Meme Leech :: For the Love of Calibos! Another SLIFR Quiz-Bowl-O-Rama!

Welp, haven't done one of these in awhile. And so, courtesy of the always entertaining proprietor of Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, I present my late as always answers to the Miss Jean Brodie's Modestly Magnificent Matriarchally Manipulative Springtime-for-Mussolini Movie Quiz:

1) The classic movie moment everyone loves except me is: 

"The hills are alive with the sound of please shut-the-hell-up..."

2) Favorite line of dialogue from a film noir:

"Such a lovely body. It's revolting."

Actually, the whole scene in Frank Tuttle's This Gun for Hire (1942) between bad guy Gates (Laird Cregar) and his hired muscle (Marc Lawrence) on the disposal of Ellen Grahame (Veronica Lake), who knows too much to live, is just fantastic -- from prissy Cregar being both morbidly fascinated and repulsed by all the gory details about cat-gut tethers and staged suicides to the subtle, censor-slipping insinuation that Grahame will be stripped naked before she's deep-sixed (-- a "secret" that will be just between the dastardly chauffeur and the lake.) Again, great, great stuff.

3) Second favorite Hal Ashby film:

4) Describe the moment when you first realized movies were directed as opposed to simply pieced together anonymously:

Probably one of the many action sequences during the repeated viewings of Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1981. I'm thinking the sequence where Indy attacks the truck convoy full of Nazis to get the Ark back.

5) Favorite film book:

6) Diana Sands or Vonetta McGee? 

McGee!

7) Most egregious gap in your viewing of films made in the past 10 years:

Geez. I dunno. Maybe not making it an even sixteen screenings of The Avengers (2012) while it was in theater? In the same vein, there are too many movies to name that deserved to be seen on the big screen that are still good but lose something at home. I had a chance to see Casino Royale (2006) in IMAX and passed it up, leaving me to enjoy that fabulous opening sequence in all its 35-inch glory.

8) Favorite line of dialogue from a comedy:

It's a tie between this from Spielberg's 1941 (1979)...

"I don't think you're gonna hit 'em, Ward." 
 

And this bit from Broken Lizard's Super Troopers (2001)...

"Uh, excuse me. Bear -- Bear-F@*ker. Do you need assistance?"

9) Second favorite Lloyd Bacon film:

10) Richard Burton or Roger Livesey? 

"Pazuzu!"

11) Is there a movie you staunchly refuse to consider seeing? If so, why?

The Passion of the Christ. One, I know how it ends. Two, the hypocrisy over the violent and bloody content that is nothing less than torture porn getting a pass as long as it's "educational." And third, despite all the props for historical accuracy and being in the original Aramaic, our Lord and Savior was still played by a white guy.

12) Favorite filmmaker collaboration:

Budd Boetticher, Burt Kennedy, Charles Lawton Jr., and Randolph Scott in The Tall T (1957), Ride Lonesome (1959) and Commanche Station (1960).

13) Most recently viewed movie on DVD/Blu-ray/theatrical?

DVD: Hollywood Hotel (1937). More Busby Berkeley mayhem with an incredible jam-session in the middle, where Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa really cut loose and wail. BluRay: Forbidden Planet (1956). Theatrical: Skyfall (2012). Streaming: Violence (1947). And yes, dammit, VHS: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). (Note to self: watch more Joan Blondell musicals.)

14) Favorite line of dialogue from a horror movie:

"Speak. I know you have a civil tongue in your 

head because I sewed it back myself."

15) Second favorite Oliver Stone film:

16) Eva Mendes or Raquel Welch? 

17) Favorite religious satire:

 
Sure, it's more a satire on movie-making with disasters of biblical proportions, but, eh, if this helps someone else see it for the first time, then my work here is done. (Otherwise, Greaser's Palace.)

18) Best Internet movie argument?

I remember getting into an argument with a guy who wrote off Gordon Flemyng's The Split (1968) based solely on the fact that he couldn't buy Ernest Borgnine beating Jim Brown in a fistfight. I called bullshit on that argument, with Emperor of the North as my evidence, feeling not only could Borgnine win the fight but, win or not, the fight would've at least lasted a helluva lot longer than my idiot friend thought possible.

19) Most pointless Internet movie argument?

The vilification of  George Lucas over innumerable charges of childhood raping. Seriously. Stop that.

20) Charles McGraw or Robert Ryan? 

 Ryan -- but there's nothing wrong with second place to him.

21) Favorite line of dialogue from a western:

 "I thought you never drew on a man?"

 "That's right, sir. Only snakes."

And it's Ben Johnson's stomach-sick reaction to all the men he's just killed after delivering the line in Wagon Master (1950) that really brings it home.

22) Second favorite Roy Del Ruth film:

23) Relatively unknown film or filmmaker you’d most eagerly proselytize for:

I really dug Paul Andrew Williams' London to Brighton (2006) and the nigh inexplicable genre-shift in The Cottage (2008) still makes me giggle. Finally caught Cherry Tree Lane (2010) and it was pretty good, too. So, yeah, go watch these as soon as possible.

24) Ewan McGregor or Gerard Butler?

McCregor in a laugher. Butler isn't even on my ballot. Weird.

25) Is there such a thing as a perfect movie?

If there is, I haven't found it yet. The closest I think I've come to is the recently departed Del Tenney's The Horror of Party Beach (1964). No. Seriously.

26) Favorite movie location you’ve most recently had the occasion to actually visit:

A couple of summers ago I was in Pittsburgh with the usual collective head-of-knuckle for the Drive-In Super Monster Rama and we took the opportunity to visit the Evans City cemetery, where Image-10 shot the opening sequence from Night of the Living Dead (1968). Man, I really need to write up that adventure someday. 

27) Second favorite Delmer Daves film:

28) Name the one DVD commentary you wish you could hear that, for whatever reason, doesn't actually exist:

The Thing from Another World (1951): moderated by Tom Weaver with Ken Tobey, Robert Cornwaithe, Bill Self and any other surviving cast member -- including James Arness. I had high, high hopes for this for years but with Tobey, Arness and Cornwaithe no longer being with us, this, alas, will never be except in my head.

29) Gloria Grahame or Marie Windsor? 

Again, nothing wrong with second place here.

30) Name a filmmaker who never really lived up to the potential suggested by their early acclaim or success:

M. Knight Shamalamadingdong. Instead of concentrating on what worked in The Sixth Sense (1999), everything he's done since has been an extrapolation on what didn't.

31) Is there a movie-based disagreement serious enough that it might cause you to reevaluate the basis of a romantic relationship or a friendship?

Nah. Unless The Sound of Music is your favorite movie. Then we're gonna tussle like Milton Berle and Terry-Thomas! With that, until next time, Boils and Ghouls. Quiz out!

Meme Leech :: Thee Better Late than Never New Year's Quiz-O-Rama!

By all standards and practices, for me, at least, 2011 was pretty damned odious as far as 365 consecutive days go. But, there were a few bright spots scattered hinter and yon, one of them was discovering the musings of The Girl with the White Parasol, via a couple of participated Blogathons. It's always a good read, and now, they've thrown out their first meme. And so, in an effort to give 2011 the middle finger in the rear-view mirror, here are my better late than never answers to TGwtWP's New Year's Movie Meme:

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

Though I love this little sleeveless number from the same movie:


There's just something about this simple outfit that wraps-up Rear Window that fogs my glasses up and over completely:




Denim never looked so good, am I right? But, lets face it, she could make a burlap sack look good.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?


I've trumpeted this before and I shall continue to blow hot air until it happens. Directed by Joe Dante; written by John Sayles; produced by Jon Davidson; with a combination of CGI and practical F/X by the late Stan Winston's company. Also, like the original, NOT in 3-D.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

Hrrrmmnnn ... that's a tough one, with lots to choose from. I mean, I love the venomous, spiteful and completely whackadoodle Ann Savage in Detour:


And Cathy O'Donnell always breaks my heart in They Live By Night:


But, I'm only deluding myself if I don't give a most deserving nod to Peggy Cummins for Gun Crazy:





4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.


5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen:


Eddie "Munster" Furlong is about 98.5% of the reason I give when people look at me incredulously and splutter, "Waitaminute ... You hated Terminator 2? Really? Why?" Even with Linda Hamilton completely spitting the bit as Sarah Connor, and Cocksure Cameron at his absolute worst, that kid just junks the movie and sunk the whole damned franchise for me.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?


7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?


Right before Henry Hathaway made the original True Grit, he made an offbeat and off the wall western-mystery hybrid called 5 Card Stud. On the surface a vehicle for Rat Pack booze-crooner Dean Martin, the film is a surprisingly violent and broody affair. It also serves as kind of a proto-slasher movie (-- I'm serious), when an unknown killer starts wiping out a group of men who share a sinister secret they'd like to keep buried in the past. (Again, totally serious. More details here.) And if nothing else, you'll get to see Robert Mitchum behind the pulpit again, bringing the fire and the brimstone and the lead to the unrepentant.

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

My cat. She doesn't judge -- my viewing habits or the habitual viewing. Yeah, more into solitude, but also enjoy a crowd now and then -- if they're tuned in properly, depending on the circumstances or venue.

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?


When I caught a matinee of this when I was six or seven years old back in the mid-1970's, all thoughts of being a fireman or a cowboy dried up as I decided, then and there, that I was gonna be a special-effects animator in Hollywood when I grew up. How I wound up here instead of there is still a subject of much conjecture, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. But, between this and an early screening of William Castle's The Spirit is Willing, my love for genre films was cemented and I haven't really been the same since.


10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

At first, Bill Murray popped into mind (-- yes, I'm thinking about you What About Bob?), but then I reconsidered and decided to go with someone else. For how bad does a movie have to be that stars Kurt Russell as the illegitimate son of Elvis Presley in a no holds barred actioneer shoot 'em up before I compare it to a sucking chest wound gone septic? This bad:


11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.


I don't know if loathe is the right word but I used to have an irrational hatred of Kim Basinger that I think began with a disastrous screening of Nadine. This opinion held fast and firm until the spell was broken by L.A. Confidential.

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

Well, I fear that I have really over-extended myself this past year. Raiders of the Lost Archive was founded with good intentions but was practically still-born and is a few days away from permanent extinction as all of the content will be shifted over here to free up space for our new Poster Archive. Alas, I don't think that's gonna be enough as I'd like to narrow my focus even more, meaning a tough, tough decision on The Morgue needs to be made sooner than later. Don't worry, that one will be staying up for archiving purposes, and for those of you needing your classic movie ad fix, again, I'll definitely be making them a regular feature here. Stay tuned.

Ten Films That Left an Impression or I'm Grateful to Have Finally Seen in 2010.

A taut, low-key flick with a small cast of great characters, a smart production aesthetic, and creepy as all hell, Pontypool can be read, allegorically speaking, on a lot of levels. But I think Bruce McDonald's faux zombie-fest saves it's true message for shock-jock Grant Mazzie's final rant. A defiant cry for the whole world, despite what you hear (or are forced-fed) on the news, to take a breath and just calm the *@%* down before we all kill each other.


A brilliant, but brutal non-linear on the lam / road movie that's triggered by a seasoned prostitute rescuing one of her newest recruits from a sadistic pedophile, which ends in an accidental death. Too bad for them the asshole in question was the head of the local mob, and whose son will stop at nothing to track them down and make them pay for what they did to dear old dad. I had a pretty good idea how it was destined to end, but -- SPOILERS AHOY! -- the film pulled a fast one on me. And though some may find it contrived, and even a bit of a cheat, I found it to be refreshingly uplifting after all the human depravity and carnage we've just sat through.


Let's see ... It stars Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan and Ward Bond ... It was directed by Nicholas Ray ... A tight, twisty script from Albert Bezzerides ... Has some brilliant cinematography from the always reliable Georgie Diskant -- making it quite possibly the only frozen noir ever committed to film ... Yeah ... I have no idea why it took so long to track this one down, either.


Ginger Roger's stock absolutely went through the roof in my classic film portfolio thanks to TCM's Star of the Month treatment in early 2010, making it hard to narrow it down to one choice, here. But this team-up treat with Cary Grant, under the steady hand of Leo McCarey, won out. A fabulous screwball comedy / propaganda piece with some unsuspected gravitas when our crusading couple wind up prisoners of the Gestapo without proper identification and soon find themselves a hair's breathe away from a one-way ticket to a concentration camp.


I reviewed this one awhile back, so I'll just reiterate how this obscurity is Charles B. Pierce's perfect film. So if you're a fan of The Town that Dreaded Sundown and The Legend of Boggy Creek, don't wait as long as I did to track this one down.

Always good to cross another William Wellman flick off the need to see list. And if this movie taught me anything, aside from reinforcing how much I love Wellman's cinematic, keyhole eye, is that I needs to see me some more Robert Taylor movies as soon as possible.

Shane Black really, really, really needs to make more movies.

Simply delightful, a treat for the eyes, ears and the soul. And it's mind-boggling when I think that the two best romantic comedies of the past decade have involved some animated rats (Flushed Away) and a couple of like-minded brethren in a benevolently mad-genius and his weather-nerd crush. Now who's ready for a second helping? This guy!

Two Tickets : $45

Round-trip to Omaha to see it on the Big Screen : 250 Miles

Misting up with your Momma when the Big E tears
through An American Triology : Priceless

Bat-shit insane Japanese espionage flick that proves what every super-spy needs is a crack battalion of suicidal leather-clad vixens, who can make weapons out of anything (-- a favorite being a barrage of LP records), to bail his sorry ass out of trouble whenever he gets in over his head. Which he does. A lot. Don't think, just roll with it, and you'll love this movie as much as I do.

Coming soon: My Top Ten films of 2010.