Recent content by NattyLud

1940 seems to have been a banner year for loud checked pants, at least in the funnies. What also strikes me is the overwhelming marketing content on display. I used to think this went into high gear later toward the 50s when industry and returning officers energies were refocused on domestic...

These pieces by W. E. Hill are just fantastic studies in expression, thanks for sharing. Although, I must protest--there is no such thing as "too much" chocolate cream pie.

Speaking of cultural changes and Bond movies, I have recently tried to watch a few installments since they appeared on netflx. I hadn't seen them since I was much younger and remember having loved them. Now, I find them nauseating and I couldn't make it through. Similar to re-watching the Indy...

Strangers on a Train - Which I had seen previously probably several decades ago. Entertaining, and Robert Walker's creepy stalker with panache is just pure fun. Farley Granger and/or his character is somewhat of a letdown as being a bit too wooden and childlike.

Wicked as They Come (1956) Woman with insatiable appetites climbs through a succession of progressively wealthier and gullible men. Almost campy plotting leading to typical '50s-style comeuppance which is marred by a clumsy quasi-redemptive ending. Still, fun and solidly produced.

I just happen to have watched this tonight on Netflix. It is syrupy, sentimental, formulaic, squeaky-clean cinema, but I loved it. The sets, the costumes, the colors, all magnificent. Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney are just gorgeous. Not a hint of cynicism or the lowbrow gutter comedy that a...

Regarding HoJo's-- one of my most missed things to have disappeared would certainly be the lounge--and the popularity of lounging. Places designed with a focus on hanging out, with or without food or drink. Today's restaurants and bars don't cover it-- too single-purposed, not relaxed, certainly...

I am sorry to hear this. I had gone through a similar thing a few years ago. The patterns of her behaviors and those of your friend/acquaintance are very familiar and reveal someone who was unhappy and looking to rationalize and deflect their own betrayal by trying to turn you into a bad guy...

The shuffle and click-clack of people walking in leather-soled shoes.

I watched Chaplin's "A Dog's Life", "The Rink" and "The Kid" this weekend. Just how good Chaplin's blend of pathos and silly humor hits you doesn't really need another explaination, but I have to mention it anyway. That bit at the opening of Dog's Life with him rolling back and forth under the...

What if Hitler was himself a time-traveller on a [very poorly planned] mission to kill others who in some alternate future caused the annihilation of mankind?

A Face in the Crowd was one of the most profound movie watching experiences for me. I don't like the idea of Hollywood product making more of an impression on me other than as superficial entertainment, but this was one film that had me reeling for days after seeing it as a teenager. My naive...

As much as I love film, it is so tough to make a list; there's too many that I like and my favorites among them are always changing. So some notables in roughly chronological order-- City Lights It Happened One Night Laura Double Indemnity Fallen Angel (1945) Bicycle Thieves Carrie (1952) The...

This all makes sense, they needed to cut through and hold the audience--and it works. I listened to a 1969 Vin Scully broadcast for comparison, and while he is slightly less strident, still has that quality. Listening to Ned Martin in 1975, that approach seems to be nearly gone--perhaps that's...

Someone here might have an answer... in old films and I believe radio as well, we often hear announcers and performers with much higher-pitched voices than we typically hear now. I wonder, was this some result of the medium, or did people more often talk in a higher pitch?