Viewing Single Post From: Whatcha Watchin'

Viewing Single Post From: Whatcha Watchin'
igsjr	Jan 21 2008, 07:20 AM
Nostalgia blogger Posts: 1,228 Group: Members Member #40 Joined: September 7, 2005	Well, I had to postpone 1984 (1956) til' later on in the evening, but I finally watched it--I'd give it two-and-a-half tickets. The later version (directed by Michael Radford) is much better; this one sort of changes the ending of the book although I did like the cast in this one. (Apparently Donald Pleasance was fighting a losing battle with his hair even back then.) The main detriment to this version is that you have the stentorian voice of the narrator at the beginning of the film spouting off nonsense like "This is the future...but it need not be--it's not too late!" I decided to lighten the mood afterward with the 1939 comedy-mystery The Gracie Allen Murder Case, which teams the wackier half of Burns and Allen with Philo Vance (Warren William) in a breezy bit of entertainment. "Fido," as Gracie calls him, attempts to prove the innocence of a perfume mixer (Kent Taylor, who later became a sleuth himself on TV as Boston Blackie) accused of the murder of a mobster. Great cast in this one: Ellen Drew, Jed Prouty, Jerome Cowan, Donald MacBride (playing it straight as the D.A.), H.B. Warner, William Demarest and the youngest (and thinnest) I've ever seen Horace McMahon (of TV's Naked City) look. If you like Gracie you'll positively love this--she's pretty much the whole show and even gets an opportunity to sing; I give this two-and-a-half tickets and would have rated the movie higher if they could have worked George into the proceedings (after all, he does have a "bit part" in the novel).
	"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director So many DVDs...so little time...

Whatcha Watchin' · Balcony Banter