greenbudgie's Replies


What? Just the one? I bet she's feeling high tonight at Number One. Good for Brenda. Oh no. Was Brenda Under the influence? Rear Window is my preference. The storytelling is so much smoother. Psycho is a bit too jagged for my taste. I've just watched it on You Tube. I seem to remember seeing this before somewhere on UK TV. Paul Lukas is up to his usual villainy. He's the only actor I know in this movie. I'm going to watch this one again just to tie up a few loose ends I didn't get. The plot is a bit complicated but it's an enjoyable movie. Just before this was filmed the story had been made with Canadian actors. Spoken in French it was called 'The Fortress.' I'm glad they made this English version using the same locations. The Montmorency Falls locale is atmospheric. Pity they haven't been used in films more often. The hotel manager (Ellen Corby) may not have noticed her eccentric guest Miss Valdes coming into the hotel. Ellen Corby herself appears from nowhere when her voice is suddenly heard in what seems like an empty reception lobby. I don't know if that's a duster in her hand. I always think she has been doing a bit of cleaning below the reception counter. If she had been, she may well not have seen her guest, who moves like a ghost, come into the hotel. I like the fight between Wolf Man and Dracula especially over the bed trolley Lou Costello is on. I always envisage them running amok in a hospital with several bed trolleys. Or even a morgue. I never tire of thunder and lightning in horror movies. It was essential in the original Frankenstein of course. Perhaps that film started the trend. Nothing sets up the anticipation like a storm clattering around old castle or spooky mansion. It's like a thrill that hugs me every time. I agree with the way you've put it. 'The Barefoot Contessa' begins with Ava Gardner's funeral so we know she's going to die from the opening scene. What lead to her death is what draws us into the movie. The same can be said for William Holden in this one. Films told in flashback have to give us a reveal at the beginning. It look very complicated as 'The Raven' gets released on disc around the world to this day under different company names. 20th Century Fox Entertainment releases it in some European countries. The last time MGM had it's name on a 'Raven' release in the US was in 2003. It looks as though the last US release, on Blu-ray, was in 2014 when it came out on Scream Factory. One of the funniest scenes I've watched lately is when Mae wants to rob a store window display before she has to leave town. The way she gets the docile Charles Butterworth to help her in the theft is hilarious. Just one last update on the Marilyn projects is a biography called 'Marilyn Monroe Legacy.' Lots of Marilyn documentaries can be found on the list linked below. Along with the lives and loves of other Hollywood blondes:- https://www.imdb.com/list/ls049180516/ I prefer Robert Montgomery's sinister charm than Albert Finney's in your face portrayal. In the 1937 there is more to think about whether the character is able to be a psycho.. With Albert Finney there is too much certainty what the character is all about. Mum's scrambled egg. Nobody could make it like her. I miss it so. Perhaps Vincent Price may not have attended the showings of his own films in later years. But in his early days as a horror icon he loved it. He would surprise audience members who were sitting in front of him by asking them if they were enjoying the movie. All done in his mock sinister way which gave those lucky people the jump scare of their lives. My favorite Vincent Price picture from 'House of Wax' is when sits in front of the lift cage. The hanged man exhibit is framed in the ornate ironwork of the lift cage. The disfigured pictures of Vincent Price are more horrible but they are missing his well-known features. No such luck. You don't even get to hear Boris Karloff's famous quicksand warning quote in the Castle Films' edit. You can see the genuine panicky look on Boris Karloff's face in that scene. Even if it's only oatmeal. A sharp intake of breath needed. I like the poster. A film could never live up to that. I don't want to see a threatening Nessie in a live action movie. A big production could only do that to any kind of satisfaction anyway. I'll stick to the Scooby-Doo version.