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Post by monica on Aug 7, 2011 3:23:44 GMT -5
Today's movie for discussion is The Spy in Black. Connie plays the role of Captain Hardt - a man who must decide between love and duty - and duty is the one he chooses in the end. The movie was very successful - taking into consideration that it was released in 1939, the year WWII began. Conrad's partner here is Valerie Hobson - at the beginning of her career. The Spy in Black was highly advertised in England, where people were invited to find "the spy in black" - the same recipe that 20 years ago was used to promote The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ("You must become Caligari!"). Otherwise, the movie is not an unusual spy film, and Connie's character, at first, wasn't the protagonist, because the girl was the main character. As Powell and Pressburger convinced Connie to accept to appear in another spy film (the previous ones being I Was a Spy and Dark Journey, both very successful), they changed a little bit more the script and made him the hero of this motion picture. Connie returned to England with this good movie, after almost two years of absence, a difficult period, in which he refused to make any more movie roles (that were not suitable for him), taking, instead, two interesting roles in less successful French movies. The Spy in Black is one of Connie's best-known movies, so any further comments about the plot of this motion picture are useless. Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 7, 2011 21:54:08 GMT -5
Find the spy in black? What was that all about? A contest maybe?
Through the wonders of YouTube I have seen the Spy in Black. I even have a playlist done up so I can see the entire movie without having to stop and click the next part. The list does it for me.
What I find amazing about that film is that, while watching it, I was routing for both sides. I didn't take the usual Britain good, German bad attitude I usually do when watching a war picture. The characters on both sides have my sympathy.
I really love the scene where Captain Hardt is considerate enough of his crew that when he returns from being in England to give a report on how the mission is going, he brings them back a pound of butter which they have not had in Germany for a year or more.
Just 16 more days until the big day!
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Post by monica on Aug 8, 2011 3:42:17 GMT -5
Today we are discussing about Whistling in the Dark, one of Connie's very few comedy films. He co-starred with Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford and the beautiful Virginia Grey (there are some sequences in the film where is visible Connie's sympathy towards this young, charming lady, like in the screencap I am posting below). Connie is again the "bad guy" who must be punished by the end of the film. Whistling in the Dark was the first among the series of similar motion pictures in which Skelton appeared. Still, despite Conrad's presence, the film didn't do well at the box office, and it was considered Conrad's worst movie in Hollywood. The comic scenes are sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre, but all in all it's an enjoyable and entertaining movie. Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 8, 2011 20:07:46 GMT -5
I agree it's an entertaining film up to a point. The scene where Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Gray are trying to communicate with the outside by turning the radio in the room where they are trapped into a 2 way radio set starts out clever but then gets downright ridiculous after a while. I realize they were probably trying to make Red Skelton look like the McGuyver of the 1940's and the concept was quite clever but I don't think the writers handled that scene very well. I honestly believe the dialog could have been less silly than it was.
Maybe they were looking to have the audience in the theater rolling in the aisles with laughter. I hope it worked in that method of performance. It seems to have been lost on me, watching it alone on a television set.
I just could not take the scene anymore after awhile so I turned the movie off and erased it off my DVRs hard drive so I have no idea how Connie gets punished in the end. I shall have to give "Whistling in the Dark" another try when it shows this time.
I like how you referred to this as being one of Connie's few comedy films. I had a dream once that I was watching TCM and they were showing three newly discovered Conrad Veidt films and during the introduction to the first of the films, Robert Osborne was saying "This next film we're going to see stars Conrad Veidt in a rare comedy appearance. . ." It would be interesting to see if those are the very words he uses to introduce "Whistling".
Only a single fortnight to go friends and neighbors. 15 short days until the world (according to TCM) gives our Connie what he is due! ;D
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Post by monica on Aug 9, 2011 5:19:38 GMT -5
Today we are discussing about a superior Conrad Veidt film made in Hollywood. Escape is one of my favourites, and Norma Shearer is excellent here, too. The handsome Robert Taylor does a fine job in this Mervyn LeRoy production, after working also in another LeRoy picture, Waterloo Bridge, with Vivien Leigh. So, Connie plays here the role of the Nazi General, and the famous Nazimova is his victim. Her son, Mr. Preysing (Taylor) wants to rescue her before she is executed, and he is helped by the Countess (Shearer), who is involved in a romantic liaison with the General. Another great actor who appears here is Albert Basserman, an idol among the German moviegoers. He appeared with Connie also in A Woman's Face, but also in the German classic Lucrezia Borgia. All in all, Escape is an excellent MGM motion picture and Connie's very first talkie in Hollywood! Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 9, 2011 21:25:13 GMT -5
2 weeks from today! Only 14 more days to go until Connie Day on TCM! "Escape" is another movie of Connie's I have never seen but am looking forward to viewing for the first time. I read the plot synopsis on IMDB.com once and I found it highly ironic. I wonder how Connie felt reading the script. A famous stage personality deemed by the Nazi party to be an enemy and so as punishment the order goes out for this stage personality to be killed. I wonder? Who's story does that sound like? I will say I also find intriguing that video Monique has up on her YouTube channel showing the two different ways the confrontational scene between Connie and Norma Shearer was played out. It is interesting to see the same exact set of words but how different a set of scenes they can paint when the actors reciting them use different inflections or different stresses at various points in the dialog. Of course we can all judge for ourselves below:
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Post by monica on Aug 10, 2011 4:43:54 GMT -5
A Woman's Face is another great Conrad Veift film made in Hollywood. Co-starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas, this drama was directed by the excellent director George Cukor. Of his evil role here, Connie said "I am Lucifer in a tuxedo". Connie certainly deserved an Oscar for his role as the cruel Torsten Barring, who intends to manipulate Anna Holm to kill his little nephew, the heir of the family's assets. This movie might be shocking to some of us, because Anna undergoes an aesthetic surgery, after she was disfigured in jail. A very good doctor (Douglas) helps her regain her beauty and he falls in love with this strange woman, who changes for completely physically and psychologically throughout the entire movie. A Woman's Face is a must-see for any fan of Conrad and Joan, who both deserved an Academy Award! Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 10, 2011 22:01:18 GMT -5
I will second that!!
I acutally bought the entire boxed set of Joan Crawford Movies, Vol. 2 for no other reason than it was the only way I could get "A Woman's Face" and I wanted to see it that badly.
I think Connie's quote about his character is cute! That was one of the reasons I wanted to see this film so very much. I wanted to see what Connie was like playing Lucifer. Of course, it would take nothing less than Lucifer to want to kill such a darling little boy as Lars Erik.
This was also very helpful regarding your comment yesterday about Albert Basserman. I read that name and thought "Who??" but then you mentioned he played with Connie in "A Woman's Face" and once I looked him up on IMDB.com and found out the character he played I knew who he was immediately.
I was also surprised to see Marjorie Main in this film. I would not figure her for playing anything else but an American character. I guess I've got her too typecast as Ma Kettle (Sorry, Marj, but I do) althought she did do an supurb job as Counsel Barring's housemaid.
And only 13 days left until the Grand Event on TCM! I hope everyone is getting their DVR's hard drive cleared out and ready!
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Post by monica on Aug 11, 2011 4:03:08 GMT -5
The Hands of Orlac, today's silent film for discussion, was directed by Robert Wiene (who also directed The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). Released in 1924, this silent film was a shock to the audiences, because it was more like a psychological thriller. Connie played the role of a pianist who has his hands amputated after a train accident. He later finds out that his hands were replaced with the hands of a criminal, and begins to feel himself acting like a criminal. The movie is very complicated, and the ending is very surprising - almost incredible, I would say. Conrad co-stars with Alexandra Sorina, who plays the role of his lovely and devoted wife. Connie was excellent in this movie, giving one of his finest performances in his entire career. Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 11, 2011 22:02:39 GMT -5
I remember watching the movie in full on YouTube. There's a part where the wife is reading a letter from Orlac saying that one more night on tour and he will be home. How he can't wait be back with her and to feel her with his loving hands and I'm thinking 'Well! We can certainly tell this film was made pre-Hayes Committee, now can't we!'
I think the special effects in this movie were very well done, especially the scenes where Connie's in the hospital. I very, very much like the scene where Connie and the doctor are out on the Veranda of the hospital and the doctor is telling Connie that the operation went well and there is no reason these new hands should not work as well as his original ones then you see Connie put his hands on his lap and try a series of keyboard fingerings. I think this is a very tender scene with some very good shots of Connie's hands - I mean his real ones!
The ending was very spectacular although if I were making the film there is one minor aspect of the whole scenario I would have changed but I didn't make the film so there's no need to worry about it.
This movie is very significant to those of us who are Peter Lorre fans as well. "The Hands of Orlac" was remade as a talking picture in 1935 entitled "Mad Love" starring Peter Lorre as Dr. Gogol, Frances Drake as Yvonne Orlac and Colin Clive as Steven Orlac. Most of the same elements from the original were kept in the re-make with the exception of the addition of the Dr. Gogol character who performs the surgery of the replacement of the hands at the pleading of Yvonne Orlac whom Dr. Gogol is madly (and I do mean madly) in love.
12 more days!
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Post by monica on Aug 12, 2011 3:25:30 GMT -5
Today's movie for discussion is Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad. It is considered the definitive masterpiece among the Arabian Nights stories ever put on the screen. Conrad plays the role of the Vizier, and this evil role fit him again to perfection. He co-stars with Rex Ingram (in the role of the Djinni), Miles Malleson (who also contributed to the writing of the script), the famous Indian actor Sabu, and with the less known actors John Justin and June Duprez. The filmings lasted for one year, even WWII started and they didn't finish making the scenes - in fact, the entire year of 1939 was dedicated to the filming of this successful motion picture, that earned 3 Academy Awards - Best Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. The movie was made in Technicolor and impressed the audiences over the time. A true classic of 1940, for people of all generations. Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 12, 2011 15:27:01 GMT -5
I remember watching this movie with my father in 2002 and when Connie came on the screen I said to him "Dad, who is that actor? The one playing Jafar. I know him from someplace."
My dad said "I don't know, honey but you're right I've seen him before but I can't place the name right now."
So the two of us went on for the next half hour trying to figure out who "that actor" was before we finally gave up without success. I suppose I was so used to seeing Connie in Western garb that you put him in anything else and he was lost to me.
This the part, though, that really puts me in admiration of Connie's talent. This bit of casting was an incredible long shot. You've got a guy with a German accent playing an Arab and Connie makes it work! If the inconsistency is at all notice in the beginning, it is very quickly forgotten as you get swept up in Connie's interpretation of Jafar.
I think but for that, this movie would have ended up in the ranks of "so bad it's good" films that people like to watch and make fun of as their watching, like the Sinbad movies made in the 1950's. I credit Connie's performance with keeping this movie from sinking into those depths.
11 days more until we see the proof of this and Connie's other magnificent performances!
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Post by monica on Aug 12, 2011 17:10:53 GMT -5
You didn't recognize Connie? Perhaps owing to the turban and the make-up ;D
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Post by monica on Aug 13, 2011 4:01:57 GMT -5
The next movie we are discussing about is Connie's best known movie in the USA, the top motion picture of 1942 Casablanca. He played here the role of Major Strasser and despite having a small role (not a minor role!), Connie was again excellent. I admit that seeing him for the first time with moustache and evidently older, it was a little bit difficult for me to recognize him, as this was also the first movie I ever saw with him. The cast of Casablanca is excellent - only big names: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, and also a frequent partner of Bogart's, Syndey Greenstreet. Connie was, obviously, perfect in this cult picture of all-great actors, and he contributed to the special and unique atmosphere of this exotic, romantic, glamorous, thrilling, at times dangerous movie, that fascinated millions of moviegoers over the years. Attachments:
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Post by Mary Ellen Byrne on Aug 13, 2011 21:00:01 GMT -5
Casablanca was certainly the very first film that I ever say Connie in. I have noticed over the years, if you look very closely at Strasser, he has such a depraved, animal look in his eyes especially in the scene where he is interrogating Lazlo. I really think Connie was at the height of his powers as Strasser. You will remember that in the dream I once had of what might have happened to Connie if he'd lived, I said that he was asked in an interview towards the end of the war if it bothered him that he would always be remembered by the American audience as a Nazi. Connie's response (in so many words) was that he did not mind be remembered as a Nazi so long as the world and history remembered Nazis and never let them get so powerful ever again. If his portrayal of Nazis helps to accomplish this, he would consider his mission in this world fulfilled and could die a happy man. Even though, in reality, Connie died before any such interview could have been conducted and no such question every asked of him, I think Connie's answer does exist in his portrayal of Strasser. 10 more days to! Can you believe it!
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