A Rogues' Gallery: Off the Record Encounters with Figures of Fame, Folly and Fun 1950-2000: 1950/2000
Book
A Rogues' Gallery is a journey through the past half-century, charting the ups and downs of leading...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Tales From the Crypt (1972) in Movies
Sep 11, 2020
The Plot: In the film, five strangers (Joan Collins, Ian Hendry, Robin Phillips, Richard Greene and Nigel Patrick) in a crypt encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), who makes each person in turn relive the manner of their death.
Milton Subotsky of Amicus Productions had long been a fan of EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt and eventually persuaded his partner Max Rosenberg to buy the rights. The copyright owner, William Gaines, insisted on script approval. The budget of £170,000 was higher than usual for an Amicus production, and was partly funded by American International Pictures. Peter Cushing was originally offered the part played by Richard Greene, but wanted to try something different and played the elderly Grimsdyke instead.
And All Through the House, Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were all somewhat remade into episodes for the Tales From the Crypt television show. Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were both changed.
I love the fourth wall breaking in this film and The House That Dripped Blood. Talking to you the viewer.
Its a great film, but a better tv series.
Women's Libation!: Cocktails to Celebrate a Woman's Right to Booze
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he perfect mix of punny humor, feminist verve, and practical instruction, Women's Libation! is a...
Food and drink history gender studies
Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era
Book
James Bawden: Seeing the way people behave when they're around you, is it still fun being Cary...
Awkwafina recommended Saving Face (2005) in Movies (curated)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Rope (1948) in Movies
Nov 15, 2018
And, darn it all, if he doesn't pull it off.
The film starts off with a murder, we see two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) strangling their "inferior" friend. They then decide to hold a dinner party to see if anyone can tell that they have committed murder. Included in this party is the dead friend's girlfriend (Joan Chandler), his father (Sir Cedrick Hardwicke) and their old school teacher (James Stewart).
The fun of this film isn't "will they get caught", it's "how will they get caught - and by who". The cast is wonderful (especially Hardwicke) but they all take a back seat to the absolute stellar performance of Stewart who begins to piece together that something is amiss and turns the tide on the two murderers.
The real star of this film is Director HItchock and his camera. Since he decided to make this in one long take, it took a master of organization and logistics to pull this off, having stagehands move furniture and walls out of the way (and back in again) as the camera moved around. In 1948, a camera could only hold 10 minutes worth of film, so the "one long take" aspect of this is a trick, as it is really 8 takes with strategic timing of camera movements behind walls and backs to give the illusion of seamlessness.
The interesting thing of this "trick" is that you are totally at the control of what Hitchock wants you to see (and not see). There is a scene about 1/2 way through the film that completely ignores the action and the people in the scene and focuses on the trunk the body is in. It is a masterwork, and the tension of keeping your focus there throughout the course of this part of the film is scary, tense and mesmerizing.
One last thing, Hitchock makes a cameo in every one of his films. Try to tell where Hitch is in this film (and, no, it is not as someone walking by the apartment at the beginning of the movie).
Not one of Hitchock's best, plotwise, but one of his best, camera-wise. Well worth checking out.
Letter Grade A-
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
How Evolution Shapes Our Lives: Essays on Biology and Society
Jonathan B. Losos and Richard E. Lenski
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It is easy to think of evolution as something that happened long ago, or that occurs only in...
Heart Berries: A Memoir
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Michael Foreman: An Illustrated Life
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Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible
Parnell Hall, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Verena Rose and Rita Owen
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The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie...