I've Been Going to the...MOOOOvies

[kipper]

3 hours ago, Strider said:

Eric "The Kid" Stoner...because he got to hang out with Tuesday Weld and Ann-Margret.

Really, it's hard to choose. I happen to like Frank Bullitt…he got to bang Jacqueline Bisset. "Bullitt" definitely does not have a happy ending.  You're also forgetting Captain Hilts from "The Great Escape"...better pay-grade than Petty Officer Jack Holman. Henri Charriere from "Papillon" is another memorable McQueen film. And how about Thomas Crown from "The Thomas Crown Affair"? Then, there are all the great westerns Steve did, starting with "The Magnificent Seven" and his character Vin Tanner.

Steve McQueen had so many great roles and great movies, it is impossible for me to choose just one to represent him at his best.

Imagine getting to choose between Tuesday Weld, a brown eyed blonde, or Ann Margret, a green eyed brunet?  That's like having to choose between Betty or Veronica, or Ginger or Maryann.  You know you want both for different reasons. Both are like a Christmas gift under the tree, but Weld is wrapped and you have to "unwrap" to see what your are getting. While Marget you know what the gift is, it doesn't need to be unwrapped.

I always looked at Tuesday Weld like a cross between Grace Kelly and Sandra Dee.  I really dug her.

 

 

 

So if I were McQueen and they offered me the choice of Sandpebbles or Bullitt--- and I could only choose one---I think most actors would pick Sandpebbles.  There were already lots of crime drama action films in Hollywood starring many great actors of McQueen's stature. But Sandpebbles stands out as film that digs down into themes like racism, blind patriotism, nationalism, religious idealism, colonialism vs  independence and revolution... and of course man's in humanity to man. All with Jake Holeman at the center, just a guy who wants to run a steam engine to the best of his ability without being drawn into the madness around him--- but has no chance of that, and never did.  A Huckleberry Finn style of anti-hero going down a river and headed to point of certain reckoning, one way or another.

 

 

The Great Escape and The Magnificent 7 both great films, but ensemble casts where McQueen shared the stage, so I don't think of those as McQueen movies the way I do Sandpebbles or Cincinnati Kid.  I suppose we could mention The Getaway too, but I though that film was better role for MacGraw, McQueens part could have been equally satisfied with Bronson, Eastwood, or Newman.  But I don't think any other actor in Hollywood at the time could have brought to the Jake Holeman character what McQueen brought other than maybe a much younger Henry Fonda.  Something about the eyes makes a difference there.  Maybe Newman, but his shining star was Cool Hand Luke.  DAMN I wish Hollywood made films like those again!

 

 

Speaking of gambling genre films. Which of these do you think were better?

Cincinnati Kid or The Hustler?

 

 

I would pick Cincinnati Kid for the reason of Edward G. Robinson. Gleason was "the great one" but that was more of his comedy genius too me.  In the '60s if you are Bronson, Eastwood, McQueen, Heston, Hoffman, or Newman, and you get a role starring opposite of Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, or the great James Cagney..... WOW!  That had to be something special. Given that all of those were still living at the time to have been in the film.

Heston got to star in Edward G. Robinson's last film "Soylent Green".  I loved the Heston sci-fi films, but Soylent Green stands worlds apart from the rest and it is all about Edward G. Robinson's role bringing a touch of humanity to it my opinion.  Insert any other older actor there in that role and I would be hard pressed to find one equally as heavy unless it could have been Spencer Tracy maybe.  That would have been great too.

[kipper]

3 hours ago, redrum said:

Lucky Steve to act with those 2 foxes.

I had to rewind part of this to see Ford Rainey bop the Chinese guy in the head with the ax. 😄

Rainey played in so many TV shows and movies and lived almost to 100.

The Springfield rifle used in the movie. It was replaced by the Garand in WW2, but many snipers kept the Springfield for it's accuracy.

 

 

My father said the M1903 Springfield rifle was still being used in the Navy into the '50s for drilling (during basic training) and then also onboard ship as one of several weapons stowed for possible security needs. While on watch in port (Europe) they carried the  M1911 (.45ACP) "condition 4" (magazine not loaded, empty chamber).  If something came up and they needed to secure the ship, he was issued the Springfield rifle.  My assumption is that being the Navy, they didn't feel your average sailor was trained to be a rifleman the way Army infantry or Marines were, so a .30-06 bolt action would be sufficient for that purpose.

Pop said they also had the BARs just like as seen in Sandpebbles. The ship already had a few M2 Brownings (.50cal 'Ma Duece) but those were only to support beach landings or anti aircraft. The BAR was still the best choice on board ship to repel boarders up close or dissuade smaller boats coming too close---especially in a port.  Can't be wringing out a .50 cal with other ships moored nearby.  But none of that ever happened anyway. In Italy sometimes some women (prostitutes) would want to try to sneak on board (with some help) and service the sailors for a few packs of smokes, but I think even that was just some legend stuff.

  So at sea they would get to practice with the BARs, .50s, and if he was lucky one of the 20 or 40mm guns too.

Edited September 17, 2020 by kipper

[redrum]

4 hours ago, kipper said:

My father said the M1903 Springfield rifle was still being used in the Navy into the '50s for drilling (during basic training) and then also onboard ship as one of several weapons stowed for possible security needs. While on watch in port (Europe) they carried the  M1911 (.45ACP) "condition 4" (magazine not loaded, empty chamber).  If something came up and they needed to secure the ship, he was issued the Springfield rifle.  My assumption is that being the Navy, they didn't feel your average sailor was trained to be a rifleman the way Army infantry or Marines were, so a .30-06 bolt action would be sufficient for that purpose.

Pop said they also had the BARs just like as seen in Sandpebbles. The ship already had a few M2 Brownings (.50cal 'Ma Duece) but those were only to support beach landings or anti aircraft. The BAR was still the best choice on board ship to repel boarders up close or dissuade smaller boats coming too close---especially in a port.  Can't be wringing out a .50 cal with other ships moored nearby.  But none of that ever happened anyway. In Italy sometimes some women (prostitutes) would want to try to sneak on board (with some help) and service the sailors for a few packs of smokes, but I think even that was just some legend stuff.

  So at sea they would get to practice with the BARs, .50s, and if he was lucky one of the 20 or 40mm guns too.

Great stuff. Never get tired of reading stories like that.

Another fave of mine with McQueen, even though he said he didn't like it. But it was damned realistic with great studies in the mind set of criminals.

1959

[Strider]

Classic grindhouse. Also released as "They Call Her One-Eye". Daryl Hannah's inspiration for her eye-patch in "Kill Bill".

 

[redrum]

Watching 'Last Of The Mohicans' and this shot always blew me away.

[kipper]

17 minutes ago, Strider said:

Classic grindhouse. Also released as "They Call Her One-Eye". Daryl Hannah's inspiration for her eye-patch in "Kill Bill".

 

There was also another Grindhouse film in the '70s called "Switchblade Sisters" (1975)  --also sometimes released as "The Jezebels" that had a female character with an eye patch. The character actually called "Patch".   Classic teenage  exploitation bad girl gang film shot here in SoCal. 

Tarantino is a big fan of this film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kipper]

16 minutes ago, redrum said:

Watching 'Last Of The Mohicans' and this shot always blew me away.

Great film....but oh lordy... reading the book when I was in high school and I kept falling asleep. James Fenimore Cooper's writing style ain't like Mark Twain or Jack London. Kind of dry for me.

 

[redrum]

Are those the 'Dagger Debs?'

[RainbowElf]

Anyone here into the Halloween movie franchise?

[redrum]

7 hours ago, RainbowElf said:

Anyone here into the Halloween movie franchise?

Saw the first one when it first came out.

[RainbowElf]

14 hours ago, Strider said:

Classic grindhouse. Also released as "They Call Her One-Eye". Daryl Hannah's inspiration for her eye-patch in "Kill Bill".

 

Anywhere I can get this and The Switchblade Sisters?

Tried looking it up on YouTube and can’t get it.

[RainbowElf]

1 hour ago, redrum said:

Saw the first one when it first came out.

Cool, it must’ve been something back then.

 

Haddonfield Illinois is named after Haddonfield  New Jersey where John Carpenter is from.

[redrum]

9 hours ago, RainbowElf said:

Cool, it must’ve been something back then.

 

Haddonfield Illinois is named after Haddonfield  New Jersey where John Carpenter is from.

It was great on the big screen.

[kipper]

10 hours ago, RainbowElf said:

Cool, it must’ve been something back then.

 

Haddonfield Illinois is named after Haddonfield  New Jersey where John Carpenter is from.

 Most of the neighborhood scenes were filmed in South Pasadena and a few in Alhambra California.  I had a friend who lived on the street in South Pasadena where Jamie Lee Curtis' character (Laurie Strode) lived in the film.

Hollywood films many movies in this area of Southern California because of the abundance of "craftsman style California bungalow homes" in and around Pasadena, South Pasadena,  San Marino, and Alhambra, California. The High School scene was at South Pasadena High School on Freemont Ave. The elementary school where Tommy Doyle gets his pumpkin smashed by bullies is Garfield Elementary school in Alhambra on the corner of McLean and 2nd street.  The scary house where Michael Meyers once lived was on Meridian St in South Pasadena. The house was actually abandoned and vacant when they made the film, it looked haunted even before they made the movie. That house was later moved to another area of town near the train station in South Pasadena and saved. It had been slated to be torn down when a new owner bought the property to build condos.

The house where the film's climax occurs was also set to be in South Pasadena, but at the last minute the homeowners backed out so that location was moved to home of similar style to the South Pasadena neighborhood, but that house is in Hollywood on a residential street somewhere between Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd. Ironically not more than  a few blocks from a place a I worked at a few years later.

Living here in Southern California I see many locations in films which are very familiar. I'll be watching a film, and suddenly I'll say "that place looks familiar, I think I know where that is?"   And sure enough, it someplace I have seen many times. But I always laugh when they are played off in the film as being in some other state. Especially when it is supposed to be in the midwest but you can see some tall California fan palms sticking up over on the horizon in the frame of the shot.

 

 

[redrum]

31 minutes ago, kipper said:

 Most of the neighborhood scenes were filmed in South Pasadena and a few in Alhambra California.  I had a friend who lived on the street in South Pasadena where Jamie Lee Curtis' character (Laurie Strode) lived in the film.

Hollywood films many movies in this area of Southern California because of the abundance of "craftsman style California bungalow homes" in and around Pasadena, South Pasadena,  San Marino, and Alhambra, California. The High School scene was at South Pasadena High School on Freemont Ave. The elementary school where Tommy Doyle gets his pumpkin smashed by bullies is Garfield Elementary school in Alhambra on the corner of McLean and 2nd street.  The scary house where Michael Meyers once lived was on Meridian St in South Pasadena. The house was actually abandoned and vacant when they made the film, it looked haunted even before they made the movie. That house was later moved to another area of town near the train station in South Pasadena and saved. It had been slated to be torn down when a new owner bought the property to build condos.

The house where the film's climax occurs was also set to be in South Pasadena, but at the last minute the homeowners backed out so that location was moved to home of similar style to the South Pasadena neighborhood, but that house is in Hollywood on a residential street somewhere between Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd. Ironically not more than  a few blocks from a place a I worked at a few years later.

Living here in Southern California I see many locations in films which are very familiar. I'll be watching a film, and suddenly I'll say "that place looks familiar, I think I know where that is?"   And sure enough, it someplace I have seen many times. But I always laugh when they are played off in the film as being in some other state. Especially when it is supposed to be in the midwest but you can see some tall California fan palms sticking up over on the horizon in the frame of the shot.

 

 

Great story. Similar to 'Bullitt.' The beginning of the chase scene where McQueen makes the u-turn (on Army St.) and then heads up the hill towards Bernal Heights. We lived about 6 blocks from there on Mission St. The crash scene was over by Bayshore. Precita Ave. was also close by and that's where the SLA had a 'safe house.' There was also a Beatles house about a block away. But when you talk about destruction.......

All you need is love.

[redrum]

Steve hangs a u.

The hill in the background is Bernal Heights.

[redrum]

At Marina Green, north side of SF. The chase bounced all over the city because of the locations.

[kipper]

6 minutes ago, redrum said:

Great story. Similar to 'Bullitt.' The beginning of the chase scene where McQueen makes the u-turn (on Army St.) and then heads up the hill towards Bernal Heights. We lived about 6 blocks from there on Mission St. The crash scene was over by Bayshore. Precita Ave. was also close by and that's where the SLA had a 'safe house.' There was also a Beatles house about a block away. But when you talk about destruction.......

All you need is love.

It's always cool when you recognize familiar neighborhood places in films.

I have only been to SF less than the fingers on my hands during my life, but so many icons stick out there when you go from all of the films shot in SF. Same I'm sure is true for NY, and Chicago. In SF most people would spot Lombard Street right away-- and of course the bridge, but Coit Tower, the Wharf, the Panhandle, Palace of fine arts, areas in and around the Presdio, Ft. Point, Mt Davidson Cross, Alamo square, lots of spots on Haight Street,  just so many recognizable locations.

Here in SoCal / Los Angles / Hollywood  there are a couple which I always enjoy seeing in films.... many films going waaaaay back too.

1) The Bradbury Building interior in downtown Los Angeles on South Broadway

 

 

The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

 

DOA (1950)

 

Blade Runner (1982)

 

 

 

2) Crossroads of the World in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. Probably one of the first open air strip malls.

Notice the Hollywood sign up at the top of the frame. It actually says the original "Hollywoodland". The sign was part of a real estate promotion to help sell lots and homes in that upper hill area above Hollywood Blvd. The sign was never meant to be permanent.

 

 

shot from the film L.A.Confidential (1997)

[kipper]

47 minutes ago, redrum said:

Steve hangs a u.

The hill in the background is Bernal Heights.

And the signs:

Phillips 66 gasoline and I.W. Harper whisky. Blast from the past.

[Strider]

Celebrated Greta Garbo's birthday with two of her early silents.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Strider

[RainbowElf]

7 hours ago, redrum said:

It was great on the big screen.

I was only 8 years old when it came out, It's my favorite Slasher film, I see the new movie has been pushed back to Oct 2021, it was suppose to be this Oct.

[RainbowElf]

5 hours ago, kipper said:

 Most of the neighborhood scenes were filmed in South Pasadena and a few in Alhambra California.  I had a friend who lived on the street in South Pasadena where Jamie Lee Curtis' character (Laurie Strode) lived in the film.

Hollywood films many movies in this area of Southern California because of the abundance of "craftsman style California bungalow homes" in and around Pasadena, South Pasadena,  San Marino, and Alhambra, California. The High School scene was at South Pasadena High School on Freemont Ave. The elementary school where Tommy Doyle gets his pumpkin smashed by bullies is Garfield Elementary school in Alhambra on the corner of McLean and 2nd street.  The scary house where Michael Meyers once lived was on Meridian St in South Pasadena. The house was actually abandoned and vacant when they made the film, it looked haunted even before they made the movie. That house was later moved to another area of town near the train station in South Pasadena and saved. It had been slated to be torn down when a new owner bought the property to build condos.

The house where the film's climax occurs was also set to be in South Pasadena, but at the last minute the homeowners backed out so that location was moved to home of similar style to the South Pasadena neighborhood, but that house is in Hollywood on a residential street somewhere between Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd. Ironically not more than  a few blocks from a place a I worked at a few years later.

Living here in Southern California I see many locations in films which are very familiar. I'll be watching a film, and suddenly I'll say "that place looks familiar, I think I know where that is?"   And sure enough, it someplace I have seen many times. But I always laugh when they are played off in the film as being in some other state. Especially when it is supposed to be in the midwest but you can see some tall California fan palms sticking up over on the horizon in the frame of the shot.

 

 

Very cool Kipper, my girls grandma live in San Diego.

[Strider]

19 hours ago, RainbowElf said:

Anywhere I can get this and The Switchblade Sisters?

Tried looking it up on YouTube and can’t get it.

I've had the dvds for both since they came out. Synapse released their limited edition uncensored dvd of "Thriller: A Cruel Picture" (1973) in 2004. It is now out of print but you can probably find used copies on Amazon or ebay, although they may be $50 and up.

As for "Switchblade Sisters" (1975), Miramax released the dvd under Tarantino's imprint back in 2000.  It still seems to be in print as Amazon has them at retail price...$29.99.

Good luck!

[Strider]

6 hours ago, redrum said:

Great story. Similar to 'Bullitt.' The beginning of the chase scene where McQueen makes the u-turn (on Army St.) and then heads up the hill towards Bernal Heights. We lived about 6 blocks from there on Mission St. The crash scene was over by Bayshore. Precita Ave. was also close by and that's where the SLA had a 'safe house.' There was also a Beatles house about a block away. But when you talk about destruction.......

All you need is love.

Well, yeah, but the difference is that "Bullitt" wasn't trying to sell San Francisco as another location. "Bullitt" was very clear about it taking place in San Francisco and using real San Francisco locations. 

What kipper was explaining was the common feeling all Los Angeles natives have when we see Hollywood passing Los Angeles and its locations off as other cities and countries. 

For many years I kept a list of every time I noticed a Los Angeles location being used for somewhere else in a movie. I'll have to try and dig it up. As kipper has posted above, The Bradbury Building was a favourite for many filmmakers. Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead and the Malibu and Santa Monica Canyons were also popular stand-ins for other places.

[RainbowElf]

The Godfather movies this weekend, except maybe not the third part as it sucks and I can’t stand to see Francis daughter as Michael Corleon’s daughter as she can’t act for shit.