And the best Black and White movie ever is:

[Hal...]

A couple of classics on TCM, one of which expires today:

The Postman Always Rings Twice. The film noir classic that stars John Garfield and Lana Turner. Expires today!

The Passion of Joan of Arc, directed by the great Carl Theodor Dreyer. This silent classic is often hailed as one of the greatest ever made. Expires March 14th.

[nycsteve]

For anyone interested , Ricou Browning passed away in February , at the age of 93. Ricou played the Gill Man in the underwater scenes in The Creature From The Black Lagoon. I was always intregued by the underwater shots in that movie , which overall is a pretty good Universal monster flick. Possibly the last of the original monster movies from Universal? In any case his extensive obit in the NYT reported not only his various film credits for similar underwater movie work , but that he also was a writer and help create the TV show Flipper. He wrote numerous episodes for that one. Multi talented and led an interesting life in the world of Black & White cinema. And color to. Also seems to be the last surviving actor playing the role of a classic movie monster.

[Staun]

For anyone interested , Ricou Browning passed away in February , at the age of 93. Ricou played the Gill Man in the underwater scenes in The Creature From The Black Lagoon. I was always intregued by the underwater shots in that movie , which overall is a pretty good Universal monster flick. Possibly the last of the original monster movies from Universal? In any case his extensive obit in the NYT reported not only his various film credits for similar underwater movie work , but that he also was a writer and help create the TV show Flipper. He wrote numerous episodes for that one. Multi talented and led an interesting life in the world of Black & White cinema. And color to. Also seems to be the last surviving actor playing the role of a classic movie monster.

That was a very good makeup and costume he wore. Wasn’t there a return of, film made as well?

[JKL2000]

RIP!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)

(I happened to have my 2 double-sided DVD Legacy Collection edition on hand! I have all of the Universal classics in these editions - they're lots of fun to watch, with some good documentaries, etc. Surprisingly fondleable.)

They cranked those out quickly, eh?

Thanks for the news, Steve. Sad. I always loved those underwater scenes too. Oddly spooky and effective, and yes, Staun, the makeup and costume were great.
And there was always a babe in a swimsuit on hand for the creature to carry around!

[Lopez]

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

I had the Aurora Universal Monster Model of the Creature. And I loved that movie, though to impress a girl once, we went swimming in a lake one night in New Hampshire and I heard a splash in the dark. I was terrified, thinking of the Creature. Last time I ever saw that babe.

I was quite impressed that Ricou Browning was able to hold his breath and not exhale bubbles for so long in that movie.

[ronmac]

The Creature movies are entertaining enough. But I never considered them in the same "league" as those from the previous decades, for the most part. Granted, some of the sequels of the classics were a bit cheesy, but the Creature movies are more like a last hurrah from Universal.

[ronmac]

I had the Aurora Universal Monster Model of the Creature.

Many of those kits are still being made. There were myths about what happened to some of the molds. But, for the most part, you can find them. I still have a few in boxes that I bought in the 80s. Some day...

Here's one I built back then.

dracula-model.jpg

[nycsteve]

So , another man connected to monster movies of the past has passed away. Bert I. Gordon AKA Mr. B.I.G. has died at 100. Here is a man , almost soley responsible ( he wrote , directed , and produced ) for such dubious "classics" as The Amazing Collosal Man , The Food Of The Gods , Empire Of The Ants , Beginning Of The end ( giant grasshoppers featuring William Hopper ) . We've all seen at lest some of his output. I liked the Collosal Man , and the grasshopper one. RIP !

[Hal...]

There are a bunch of great movies that are available to stream on TCM right now (part of their Oscars month):

Forbidden Planet
2001: A Space Odyssey
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
The Pride of the Yankees
North by Northwest
Foreign Correspondent - good Hitchcock movie
The French Connection
Singin' In The Rain - greatest musical ever made
Marty
Casablanca
Gone With The Wind
Dr Zhivago
You Can't Take It With You - excellent screwball comedy by Frank Capra, with Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, and Edward Arnold; a wonderful movie
Harvey - a top 10 fave of mine; if you've never seen it, treat yourself
The Killers - great film noir and Burt Lancaster's first movie
Double Indemnity - great film noir
The Best Years Of Our Lives
The Grapes Of Wrath - this and 12 Angry Men are Henry Fonda at his absolute best
Wuthering Heights - the William Wyler classic with Merle Oberon, Lawrence Olivier, and David Niven
Plan 9 From Outer Space (j/k)
PT 109
Irma Vep
Of Human Bondage - an old Bette Davis movie
The Passion of Joan of Arc - the classic by Carl Theodor Dreyer

[Staun]

Good call Hal, some great films in there. A lot of them I’ve seen recently.

[Burble]

Didn't have time to read all 154 pages, so at the risk of being super-redundant I have to say:

Out of the Past (Not only a great film, but so good-looking, and the macho wisecracking with Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum is hilarious.)
The Seventh Seal
Murder, My Sweet (Several cool turns in this one, especially where Claire Trevor is smoking a cigarette in the dark, but also Dick Powell is great as the glib, less macho version of Marlowe.)
Stardust Memories
The Third Man

[nycsteve]

Didn't have time to read all 154 pages, so at the risk of being super-redundant I have to say:

Out of the Past (Not only a great film, but so good-looking, and the macho wisecracking with Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum is hilarious.)
The Seventh Seal
Murder, My Sweet (Several cool turns in this one, especially where Claire Trevor is smoking a cigarette in the dark, but also Dick Powell is great as the glib, less macho version of Marlowe.)
Stardust Memories
The Third Man

All 3 noirs are excellent. Hard to pick my favorite of the 3 , maybe The Third Man due to amazing location shooting and Orson Wells amazing performance. I would add , if talking about noir , Key Largo , Asphalt Jungle , The Killing. Watched one of my long time favorites with the grand daughters the other day , Its A Wonderful life . Always brings a tear.

[Piskie]

Many many years ago I enjoyed a film called "Portrait of Jennie" - I've never seen it again, but it stuck in my mind.

[per anporth]

Didn't have time to read all 154 pages, so at the risk of being super-redundant I have to say:

Out of the Past (Not only a great film, but so good-looking, and the macho wisecracking with Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum is hilarious.

By coincidence, I just watched a bluray of this, earlier today.

A good case can be made for this being the best film noir of them all. At any rate, Mitchum is extraordinary - so beautiful, the soft voice (until it's hard), the walk. At the end of the fight with Fisher, his buddy, his hair tousled & falling over his face - well, doesn't he just look amazing, & doesn't he never look anything like this with either Cathy or Ann?!

[Storm Chaser]

Duck Soup

[Lopez]

Last night watched a Lon Chaney silent movie from 1928 on TCM, Laugh, Clown, Laugh. Heartbreaking story, and Loretta Young, the pinnacle of the love triangle, was only 15. What a beauty.

[Hal...]

Last night watched a Lon Chaney silent movie from 1928 on TCM, Laugh, Clown, Laugh. Heartbreaking story, and Loretta Young, the pinnacle of the love triangle, was only 15. What a beauty.

I googled her photo from that movie and this was one of the results:



I never realized foot fetishes had been a thing for so long.

[Staun]

I googled her photo from that movie and this was one of the results:



I never realized foot fetishes had been a thing for so long.

My mom talks about what a beauty she was. She moved to tv and wore these great dresses and gowns. It’s funny. We think things like fetishes etc, could only exist during our lifetime and not before. Hal, why did you have to bring this up.

[Hal...]

The Supreme Court says I don't have to answer that question.

[ronmac]

[JKL2000]

The Creature movies are entertaining enough. But I never considered them in the same "league" as those from the previous decades, for the most part. Granted, some of the sequels of the classics were a bit cheesy, but the Creature movies are more like a last hurrah from Universal.

Many of those kits are still being made. There were myths about what happened to some of the molds. But, for the most part, you can find them. I still have a few in boxes that I bought in the 80s. Some day...

Here's one I built back then.

dracula-model.jpg

Agree - While I enjoy the first Creature movie, it's not in the same league as the other Universal series'. I built ALL the those Aurora Universal (and King Kong!) models when I was a kid.

[Lopez]

I googled her photo from that movie and this was one of the results:



I never realized foot fetishes had been a thing for so long.

There were a few squeamish moments in that movie that would never have made it past the censors when the Code went into full effect 6 years later. The foot kissing being one and Lon Chaney giving her the visual once-over, up and down, when she's in his arms, and he realizes that she is not a little child any more but a (almost) full-grown woman.

[JKL2000]

Interesting to see a thin Oliver Hardy.

[headcrash]

Interesting to see a thin Oliver Hardy.

Coincidentally, I stumbled across the 2018 biopic "Stan & Ollie" recently which I'd never seen. Brilliant performances by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly. "March of the Wooden Soldiers" was a holiday staple on local TV when I was a kid.

[Hal...]

I think I've posted this before but if you've never seen it, watch it. It's a "three reeler" (~30 minutes) from 1932 and is also the first Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short (Comedy). I think this is the funniest "short" I've ever seen and probably L&H's best film. Hell, I'd put this up against anything Keaton, Chaplin, the Marx Bros, or anyone else ever did. It still makes me laugh after all these years.

The best bit: Ollie falling out of a window and into a fountain. As usual, tho, Stan carries the film.