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Romance and Martinis: second wave of “Martini Movies'


I was a huge fan of the 1st wave of “Martini Movies"!! I watched a lot of great films that I never seen before, & (LOL!) I really built Up my "Classic" collection of films! I really love the concept of the martini and a film! Great recipes! My partner loves the different martini recipes!




Martini Movies: Second Wave:

Gumshoe (1971)

Our Man in Havana (1959

Getting Straight (1970).


In Gumshoe (1971), Albert Finney plays Eddie Ginley, a wisecracking wannabe comic. Ginley puts out his shingle as a private detective only to be sucked into a labyrinthine plot involving gun smuggling, heroin, and a devious brother (Frank Finlay), who’s married to Eddie’s ex-girlfriend (Billie Whitelaw).

The film marked the early careers of several future greats: director Stephen Frears ( The Queen (2006), The Grifters (1990), cinematographer Chris Menges (currently an Oscar nominee for The Reader (2008) and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Released in 1971, 88 minutes.

In Our Man in Havana (1959), the team behind the masterpiece The Third Man (1949) reunites for this Cold War satire, with Carol Reed directing from Graham Greene’s novel and screenplay.

Alec Guinness stars as a nebbish vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-revolutionary Havana who passes himself off as an invaluable spy to a British agent (Noel Coward, no less).

To earn his money, he starts making up outrageous tales. With Maureen O’Hara and Ralph Richardson. Released in 1959, 111 minutes.

Getting Straight (1970) is a terribly dated romantic comedy-drama set during the Vietnam War with hirsute Elliott Gould as a returning veteran in graduate school when campus chaos threatens serenity. Candice Bergen plays his demanding girlfriend. Released in 1970, 125 minutes.


Also being simultaneously released as a “Martini Movie” are Five (1951) and Vibes (1988).


Thanks,
Denton Record Chronicle, TX - Jan 31, 2009


Future Wave titles coming soon:


The Heat's On (1943)
Husbands (1970)
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
The Comic / Enter Laughing
Nightwing (1979)
Nickelodeon (1976)


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Getting Straight also noteworthy for featuring a very young,long-haired and stoned-looking Harrison Ford.

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Reason is a pursuit, not a conclusion.

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Rather than call Getting Straight dated, I'd call it very much of its time. It captures the feeling in the air then, and makes a great time capsule. Hindsight & memoir are all very well in their place, but nothing beats a document from the time itself, filled with the energy & confusions & aspirations that so many people had in their youth.

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