All Fall Down (1962)

This is a movie I wanted to watch for a long while mainly to see an early performance by Beatty (3rd movie) and the other performances. It has a great cast with Angela Lansbury, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint and Brandon de Wilde (the main character, though not top-billed).

It's an OK movie. Not exceptional, but still has good performances. 

deWilde plays a teenager (age 16) and plays the part pretty well--he's naive, idolizes his older brother (Beatty), and then slowly becomes disillusioned as the movie progresses. 

I know what it's like to idolize a relative like that, and then realize he's not so perfect and not right all the time, so I liked that aspect of the film. I also think Lansbury does a great job showing how overbearing and manipulative her character is. 

Lansbury and Malden play characters with differing political and religious opinions (he's liberal, she's conservative....he's a socialist and she's capitalist....she's a churchgoer, he's not....). I found alot of their interactions to be really interesting. In one sequence, Malen invites some homeless men over for a Christmas dinner. Lansbury wants them out of the house so she pays each of them ten dollars to get out.

There's an interesting scene where deWilde chops up some vegetables and mixes them together in a blender to make a healthy smoothie; I can't remember the last time a character in a film did that so that was a cool part. 

I read somewhere that when this movie was being filmed in 1961, Beatty's first two movies had not yet been released (Splendor in the Grass & Roman Spring of Ms Stone). He had only been known for television work, for dating Natalie Wood, and for being Shirley Maclaine's brother.

I liked the scenes with the two brothers together; I felt convinced that they were related and that deWilde idolized him. In the movie, deWilde is constantly writing in his journal, and I wondered if that indicated he would be a writer in the future, and if the writer of the original novel - James Leo Herlihy - based the character on himself. 

After watching this movie I was intrigued by the entire making-of process.  I wondered how faithful it was to the original book, and was curious about John Houseman producing it and that whole process.

If only DVD commentaries and special features were around in 1962.

Regarding the title, I think it should be called "Berry-Berry", since everyone says it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.  

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming! (1966)

Zany comedy about a group of Russian sailors - led by Alan Arkin -  who find themselves stranded on a small, tight-knit New England island town. Not able to speak the language, they try to steal a boat to get off of the island hoping not to encounter any of the locals. Eventually rumors spread all over the island about invaders and everyone panics ("It's all over!" predicts one paranoid resident).

The Russians disguise themselves as as locals

There are some funny sight gags and comedic bits involving the paranoid townsfolk. One bit has Jonathan Winters at the kitchen table with his 8 little children prepping the family about a possible attack. There's a town drunk that's funny, and an old woman who gets tied to a chair while her near-sighted husband hardly notices.

But there are some softer moments, too, especially the scenes involving one of the Russians falling in love with a young woman.  Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint are the only two people who know why the Russians are there and try to explain it to everyone else. Another voice of reason is Brian Keith, who plays the police chief. Also starring Theodore Bikel.

It's an enjoyable satire about paranoia in the days before cable news, the internet, smart phones phones, and Twitter.

North by Northwest (1959) and Robert Osborne and Eva Marie Saint in Chicago

Wed. March 31 2010 - Yesterday night, Chicago's last "golden-age" movie palace, The Music Box, screened North By Northwest - a free event sponsored by Turner Classic Movies.

My co-worker and I went right after work and got a spot close to the front of the line!

As suspected, the line eventually went "around the block" - literally.

BELOW: Outside the Music Box.






BELOW: I snapped this one just for fun...while we were waiting in line, I saw Eva and her husband get out of her limo and walk into the bar/grill across the street to have dinner with Robert Osbourne.



Every seat was filled. Robert Osborne was introduced and said a few words about the TCM on-the-road fest as well as next month's 4-day event in Hollywood(but he didn't mention the pricey festival passes) Then Eva came out and the two of them chatted for awhile. Osborne asked her what she remembers about Hitch and she said he was very strict and was meticulous with storyboarding; every scene in the movie was drawn out. She also said that she was impressed that he imported his bacon from Denmark.

BELOW: Robert Osborne



They opened the floor up to questions and someone said that she looks just as beautiful as she did in the movie. Someone then asked her if Cary Grant was a good kisser and she said yes, and she also said that Marlon Brando was the greatest actor she ever worked with. Then some girl addressed her as "Mrs. Saint"...and she affectionately corrected her by saying "Ms. Saint; you can call me Mrs. Hayden" referring to marriage to her husband, director Jeffrey Hayden (who was in the audience) and she mentioned that they have been married for 58 years, which drew alot of "Wow!'s" from the audience. One guy said to Eva that he saw her on stage (or TV, I can't remember) way back in 1952 when she was first starting out...it was a performance in which she sang, but I can't remember what they said.



Eva talked about the experience of filming in Chicago for the movie. She said they were only here for a few days, maybe 3 or 4. One day she and Cary went for a walk along the lake and she remembers seeing a woman walking with her husband - she noticed Cary and she poked her husband and said, "That's Cary Grant!".

Then Robert Osborne said "we have time for one more question" and some young woman (I think she was a member of the press -- alot of press and media people had reserved, front row seats) said "My question is for you Mr. Osborne" and went on to joke about how she's been "stalking" TCM and has been trying to find out how to get a job there. Osborne politely explained to her that he wasn't the person to talk to about getting a job at TCM but encouraged her to keep sending her resume to the right people.

Then the movie started. Every time I watch this movie I pick up something that I didn't notice before.

The two hosts, however, did not stay to watch the movie. So there was no autograph session afterward.

I imagine that Ms Saint, her husband, and Mr. Obsorne had a nice time together and maybe took a night cruise along the lake or something.

Overall it was a fun night.

Turner Classic Movies Film Fest: Tonight in Chicago

Tonight is the Chicago screening of North by Northwest at the Music Box, part of Turner Classics' on-the-road shows. One of my co-workers and I plan to attend this tonight after work. It's "first come first served" seating; there'll probably be a huge line. Also, I'm not sure if Robert Osborne and/or Eva Marie Saint will be signing autographs. We shall see. Even it they were not appearing I would still want to see just the movie; it is one of my all-time favorite films.