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WILD IN THE COUNTRY (1961)
Elvis is on parole and under the supervision of his uncle.
In addition he's seeing a counselor (Hope Lange), Tuesday Weld gives Elvis sh!t. She's married to some government guy who is away. She's longing for The King.
HOLY CRAP, it's LTK's Rafer Johnson!!!! Yes!!!!
I love when I'm watching a golden age of Hollywood classic film and a Bond alumni appears.
Tuesday Weld is sitting on an outside stairwell with a guitar as Elvis walks up.
Time for a song.
He doesn't sing much in this one, actually. This is the kind of role James Dean might have played had he lived to 1961.
This kind of reminds me of GOOD WILL HUNTING.
Controversial opinion: I like this film much better. I tried watching GOOD WILL a few weeks ago and didn't think it held up. Maybe it was Matt Damon's cheesy curtain disconnect haircut?
Hope Lange and Elvis are stuck out in the rain and resort to staying in a roadside motel.
Been awhile since I've seen this one.
Going from the onscreen title card revisionist history changed the title to
BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA around the time of the Coppola film. Then the DVD release changed the title to DAN CURTIS' DRACULA.
I firmly stand by the opinion the film should simply be called DRACULA as it was listed as such in TV GUIDE. It's not like we refer to GF as IAN FLEMING'S GOLDFINGER because that's what the title card displays. Otherwise we would change the acronym to IFGF, or IFOHMSS for OHMSS and so forth.
This version is an acquired taste in some ways. Television version screened theatrically in Europe. It borrows heavily from Curtis' DARK SHADOWS with a reincarnation subplot (explored even further in the Coppola film). Filmed on location in the then Yugoslavia as well as England the film makes use of practical locations. The Count's castle isn't a set, hence the somewhat cozy interiors. Still looks creepy.
Dracula (Jack Palance) is waiting outside the Hillingham Estate to feast on Lucy (Fiona Lewis). Palance is madly in love with Lucy and kisses her pretty intensely before putting the bite on her. He plays the temptation and resistance beautifully before succumbing to her charms.
Simon Ward is her fiancee Arthur Holmwood. He sports an amazing 1973 haircut.
Nigel Davenport in Van Helsing in this version. His authoritative performance reminds me of a school principle or math teacher. He isn't really presented as a specific vampire/supernatural scholar, but comes across as a fatherly know-it-all.
Some of the costumes and set decorations look like they could have been created for a well produced stage version. I like Jack Palance's Dracula attire, though. The all black outfit with the cloak is pretty impressive. Traditional, but not cliched. More like Lee than Lugosi. His fangs are impressive as well as his teeth looked to have been yellowed or dirtied for the role.
This film was originally scheduled to air October 12th 1973. The airing was delayed by a Nixon speech announcing the resignation of Vice President Agnew. Hence, why many film books and guides list this film's year as 1973. With VHS players still a future household item I would have been pi$$ed to have stayed home that night to watch DRACULA and it not be one. The film was rescheduled for February 8th of '74.
The European theatrical prints contain a bit more gore in the stakings. That version was available on the VHS editions and the Blu-ray. The DVD has the restrained TV cut.
Dracula is staked with a long spear thingy. He has a look of relief before he kicks the bucket.
Yay!!!! That was a good viewing. Been awhile since I watched this one.
Apparently he had been asked several times, but didn't want to. In an interview he said once was enough, and he had become too close to the character during filming. The "real" Dracula might want a showdown, and since Palance never kept those fangs he'd have difficulty fighting him. LOL.
In a Bogie mood tonight. Little more than half way through.
Bogie just rigged the roulette table so a young naive newlywed couple could get out of Casablanca without the wife having to boink Claude Rains.
Now everyone is singing. Paul Henreid leads this eff you to the Nazi's chorus. Great moment. Very moving, actually.
As far as greatest films of all time goes, including this, CITIZEN KANE, THE GODFATHER and GONE WITH THE WIND, I prefer CASABLANCA.
CITIZEN KANE is shot beautifully, and is very much a masterpiece, I just have more fun with this film. THE GODFATHER I really have to be in the mood for. I actually would much rather watch GOODFELLAS, TBH.
As for GONE WITH THE WIND, there's a handful of other Clark Gable movies I'd watch first. I do like it, though. Besides, George Reeves is in it.
This movie, however never lets me down.
Where I grew up we had an old movie theater that played double bills: Elvis, Bogie, Errol Flynn movies, art house films, some horror films. A lot of cool stuff. Great times going to a double feature with my Dad on a Friday night after school. The cinema interior had beautiful stained glass paintings and atmosphere. Excellent popcorn as well.
CASABLANCA played with TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT in the spring of '89.
I hadn't seen TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT and that was an excellent choice to be paired up with this film. I remember that was the first time I had seen Hoagy Carmichael, having read about him in the various Bond film reference books.
I've only watched GONE WITH THE WIND all the way through a few times. I never really got into THE GODFATHER. Not sure why. I think I like the second one better. CITIZEN KANE is a film I saved for much later, only having seen it for the first time about 8 years ago. All are great films, I just grew up on this one.
YAY!!!! That was a great viewing. It's still early, and I don't have to work until tomorrow night.
I think I may pop in another classic and comment on it................maybe another Bogie?
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
Columbia Pictures- Santana Production.
I remember having a discussion with a friend on CASABLANCA
, which he considered a great example of film noir. I disagreed, though felt CASABLANCA had some noir elements. Film Noir is not a label I'd give that film.
IN A LONELY PLACE, on the other hand is very much a noir: plenty of location shooting, much at night, dark themes throughout.
Bogie just picked a fight at a stop light. LOL
He's wearing a polka dot bow tie.
In real life he resented adhering to dress code establishments like ROMANOV's and would wear a tiny bow-tie or go tie less in defiance. I believe Mike Romanov himself has a cameo in this film. He and Bogie were buddies.
Robert Warrick is great as the silent star past his prime. Bogie gets into another fight with an a-hole who taunts Warrick.
Here we go.........Gloria Grahame. Note to self: one day watch the Barbara Broccoli Gloria Grahame film.
This reminds me of A.I. Bezzerides absolutely loathing Mickey Spillane's KISS ME, DEADLY as well as the Mike Hammer character and creating a noir classic out of contempt.
Frank Lovejoy is great. In many noir B movies.
I love scenes where it's super early in the morning and they're drinking black coffee.
Bogie is being a smart a$$ while questioned. He doesn't really give a sh!t she was murdered but shows some slight empathy while looking at her corpse photos.
That movie really paled in comparison to this watching them back to back.
But it was an interesting theme night having the similarity of time period and screenwriter plots.
Gloria Grahame is questioned as well. She admits to the captain she thinks Bogie is hot.
DRACULA (1979)
Dracula begins his seduction of Lucy (Kate Nelligan) at the castle.
So if you're on a date with a beauty who likes vampires, THIS is the Dracula film to show her. Chances are she's never seen it, it's stylish, filled with atmosphere and romantic.
As odd as this may sound, it was easier to impress with this film in the days of VHS. Unless you had a Laser Disc player, VHS was it. The earlier VHS and Laser Discs of this film were presented in the film's original luscious colors. The muted Blu-ray and DVDs rob the film of it's texture and overall splendor. Some scenes look outright sh*tty with the colors re-timed.
Here's one scene that was NOT tampered with color wise: Maurice Binder's Bondian love scene between Dracula and Lucy. Looks just like it did in cinemas. Kind of an acquired taste this scene, a bit out of place with the rest of the film.
Van Helsing and Blofeld...I mean Seward exhume Mina's grave to discover there are hidden mines underneath. That concept I find more scary than Mina's vampire. With a narrow hole in the coffin to climb through they take their crosses and lamps then explore underground.
I'd think it would be tricky finding the exact grave to get back. If the lamps go out they're f***ed down there. Looks like they're screwed anyway. Mina arrives to attack wearing some ghastly decomposed makeup. Great scene. Olivier plays this beautifully.
Dracula changes to a wolf and exits through the window.
Again, this transfer does not do justice to the costumes here. In the cinema as well as the early VHS versions, Langella's cape looked a lush black velvet with a deep burgundy lining. Langella sent the capes back to the costume department multiple times having the collar heights re-designed and cut to get the right look. George Hamilton had a tiny stand up collar on his Dracula cape. Frank's was bigger.
Trevor Eve's Jonathan Harker has '70's hair that looks completely out of place for a film set in the 1910's. Dracula morphs into a bat and bites his face. Had this Harker been with Peter Cushing's Van Helsing he's have come out unscathed.
Great scene.
I love the fact that Langella refused to wear fangs or anything resembling traditional vampire make up.
The color timing here revises that bit of Langella history.
Although he wore very little make up, the subdued colors enhance the lips thus giving the illusion he has burgundy lipstick on in some shots. In the cinema his face looked natural throughout.
Actually, throughout the Universal Studios Dracula films most Count's had little make up.
None of the actors in the golden age wore fangs for Universal. Jack Pierce gave Lugosi a frontal toupee to enhance his hairline. Other than that, Bela applied his own make up.
Some sources claim Pierce designed a green greasepaint for Bela. I don't quite believe that. I think he's wearing just a slightly paler flesh color greasepaint like the other performers. By the Abbott and Costello film he was most certainly caked in heavy greasepaint. My opinion is that it's the same silver gray color Glenn Strange wore as the Frankenstein Monster.
The climax. Now we see Langella is some heavy make up as he's destroyed by the sun.
Great ending.
I haven't seen the film and can't see him being that good.
He's very dashing, suave, romantic and authoritative. He's certainly not as scary or as imposing as Christopher Lee. It's not intended to be that type of film, though. I personally feel he gave a great performance and is one of my favorite Dracula's just for trying something different. At the same time he does stick to many traditions: some wonderful cape work and good costuming.
However if you're looking for fangs and dripping blood you may be disappointed.
If you haven't seen this version, as odd as this sounds, track down a VHS or early laserdisc from the '80's. Granted, pan and scan sucks, but it's far preferable to see this film in it's original warm golden colors than what the Blu-ray and DVDs provide.
John Badham had originally wanted muted colors as a tribute to Edward Gorey's stage set designs for the play. Also inspired by John Huston's cinematography on MOBY DICK. He didn't have access to that type of film lab work then and opted to give the cinematic version a warm golden look throughout. Very striking.
When a new laser disc transfer was being prepared in the mid '90's he completely changed the color timing and gave the film an almost black and white look. Looks pretty bad because the film wasn't originally lit that way, and now loses much of the detail. The Blu-ray and DVDs look like an old tube TV in which the picture is fading and the color knob has been turned nearly all the way down.
I'm of the opinion, the Blu-ray should have provided both versions as an option, because there are moments when the new print does look kind of cool. But overall a distraction.
Interesting....thanks for that !