This was the last film produced by Val Lewton which I hadn't seen, so I was very glad that Turner Classic Movies aired it recently.
The print TCM used is quite poor. What's the history of this film? Is it as rare as all that? It fared poorly at the box office; are there few prints of it around?
I just saw it today. The print looked like 16mm and had a lot of flickering. I was glad to get the chance to see the film, but it really wasn't very good despite some promising ideas. Also there were really no memorable scenes or shots. Lewton's films almost always have a few dull scenes even though the films were usually less than 90 minutes, but there were always unforgettable moments in the horror films. This picture lacked such moments.
shareThanks a lot for your post.
I've never felt that most of Lewton's films have a few dull scenes (or "non-scene scenes," as Hitchcock called scenes with narrative value but no dramatic shape), but I certainly agree with your assesment of this film. To see a genuinely dull Lewton title is a real shocker, isn't it?
I had forgotten posting that message. I was 48 then, and I'd been wanting to see Youth Runs Wild since my teens -- now that's a long wait for a meager meal!
Thanks again.
I just posted this, and I'm returning a moment later to add that I just noticed your user name, which rings a loud bell in my head. It's not quite loud enough to tell me where and when our paths have crossed before, but I'm fairly certain that they have, perhaps on IMDb or perhaps elsewhere. Is my name familiar to you?
Have you ever been known by a name which has the initials C.C.M.?
Thanks, Stuart for your message. We seem to agree on this assessment.
I don't go in for clever monikers and just used my email address as my user name. My full name is John Kevin Krieger. I have gone by both my first and middle names as my family calls me by the latter and, for most of the world, it is easier to go by my first. I have never gone by a name which has the initials C.C.M. I have traveled a lot and lived in a number of states and countries, but have been mostly in Southern California. I don't know where our paths might have crossed, but at least my name didn't ring a loud bell because of any IMDb messages I have posted that drew your ire! (At least, I hope not.)
Your email address is different from your user name. Is there a reason?
I am in my 50s and remember when there were revival cinemas and university film showings. As I said, I have lived in a number of different places and have come to know many people in my life, but have spent more time in California than in other locations. Perhaps we ran into each other at some film showing in the past?
Thanks, John.
My email name, granttarredus (Grant Tarredus) is an anagram of my actual name, Stuart Gardner.
I've lived in Savannah, Georgia most of my life, but I've travelled quite a bit. Wherever I find myself, one of my first tasks is scoping out the theaters, clubs or holes-in-the-wall offering a bit of rare cinema. I don't have to tell you how those venues have dwindled away to almost nothing in the wake of the digital revolution -- it's been a trade-off -- but here and there surprising opportunities still pop up. Or they did when I last travelled (it's been a while, now).
Now that I see how frequent an IMDb poster you are, I'm fairly certain that you're name is familiar to me because I've encountered it here; our having actually met somewhere is probably unlikely.
I've looked over your "Best" and "Next best" lists. Like Charlie the tuna, you have great taste. I've seen most of the films on both lists (90% of them, I estimate), and regard all of them highly.
I'm particularly happy to find a fellow booster of Simon of the Desert, my favorite Buñuel title by some distance, and a film that deserves to be far, far better known. It so blew my socks off when TCM aired it years ago that I sent DVD-R copies to a good number of friends, every one of whom agreed with me that the movie is awe inspiring.
Stuart, I also reside in Savannah, Ga. I'm sure you're familiar with the old horror flicks that The Sentient Bean on Park Avenue right by Forsyth Park shows each Wednesday (even though they're not doing that the next two, it seems)
http://www.sentientbean.com/
I saw "When Youth Goes Wild" and "Bad Boy" today on TCM. Both were pretty good, a lot better than some shown nowadays.
Wow -- you know, I almost mentioned the Bean in my post, and now I really wish I had! Of course I know it, and I know Jim Reeves, the dynamo behind the whole outstanding program. He'll tell you that I made almost every show for a good long period, but then, unfortunately, I became the Invisible Man when life got in the way and pulled me in other directions.
I'll bet you and I would recognize each other's faces. Have you ever joined Jim and the gang on those nights after the film when people gather for a drink or a sandwich? If so, we've probably eaten together... maybe at T-Rex Mex?
I really do have to get back down there (or up there, actually, as I'm on the extreme south end of town, in Georgetown, the other end of Savannah from the historic district and the Bean).
I suppose since I've never been a regular, that's the reason I've not heard of Jim and the gang getting together to eat after a movie. Also, found out that they ARE showing a movie next Wednesday night.The reason I said that they weren't is that it wasn't listed on the Bean's website, but, an hour or so later, when I checked my email (I've been busy with other things and hadn't checked my mail for two or three days) and found my weekly email from the Bean, it mentioned a movie next Wednesday. If I go, I'll wear my Lenord Nemoy tee, which I purchased from Jim last March when the Bean showed a Nemoy film on his 80th b day, which is a week after Shatner's. Will just have to see just how things go next week. You see, I live with my blind, almost 89 year old father, and my mentally handicapped brother, and that keeps me somewhat busy.
shareStuart,
I have never been to Georgia, unfortunately, and consider that I have really missed out on some experiences in my life by not knowing the South. I was actually born in Corpus Christi, Texas, if that counts, but moved almost right away to Memphis, where I only spent about two years and of which I have only one memory--my parents taking a flash picture of myself and sister, so I can't say I know anything of the South, unless a brief visit to Oklahoma to see my wife's grandparents counts for anything.
"Simon of the Desert" is a real diabolical gem. I am always amazed that Bunuel got so much of cinematic interest of a man standing on a column!
Well, nice to know I have made a positive impression. Keep in touch.