Catching Up with Quelle (6)

Celebrities in my town - I helped break a local news story that a scene from the HBO movie Clear History (2014) was being filmed in my town. Not only that the location was a block away from where I live. The film will star Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Jon Hamm (OMG), Kate Hudson and more. It's being directed by Larry David and he's the only celebrity anyone saw.

Another pair of celebrities in my town - Laurel and Hardy!

My town has a Halloween parade every year. That's right. A Halloween parade. And each year I see this miniature car with two guys pretending to be Laurel and Hardy. I always miss taking a picture of them but I got one this year!

TCM Classic Film Festival 2013 News - Tickets will go on sale November 15 and they haven't announced the full lineup but have revealed some of the events. There will be a gala to celebrate the restoration of the film Funny Girl (1968). I wonder if Barbra Streisand will be in attendance. Or perhaps Omar Sharif. I'd much prefer to see Omar Sharif! Other films being screened include The General (1926) with Alloy Orchestra playing live musical accompaniment, a restoration of Giant (1956)  and The Great Escape (1963). So far this is looking kind of disappointing. I have already seen the Alloy Orchestra perform, I have no interest in Funny Girl and watching newly restored brown face in Giant doesn't necessarily appeal to me. If Carroll Baker and/or Rod Taylor made an appearance, I think it would be worth going. And if James Garner attended the screening of The Great Escape that would be amazing. So far I'm not impressed. I look forward to see the full lineup which should be announced very soon.

At this point, it looks like I have a very slim chance of going. Finances are definitely a problem with my recent hospital visits and my car issues. But if the festival is truly amazing (Kirk Douglas, Olivia de Havilland or Joan Fontaine, Mickey Rooney, etc.) then I might make the sacrifice financially to go.

The Naked Prey (1966)

I remember Ginger from Asleep in New York raving about Cornel Wilde and dreaming about him in the buff. And in an episode of Mad Men, Don Draper is asked if he has seen The Naked Prey (1966). It's mentioned that Cornel Wilde is mostly naked in the film. Both of those nudity references got my interest piqued.

The Naked Prey (1966) is directed by Cornel Wilde who also stars in the film. He plays "the man" a nameless Westerner who is put in a very difficult situation. His colleague refuses to give a tribe a gift for their leader. This stirs their ire and their whole group, including members of another African tribe, are humiliated, tortured and killed. They leave Cornel Wilde's Man for last.

He's stripped down to nothing and released. He gets a head start but that's it. After a little while, a group of men from the tribe hunt him down like the naked prey he is.

I was both horrified by the story and impressed with Cornel Wilde's performance. I don't really see the appeal of  watching Cornel Wilde naked on screen. He had a very fit body but given the circumstances of the story I just felt bad for him. No lust involved! In fact, I really just wanted to give him water and food.

The theme of predator versus prey holds the story together as the man continues to elude the tribal men who hunt him down. The man witnesses snakes killing birds, lions killing antelopes, and one tribe killing another tribe. It's interesting to watch how resourceful both prey and predator become in the game of life. The tricks both the man and his hunters develop in order to achieve their goal.

I highly admire Cornel Wilde for taking on such a project. There is very little dialogue, conditions must have been harsh and the work was very taxing on his body. I've read that he was ill during the filming and that at one point he was bitten by a snake. Also to expose his body like that, to both the elements and to film audiences, must have taken a lot of courage.

 For me the hardest scene to watch was the stock footage of the elephants being shot down one by one. I also had a difficult time watching the captured men being tortured in various inhumane ways. The story was originally about Native Americans and took place in North America. However, the South African government gave the filmmakers an incentive to work on their land so the story was changed to suit the setting.




The movie is available on DVD from Criterion. You can rent it from Netflix. I recommend at least one viewing of this! It's quite a remarkable film.

Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) on the big screen

Last Wednesday I got the chance to see Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) on the big screen courtesy of TCM and NCM Fathom Events. I had never seen these films and it was a treat for Halloween that's for sure.

Before the films were screened, there was an intro with Robert Osborne. They also showed footage of Osborne's interview with Bela Lugosi Jr., Boris Karloff's daughter Sara Karloff and renowned film make-up artist Dick Smith. This was my favorite part! I loved to hear what they had to say about Lugosi and Karloff and about the history of horror films. And I find solidarity in the fact that they avoid contemporary horror films too. I avoid them like the plague and much appreciate suggestion and suspense to gore, torture p-rn and jump scares.

The movies were fun to watch but overall I had a difficult time. I didn't appreciate the laughter from the audience. I felt like they were making fun of the movies. This irked me especially since how much these films have influenced movies we watch today. Also, I have avoided the Universal monster movies for a very long time and now I understand why. They are just not my bag. I appreciate the Val Lewton films which do a lot with light, shadow and suggestion. No silly costumes or props. The makeup, hair and clothes were amazing in the Frankenstein films. I loved the sets too. But monster movies are just not for me. I do concede that they are still vastly better than any of the scary movies Hollywood produces today and that I might have enjoyed these films if I had watched them at home instead.

Sorry for what comes out to be one of the most boring posts I've ever done!

Did you go to the double feature screening of Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)? What did you think?

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!