since going to the movies isn’t in my budget right now…
I’ve seen A New Leaf with Walter Mathieu and Elaine May who also wrote the script. This is a very entertaining film. It’s based on a short story called The Green Heart. Walter Mathieu is a funny man. I’ve also seen Plaza Suite which I had only heard about and seen a few scenes during the academy awards.
Suddenly Last Summer, I had seen a version of the play, but had never seen the film. Several years ago I became fascinated with Montgomery Cliff after reading about him. He was very self conscious about his looks after being in an accident. I don’t know if the film was made before or after the accident, but I really don’t see too much of a difference in the way he looks in the films that I have in my collection. There are some where the camera only captures him from a certain angle. I’ll have to look at the dates. It’s funny how most of the stars that I liked had already passed by the time I knew who they were. Suddenly Last Summer I found out was written by Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams wrote the story together, but the screenplay was written by Tennessee Williams. The film also stars Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor.
I wasn’t particularly fond of Charles Bronson and then there was a film called 10 to Midnight. The reason I saw this film was because I found out Ola Ray was in the film. Most of you may not know Ola Ray, but she was featured in the Michael Jackson video Thriller. I know Ola Ray when she posed for Playboy magazine. A few years ago I picked up one of those DVD packs of a TV series which starred Charles Bronson as The Man With The camera. It was the title that interest me. It also included a few films as well which one starred Anthony Perkins and Mr. Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland. It seems the two of them made several films together. I watched Murphy’s Law, and The Assassination. Wednesday night I watched MASH and Lifeboat. I remembered the television series and I used to watch it, but I had never seen the movie. I didn’t particularly care for it. There were some interesting moments, but it just didn’t grab my attention.
Lifeboat however was a different story. Alfred Hitchcock did a great job with the characters who are trying to survive after their boat is blown up by Germans. I’d only heard of Tallulah Bankhead and don’t recall ever seeing a film with her. I remembered William Bendix from the television series, The Life of Riley. Hume Cronin I remembered from Cocoon and being married to Jessica Tandy. Lifeboat was filmed in black and white, but it kept my interest. (I’ve been thinking about doing something in black and white.)
Last night I watched Terminal Countdown with Louis Gossette, Jr which seemed relevant as nuclear missiles have been in the news lately.
There was also Attica about the prison revolt in 1971. I was only a kid when this event took place so I really didn’t know much about it. It starred Morgan Freeman and Glynn Turman.
Battle for the Planet of The Apes brought back memories. I remember when I saw Planet of the Apes, but I’m not sure if the film with Charlton Heston was first or if the one I saw with Roddy McDowell and his family was first. I’ve seen them all, even the remake with Mark Wahlberg which could have been better. Really I see no reason to do remakes. Just write a new script…
Watching the movie also made me think of some other films I saw in the 70’s that I’ve not been able to find available. I’m interested in The Doberman Gang. I believe there were three films total, but the first two I remember. If you’re not familiar with the film it’s about a group of criminals who train 6 Dobermans to rob a bank. Each of the dogs has the name of a gangster. When I had thought about getting a dog I had always thought I’d get a Doberman, but I guess it was too big of a dog. I do remember having a dog for a period of time, but that’s another story.
Movies has a lot of films in their line up so I’ll just keep on checking them out while I can. Eventually I’ll get to see what’s playing now when I can find a used copy. Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind.
