By David in TN
friday, september 1, 2023 at 11:22:00 p.m. edt
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week returns after a month-long hiatus with Mel Ferrer’s The Secret Fury (1950) with Claudette Colbert, Robert Ryan, and Paul “Killer” Kelly Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET.
[N.S.: I added “Killer,” because Paul Kelly was a real-life murderer!]
Film Noir Guide: “Poor Claudette Colbert—on the verge of madness again (see Sleep, My Love). This time it’s because somebody speaks up at her wedding and announces that she’s already married. That’s enough to send any girl to the nuthouse.
“Ryan, the wannabe groom, stands by his woman through it all. Mostly boring stuff, but you might find it interesting to see 45-year-old Colbert portraying a blushing bride. Keep your eyes open for Jose Ferrer at a jam session.”
[N.S.: Jose and Mel Ferrer were not related.]
David in TN: Eddie Muller has said he will for the rest of 2023 show movies not previously on Film Noir of the Week. The series is in its seventh year on TCM.
[N.S.: When’s Red Eddie’s contract running out?]
JIMMY BUFFET DRINKS HIS LAST MARGARITA ;DIES AT 76
ReplyDeleteNEW YORK (AP) — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specific cause of death
“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not u
FILE - Jimmy Buffett performs at his sister's restaurant in Gulf Shores, Ala., on June 30, 2010. “Margaritaville” singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died at age 76. A statement on Buffett's official website and social media pages says the singer died Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 “surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs”. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
Jimmy Buffett’s laid-back party vibe created adoring ‘Parrotheads’ and success beyond music
The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil. The singer has a new tattoo, a likely hangover and regrets over a lost love. Somewhere there is a misplaced salt shaker.
“What seems like a simple ditty about getting blotto and mending a broken heart turns out to be a profound meditation on the often painful inertia of beach dwelling,” Spin magazine wrote in 2021. “The tourists come and go, one group indistinguishable from the other. Waves crest and break whether somebody is there to witness it or not. Everything that means anything has already happened and you’re not even sure when.”
The song — from the album “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” — spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 8. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over.
GRA:Also a minor hit with "Come Monday" in 1974,which I liked better than "Margaritaville".
--GRA
Tonight (Sunday) I watched The Secret Fury. It was hard going, considered it the silliest movie I'd ever seen on TCM. When it came to the conclusion, it was worse than that. Every adjective applies: ridiculous, implausible, idiotic, etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteEven Red Eddie Muller in his outro ridiculed it in similar terms, but being Eddie he had to say, "Wasn't it fun?" By the way, in his intro Eddie referred to Paul "Killer" Kelly as an "ex-con."
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956) with Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, Nehemiah Persoff.
ReplyDeleteFilm Noir Guide: "Fonda, a bass player at New York's Stork Club, is identified as the holdup man who has been robbing local business establishments. Stone is the detective who traps Fonda by having him duplicate a note written by the real stickup man--his printing is similar and he misspells the same word. Quayle is the sympathetic attorney whose faith in the unfortunate musician compensates for his inexperience."
"Fonda's wife (Miles) stands by her man until she cracks under the pressure and winds up a zombie in a mental institution. Persoff plays Fonda's brother-in-law, who puts up the seven thousand dollar bail money."
"Based on a true story, The Wrong Man is a bleak tale that may be too much for some sensitive viewers to sit through--it's that depressing and seemingly hopeless. Despite the almost unbelievable coincidences that have to take place for the story to work, Hitchcock, in his opening narration, swears it's all true. Fonda gives a standout, low-key performance, and Miles is sensational as his neurotic, guilt-ridden wife."
David In TN: Eddie Muller finally has a Classic. While "based on a true story," there was more evidence to clear him than in the movie. The events took place in 1953 and was filmed in May 1956. Note how a subway trip from the 5th Avenue Subway station (per IMDB) to 7420 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights Queens looked after midnight 67 years ago. The restaurant where Fonda has breakfast was at the same address as the subway station.
The home of Manny and Rose Ballestrero was (per IMDB) at 78th Street Jackson Heights. In 1956 a White working class family could live there. According to Wikipedia White Flight started soon after.