The Card Counter (2021), The Sting (1973), and Atlantic City (1980)

The Card Counter is a new movie with Oscar Isaac as an ex-military gambler who travels around to card games and teams up with Tiffany Haddish; I like both actors so this was really a fun movie to watch. 

More reviews of the film from other bloggers here:

• Cinemascope: The Card Counter [2021] (cliched-monologues.blogspot.com)
• Filmhounds review here

There's plenty of card games in the film, and afterwards, I felt like rewatching The Sting, which is one of my favorite movies and rewatch it from time to time. The plot is so detailed and each time I rewatch I pick up on some new things I missed the last time.  I love how the characters pull off the cons in the movie. And also love the music, sets (some scenes filmed in Chicago), and costumes as well. 

I wondered why I enjoy this movie so much. The two main leads are criminals, liars, and thieves. But there's a likability about them; their personalities really connect with me. Even though they are so conniving, Paul Newman's behavior and mannerisms make me laugh. I like how the gang all cares about each other's families, especially when Luther (Robert Earl Jones) gets killed, and how they come together to avenge his death. 

I also was curious about The Sting II so I rented it from Netflix to give it a try. It's horrible. I couldn't even finish watching the whole movie, it's so bad. What were they thinking when they made this movie?  The dialogue (by the same writer as the first movie, unbelievably) is atrocious, and features some homophobic slurs by Karl Malden, presumably an attempt to make his character more loathsome. He must have needed the paycheck. This has got to be the worst comedy sequels of the 80s. It makes Caddyshack II look way better in comparison. 

And finally, to close out my gambling-themed movie kick, I tried watching Atlantic City (1980) with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, but I didn't like it so not much to say about it. 

Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957)

"Burt Lancaster as the famous Wyatt Earp...Kirk Douglas as the notorious Doc Holliday....Two men as different as day and night...Now you'll see them as they really were...hot blooded men in a raw and relentless era...Drawn by destiny to this scarlet dawn...October 6, 1888...When the gunfight at the OK Corral left its bloody imprint on the annals of the West.
- trailer

I did not love this movie.  It's really long, and seems longer than it needs to be, and is set in three different towns. The most interesting part is toward the end when the action place in Tombstone and we meet Wyatt Earp's family and a conflicted young gunfighter played by Dennis Hopper. I thought the movie would have been more interesting if it were set in just that town and we got to know more about those characters. Rhonda Fleming and Jo Van Fleet are the only female leads and they play the love interests of Burt (who's just okay) and gambler Kirk, who brings some personality to his character and was more interesting to me. He had to feign a bad cough throughout, and definitely convinced me he was really sick by the end.

It's so ironic that that immediately before I started watching this yesterday, the TV was turned to My Fair Lady playing on Turner Classic Movies, and the scene was Rex Harrison singing "Why Can't Women Be More Like A Man?" including the lyrics "Cause men are so friendly, good-natured and kind. A better companion you never will find."

Not at the OK Corral.

The movie is pretty violent, with lots of dudes guys getting shot or stabbed, and Jo Van Fleet almost dies twice. The opening song does not fit the mood of the film well; it's a ridiculous Frankie Lane tune that almost seems like a comedic parody --   "Okaaaay....Koraaaaaalllll.....Okaaaay....Koraaaaaalllll". I'm not the only one who thinks so -  back in 1957, Bosley Crowther, the critic for the New York Times even thought so (read that review here); he said that it seemed to be an imitation of High Noon's opening song. Not only is the song repeated several times throughout (and annoying after awhile), but the lyrics also change to fit "Boot Hill" as well. "Boot Hill...Boot Hill...". I can't think of another song every dedicated to a cemetery.

Reading more about this actual historical event, the inaccuracies and liberties that writer (Leon Uris) and the filmmakers took become more evident. For example, the trailer mentions the wrong day and year of the event. Also, the real gunfight never took place at OK Corral (the setting looks good in the movie, though).

These inaccuracies make me think more about the historical twists that Tarantino has been inserting in his latest few movies; most recently Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In 50 years, viewers of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may watch it without any historical context, and then may think that Sharon Tate lived beyond 1969 or may think she was just a fictional character. Likewise, I was scratching my head after "OK Corral" and wondering which characters were real and which weren't myself. Maybe this is the idea that Tarantino is trying to get across in his movies - that often in Hollywood films they're nothing more than make believe, and often just good old fashioned shoot-em-up  entertainment that is told the way the filmmakers want.

Another blog post from Just Hit Play

Seven Days in May (1964)

Kirk Douglas plays an advisor who helps the US President uncover evidence of a military takeover of the government from within.

Douglas' direct commander is played by Burt Lancaster, whom the President doesn't trust.

Burt is really unlikable in this film.

Ava Gardner has a small part as Burt's former lover who might hold some secrets to help uncover the plot.

Frederic March plays the President, and he makes a really good one, too; I wished his character was our President today.

It's a really good fictional thriller (though based on some real events). I really liked it. Directed by John Frankenheimer (also directed The Manchurian Candidate).

According to the history blog Boundary Stones, US President John F. Kennedy read and enjoyed the original novel which this film is based, and wanted to see a film made of it. Frankenheimer shot on location in Washington DC, and had the approval of the President, who unfortunately did not live to see the film.

The film was released a few months after President Kennedy's assassination. For audiences at that time, it must have a bit frightening to see such a politically-charged film so soon afterward.

Jacqueline of Another Old Movie Blog discussed this film in an excellent 2016 post here, noting how it remains relevant today.

Bill Crider also wrote about this movie, having remembered the original novel of which it was based, and another good post about this film from Movie Magg.

The Rose Tattoo (1955)

First watched in 2004. Takes place in an Italian neighborhood on the gulf coast in Louisiana.

This was Italian actress Anna Magnani's first English-speaking film. She is wonderful as Serafina, a single parent and strict Sicilian Catholic who begins to withdraw from the world after her husband's death; she later learns of her husband's infidelities. Daughter (Marisa Pavan) starts to see boys, to her mother's disapproval.

Her mourning leads to depression but she begins to come out of it when she meets another Italian man named Alvaro (Burt Lancaster) a handsome truck driver with a rose tattoo on his chest. He brings a little zest into her life, though she's still tormented by her past.

In October 2009, one of my favorite blogs, European Film Star Postcards, did a great piece on Italian-born actress Marisa Pavan, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "The Rose Tattoo". Check out the post.

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

Booth and Lancaster are both fascinating to watch;
they are both affected by the arrival of
their new tenant in different ways.

Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth play a childless couple whose lives are changed after they rent out a room to a young, energetic college student played by Terry Moore.

Lancaster's character (a recovering alcoholic) sees the new tenant as a daughter-figure and becomes overly protective. When his emotions are stirred by her jock boyfriend (Richard Jaeckel) he thinks about going back to the bottle. For Booth, the young tenant's stay causes her to reflect upon the happiness of her youth.

The loss of her beloved dog Sheba years ago played a major factor in her loneliness.

Booth won the Oscar for Best Actress, and she is wonderful in the part as the simple-minded, long-suffering housewife, not unlike the TV character that Jean Stapleton played on the 1970s series All in the Family (as the Edith Bunker character).

In the beginning of the film, Lancaster attends a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is the first time a meeting of AA was depicted in a Hollywood film or mentioned by name  (source: Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Vol. 50, No. 4, 1989).

Also, Lancaster plays a chiropractor in the film; this may be one of the earliest references to the chiropractic profession in a Hollywood film (at least I'm not familiar with any chiropractors in the movies before this).

Directed by Daniel Mann (The Rose Tattoo, BUtterfield 8)

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) | Diary of A Movie Maniac (wordpress.com)

Separate Tables (1958)

In the opening shot of the film: a young woman (Deborah Kerr, who is wonderful in this film) walks out of a hotel and sits on a park bench down the street. She appears lonely as if expecting to meet someone - or escape from somewhere. Her doting mother (Gladys Cooper, a permanent resident of the hotel) disapproves her associating with David Niven's character, also a resident of the hotel. Miss Cooper also disapproves of Burt Lancaster, another guest, and calls him "boorish". Meanwhile a pair of young guests (Rod Taylor and Audrey Dalton) keep their distance from the older folks.

I like when Rita Hayworth arrives at the hotel. She plays an actress and a "woman of the world". Guests of the hotel can't help but stare at her as she walks in dressed in her fur coat. It turns out she has an interesting history with Burt's character.

Wendy Hiller plays the manager of the hotel, Miss Cooper.

When the dinner bell sounds, all of the guests come down to eat, but sit at separate, assigned tables.

A good movie, filled with great performances by legendary actors. Directed by Delbert Mann (Marty).

I feel this is a movie that could be remade today. Maybe with a more diverse cast as well.

Oscar Flashback: 60th Annual Awards Ceremony (1988) with Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine and more

It was a memorable Oscar show 22 years ago at the milestone 60th annual ceremony. The Academy invited lots of Hollywood royalty to the LA Shrine Auditorium that hot April day in 1988: Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, and Audrey Hepburn, just to name a few. There was supposed to be a huge "year by year" salute toward the end, kind of like how they did it for the 70th and 75th Oscars show, but the whole segment flopped, which I'll explain further in a minute.

Among the legends who were invited: Olivia deHavilland and Joan Fontaine. Yep. That's right: Joan and Olivia! Did the famously feuding sisters get along? Did they speak? Hmmm... What really happened that night?



Well, for one, they both arrived separately.

According to the book, "Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona:

Rebecca's Joan Fontaine managed to arrive on time without the help of the Academy's escort-who never materialized-but her sister wasn't so lucky. Olivia had to hop out of her car and hike 10 blocks in order to be there to hand out an award. Robert Osborne recounted that "She and others were all dressed to the nines, hurrying off to a ga-ga glmaour event while rushing past taco stands, donut shops, and gawking onlookers, the latter munching on hot dogs and cradling babies, surprised at the unexpected passerby. Sigh!

Recently, I acquired a copy of the entire taped broadcast, and was able to watch it again (I remember watching it live back in 1988, but I didn't know who all the celebrities were back then). Screenshots of the best moments from the show are below below.





Totally '80s moment: Patrick Swayze appeared with his Dirty Dancing co-star Jennifer Grey to present an award.











PS. I heard that the long anticipated Wall Street sequel is coming out soon.









Below: This was one of the most bizarre stunts of the evening. Some guy dressed as Robocop pretended to shoot another robot on stage who started to attack Pee Wee Herman. We then see Pee Wee jumping up 50 feet in the air (on wires) and "hanging" from the rafters, while Robo saves the day. Another totally 80s moment.



Below: Liza and Dudley present the Best Song nominees. Before each preformed song, they sang some old fashioned tunes devoted to the art and craft of-songwriting. These ditties (with Dudley on piano) just didn't seem to fit with the more modern, up-tempo rock songs that were preformed, but it was nice to see them back together again!



Below: Ahh, a time when hit songs that people actually liked and could hum along to were nominated for Best Song:




While I was doing research on the 60th ceremony, I found some photographs taken by photographer Alan Light, who, back in '88 was lucky enough to score a ticket from a friend to the event; he took awesome pictures on the red carpet and even got some photos with some of the stars (photos used with permission). Check them out:







According to the book "Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona:

The Academy, for the milestone "60th Anniversary" ceremony, was planning a grand segment meant to air toward the end of the program.

It was supposed to be a salute to all 60 of the past Oscar winning years. Supposedly, the Academy invited at least one cast member from an Oscar winning film from each year (1927-1987), and they would appear on stage and on camera for a brief moment as each year and film would be introduced one by one.

But the "Year by Year" segment flopped. Shortly before air time, legendary silent/20s/30s actress Anita Page (age 77) was so overcome with heat exhaustion that she collapsed as she approached the red carpet. She was rushed to a local hospital and treated.



Thankfully, Ms Page was OK after awhile, but her absence left a void in the "Year by Year" presentation. Apparently she was the only person there to represent the year 1928 (The Broadway Melody) So the producers of the show scrapped the segment at the last minute.

As a consolation, the director made sure the cameras picked up a few glimpses of some of the recognizable stars throughout the night, so viewers were able to at least see Mercedes McCambridge (All The King's Men, 1949), Celeste Holm (All About Eve, 1950), Charlton Heston (Ben Hur, 1959), and Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity, 1953), even for just a few seconds.

Other legends were there in the audience, such as Roddy McDowall (How Green Was My Valley, 1941) and Robert Stack (Written on the Wind, 1956), but sadly, they didn't get any screen time, not even a reaction shot. I'm sure there were more stars present, but I just don't know who.

Below are some cool reaction shots that the director picked up on camera. Sadly, the ones who did make it on camera didn't get a credit, but I've provided the names myself!




Above: The leading man from the first Picture winner Wings (1927).









Above: Ms. Fontaine is not amused with Chevy Chase's unfunny monologue.

According to the aforementioned book Inside Oscar, Joan became a little impatient towards the end of the ceremony, and was wondering when it was time for her appearance onstage. Reportedly she was sitting very close to Roddy McDowell, and at one point turned to him as asked, "When do we go on?" "Later Later" he assured Rebecca's second Mrs. deWinter.

Apparently a number of the stars were never told that the segment was cancelled, nor that Anita Page was hospitalized.

Joan wasn't asked to present (either that or she refused), but her sister was invited to present the Oscar for Art Direction and she accepted. Olivia's appearance was within the first hour of the ceremony, right after Olympia Dukakis won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress Moonstruck.






Olivia walked onstage to "Tara's Theme". There was a standing ovation. The television cameras didn't get a shot of Joan; so viewers couldn't tell if she was standing or sitting during the ovation.






Olivia presented the award for Best Art Direction; the winners were the team from The Last Emperor.



Below: Towards the end of the evening, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck took to the stage to present the writing awards. There was another standing ovation for them.



Below: Paul Newman presented Cher with her Oscar for Moonstruck.



It's too bad the "Oscar-Year-by-Year" segment flopped. It might have been cool. The Academy tried again for the the 70th and 75th ceremonies, but they invited all Oscar recipients of acting awards, and it didn't matter what year they represented. They were introduced alphabetically.

Postscript:

No, there was no reunion between Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine that night. It's possible that the last time the two sisters were in the same building together. According to the book "Inside Oscar", Joan was upset about the segment being cancelled, and that she didn't receive any screen time other than one split-second reaction shot. She reportedly vowed to never return to another Oscars ceremony which explains her absence from the 70th and 75th anniversary tributes.

However, at the end of the evening, all of the night's Oscar winners, presenters, performers, and legends were invited to come up to the stage to basically just stand there and wave while the credits rolled. With all the credits scrolling up, you could hardly make out who was on stage. Enjoy one more photo from Alan Light from inside the auditorium at the end of the show:

The Train (1964) starring Burt Lancaster

In this thriller directed by John Frankenheimer, the setting is German occupied France in 1944. A train filled with masterpieces by Picasso, Gaugain and Renoir are seized from France by Nazi Officer Paul Scofeld and ordered to be shipped to Germany. A member of the French resistance, Burt Lancaster, attempts to keep the train from getting to its destination. Good film! Music by Maurice Jarre, and also starring great French actors Jeanne Moreau(François Truffaut's Jules and Jim - 1962) and Michel Simon ( Jean Renoir films La Chienne, Boudu Saved From Drowning ).

Additional reading:

Blog post: The Train (The Magnificent 60s)

Blog post: Behind the Scenes of The Train (The Magnificent 60s)

Blog post: Film Fanatic