Posts by nordy

Wow. The chemistry in this shot amazes. Who said Duke couldn't be sexy?

Quote from ethanedwards

RIP Doris

Doris Lessing was one of the most profound and provacitive writers of our time. She leaves a huge body of literature that will live on.

Is this the only movie in which Duke played a character named Pat?

Nothing. I just liked her better in better movies.

Quote from wtrayah

By far the WORST MOVIE he ever made!

Duke did a huge number of movies of great variation in quality. Some of them were pretty bad. This one is beyond bad. The plot is ridiculous--a female Russian pilot in 1957? It's also utterly predictable. Of course Janet Leigh will fall for Duke. While I'm fine with romance, this film isn't about romance. It's about ogling Janet Leigh. What a dog.

Quote from wtrayah

By far the WORST MOVIE he ever made!

Duke did a huge number of movies of great variation in quality. Some of them were pretty bad. This one is beyond bad. The plot is ridiculous--a female Russian pilot in 1957? It's also utterly predictable. Of course Janet Leigh will fall for Duke. While I'm fine with romance, this film isn't about romance. It's about ogling Janet Leigh. What a dog.

Quote from wtrayah

Of those five universal films , this is probably the weakest one of the bunch. Could have done without the dopey brother and the monkey. Its OK, but that's all I can give it.

9o
Hi there Deputy,

I agree with your critique as far as it goes. The always-in-trouble kid brother was supposed to be funny and wasn't. However weak the movie was, it was part of a deal that got Duke out of the Bs, even though the film is no more than an A-. Thus it also demonstrates that Duke could act in other roles besides Western good guy. It also shows better acting than the B movies did. As a film it's a dog--I find the racist treatment of the Arabs especially obnoxious--but it's interesting as a case study in the evolution of Duke's acting.

Quote from chester7777

While the availability box on IMDb indicates that this movie is not available in any format (the box is sponsored by Amazon), we found it at Hollywood's Attic, although it is only available on VHS.

I have not yet seen this movie, so cannot offer any other comments about it.

Chester

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I have it on DVD. Got it on eBay. Good luck.

nordy

I've seen Thornton in a lot of roles. He was never a star, just a good, solid character--the kind that holds the movie industry together. Good-bye to a trouper.

Just watched High Noon. One of the best movies I've ever seen in any genre. It's all about people making choices when the stakes are life and death.

Cooper acting knocked my socks off. He's in almost every scene, understated but powerful.

I know Duke objected to Cooper's throwing his badge in the dirt at the movie's end. Given everything that happened before, it made sense to me.

We went 48 days without rain, which almost broke a record. Rainless in Seattle.

Fall is near. I can smell it.

The last Western I watched is the Cowboys. I was discussing it on another thread. When I turned on AMC, it was just starting.

I liked the movie, though I didn't like seeing Duke die. But it didn't have the profound effect on me that it had on other posters.

Is it just me or have a huge number of prominent people died recently?

Probably me. The older you get, the more you notice death.

Finally cooled down after two days of unbearable 93-degree heat. No one has air conditioning in Seattle. They had to set up "cooling stations."

Factoid: Washington is the only state in which temperatures were "below average" this year.

Quote from Hawkswill

Very true there Nordy. I still cried in both and wished that they didn't have to kill him off. Guess neither would have made such an impact if they didn't, though! KPKEITH

I've done my share of weeping too. But if the deaths are tragedies, they are not tragedies without meaning.

"The Cowboys" and "Sands of Iwo Jima" have little in common on the surface except that Duke's character dies in both. However, Duke has done essentially the same thing in both films: taken young boys and turned them into men. What eases the tragedy is that Duke has completed his central task.

Thanks to him, the men can carry on without him.

Thanks so much for posting these. I've never seen the Musketeers series, so am looking forward to viewing that.

Quote from BatjacAuburn

If you haven't read the book that it is based on I would commend it to you. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The movie was pretty faithful to the book but I have probably re-read the book a dozen times because it is so well written and like William Faulkner once wrote, "Maybe this time, we'll get over that wall."

Yes, I have read The Killer Angels, more than once. Great book that doesn't flinch at the horrors of the Civil War.

Quote from Dooley

Doing Gettysburg on Blu ray. Splitting my viewing to events on the relevant day so watched the 1st of July section yesterday and 2nd of July section after midnight. Works quite well as its so long each section takes almost a day to watch!
really enjoying it, once I got past the dubious facial hair: Blu ray doesn't take any prisoners so they're even more laughable in places.

So true, Dooley. Tom Berenger as Gen. Longstreet was especially comical in the bad facial hair department. With the movie this long, couldn't they have timed the filming to let the actors grow actual beards.

It's still a great movie. The best part IMO is Union Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain on Little Round Top. No ammo left? Fix bayonets and charge!

Quote from Dooley

It's well worth it if you enjoy the Duke's films and watch them repeatedly.
The Rio Lobo transfer is fantastic, so much so that it actually added lots to the viewing pleasure. No mean feat as the film isn't one of the Duke's best.

I must agree with you on Rio Lobo. I'd never seen it until a few days ago, when it showed up on local TV. Walter Brennan was great, the rest of the cast was barely believable and really miscast. Nor is Duke exactly putting his all into the performance.