In the last few years Hollywood has turned out movies that are filled with irreverence, sex and violence. No one takes responsiblities for the content of movies anymore. I've never seen this movie before but I loved it's message.
It really kept me riveted. I've never been crazy about Joan Crawford, but this in my opinion was her best performance, ever!
"I've never been crazy about Joan Crawford, but this in my opinion was her best performance, ever!"
I have similar feelings about Ms. Crawford in general and a similar reaction to her performance here. She's completely convincing as a "fallen" woman with a less than 24 karat heart.
She truly gives a grand, sincere performance in this superior film directed by a masterful director.
shareYour observations are as interesting as the film 'Strange Cargo' itself mymsplk.
The 'entertainment' industry has allowed itself to become so moraly bankrupt, it no longer recognises its own glorification of corruption. It's perfected the beautification of uglyness to it's own detriment. With film makers like Scorsese, etc, claiming to show how low humanity/society has become by glamorizing violence and sexual depravity --all for 'commercial' gain (box office)-- robbing society of essential uplifting art. In it's place we get darkness.
'Strange Cargo' gave us raw humanity, realistic action, strong dialogue, at the same time as giving us the hope - that we all have a choice - we can make it worse, or turn it around for the better. This film has the power to show us what we've had taken away from us by so called 'modern' film makers. Just as we need to reclaim Wall Street from the greedy - we need to take Hollywood from the 'educated morons'...the debased. Gems such as this one from the Golden years gave us light, no light shines through darkness. k.
That is the reason why I see so few current movies....and when I do watch one, I seldom make it to the end. It seems that every film I see or read about is filled with shallow, vicious, morally barren characters without even a nodding acquaintance with decency - and I'm supposed to care about or root for such vile people? I go out of my way to avoid such types in reality...why would I possibly waste time and money watching them onscreen? I'm hardly a Pollyanna, but I encounter lovely people every day, so I know that they exist. Why do filmmakers insist on wallowing in ugliness and debasement and the glorification of scumbags?
share...I'm still with you on this bedrock1960. Wonder how long it might be before more viewers begin to see-through the so-called 'contrived anger' that makes up the simplistic despots of our current 'entertainments'?. I can't help but mockingly laugh every time I see over the top promos for shows with ridiculous 'mean' faces staring into a camera lens like fools!. Then those video clips and record covers with all the band members looking like stamped out 'angry clones' of themselves and every other band out there. There may come a day when they start looking back and feeling total embarrassment at themselves over such dumb marketing.
Is it 'wake up' time yet??
I'm not going to defend modern movies (although I certainly disagree with your stereotyping and lumping together every movie on so many different subjects which have extremely different messages, sources, influences, etc). But this movie was horrid IMO. Horrid. People were absolutely awful. If this were how people treated each other, I'd rather be dead. They snarl like rabid animals, hit each other every time a back is turned, steal from each other and kill each other at every opportunity. Then, when the preachy one offers himself up as a sacrifice, for no reason whatsoever except to give Clark Gable the chance to save him--after killing him--and the main characters (only ones left) turn into different people. Give me a break. A day later they'd be scratching each other's eyes out again. The Jesus stuff seemed just silly to me.
An awful awful movie. Creepy, negative, mean..... That may be realistic to you--do you live in a prison somewhere?--but, thank God, not to me! Where I come from, we treat each other with kindness and respect. We may be "educated" and Thank God again for that--but that gives us the knowledge that how you treat others comes back to you ten fold. You want to take Hollywood from the "educated morons?" You mean the Ron Howards, Steven Speilbergs, and George Clooneys? I prefer their movies to this horrible cruelty any day.
BTW, the only people I've met who rag on education like you do are people too lazy and self-absorbed to do the hard work required and set aside ego and delay gratification long enough to obtain it. Education is the most important thing there is--it's how mankind moves ahead, building on the work and accomplishments of others, and it's the only way we avoid repeating the same old mistakes over and over again. It's how we became and will stay civilized.
...Interesting letter, but not all that sure I've been read or quoted all that accurately or fairly. Your commenting on something that was actually a reply to another post, so have to look at where we are with this...
You say these characters were nasty and ask if I live in a prison?. Wasn't that the very setting of this story? (one of the worlds meanest prisons). These are just the type of people you'd surely expect to find in this bunch. The difference here, in this truly off-beat film, was that they were contrasted with someone who forced them (gently and with integrity) to examine themselves (by appealing to whatever conscience they may each still possess and role model actions).
Regardless of the degree we are each prepared to accept within this unique writing, it at least gave light - in the form of hope - to a group of various despots and despairing souls.
As far as education is concerned, if that was, or is, the only hope we have, then look around, we have so far to go and not making the headway we should have by now!. It's going to take a good deal more than education to save this sorry world. Especially the PC 'controlled' type of education we are too often seeing today. I'm pleased to hear you live in hope, so do I, but movie makers are not giving us much of that lately either.