Sterling Silver Dialogue #5

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big."

(reply) "I am big. It's the pictures that got small."

(response) "Uh huh, I knew there was something wrong with them." 

"I'm not an executive, just a writer."

(reply) "You are? Writing words, words, more words! Well, you've made a rope of words and strangled this business: A-ha! But there's a microphone right there to catch the last gurgle, and Technicolor to photograph the red, swollen tongue!"

"Roger O. Thornhill. What does the O stand for?"

(reply) "Nothing." 

"Now wait a minute you listen to me: I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders dependent upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed." 

"It shrinks my liver, doesn't it, Nat? It pickles my kidneys, yes. But what does it do to my mind? It tosses the sandbags overboard so the balloon can soar. Suddenly I'm above the ordinary. I'm competent, supremely competent. I'm walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. I'm one of the great ones. I'm Michelangelo, molding the beard of Moses. I'm Van Gogh, painting pure sunlight. I'm Horowitz, playing the Emperor Concerto. I'm John Barrymore before the movies got him by the throat. I'm Jesse James and his two brothers, all three of 'em. I'm W. Shakespeare. And out there it's not Third Avenue any longer, it's the Nile, Nat. The Nile and down it moves the barge of Cleopatra. Come here: Purple the sails, and so perfumed that the winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver, which to the tune of flutes kept stroke..."

(After getting the drink orders from his guests he turns to his wife) "Martha?... Rubbing alcohol for you?" 

“I'd like to say I didn’t intend to kill her, but when you have a gun, you always intend when you have to…”

"And as for going around with you, I still pick my own gutters."

"You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won't have it! Is that clear?! You think you've merely stopped a business deal! That is not the case! The Arabs have taken billions of dollars out of this country, and now they must put it back! It is ebb and flow, tidal gravity! It is ecological balance! You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems. One vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petrodollars, Electro-Dollars, MultiDollars, Reichmarks, RINs, Rubles, Pounds, and Shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today. That is the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today! And you have meddled with the primal forces of nature! And YOU. WILL. ATONE!  Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale? You get up on your little twenty-one inch screen and howl about America and democracy. There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today. What do you think the Russians talk about in their councils of state, Karl Marx? They get out their linear programming charts, statistical decision theories, mini-max solutions and compute the price-cost probabilities of their transactions and investments, just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business, Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of the slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that... perfect world... in which there's no war or famine, oppression or brutality. One vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock. All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquillized, all boredom amused. And I have chosen... you, Mr. Beale, to preach this evangel." 

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #5 are here.

Hidden Gems #4

Hidden Gem #40: Big Business (1929, U.S.A.)

Director: J. Wesley Horne (Supervising Director: Leo McCarey)

Laurel and Hardy, the "go to" specialists in hilarious tit for tat types of confrontations, were graced with a special distinction in this early silent short, namely the duo's innocent attempt at retrieving an unwanted Christmas tree (inadvertently caught in a potential customer's slammed door) that begins the slow buildup to its brilliantly staged Armageddon.

Hidden Gem #39: One Froggy Evening (1955, U.S.A.)

Director: Chuck Jones

Over half a century later this outrageously funny Warner Bros. classic is still the king of animation; plus it even manages to spread a profound message about greed over its 7 minute running time.

Hidden Gem #38: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs a.k.a. Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki (1960, Japan)

Director: Mikio Naruse

This surprisingly prolific director's name is hardly recognised compared to the other masters of a simple, more personal style of Japanese cinematic storytelling (namely Ozu, Kurosawa and Mizoguchi) yet this film alone, with its cumulative emotional impact derived from such a poignantly detailed character study, should place Naruse's name in equal standing with his peers.

Hidden Gem #37: The Castle of Purity a.k.a. El castillo de la pureza (1973, Mexico)

Director: Arturo Ripstein

This very focused look into domestic life has a uniquely alarming premise of a man who keeps his family locked up inside their home ostensibly to shelter them from the evils of the outside world in this deeply felt, emotionally precise little gem of a film.

Hidden Gem #36: America: From Hitler to M-X (1982, U.S.A.)

Director: Joan Harvey

A once seen, never forgotten feature-length anti war documentary that not only hits hard, chronicling the devastating consequences of America's deliberate proliferation of nuclear arms, but also has the courage to expose with detailed evidence the same country's corporate ties to Nazi Germany before and during WW 2.

Hidden Gem #35: Cash on Demand (1961, U.K.)

Director: Quentin Lawrence

This ingenious little psychological thriller from Hammer Studios is ripe with suspense, partly due to its claustrophobic, close-quarters setting, and fascinatingly ironic because the victim (a bank manager played by Peter Cushing, pictured at left) is an anal, bullish, stick-in-the-mud who's devilishly toyed with and subsequently terrorised by a clever, albeit sinister individual introduced as his superior officer (actor Andre Morell on the right).

Hidden Gem #34: Steppenwolf (1974, U.S.A./Switzerland/U.K./France/Italy)

Director: Fred Haines

Based on the novel by Herman Hesse, this remarkable existential voyage into the mind of a depressed, middle-aged intellectual (perfectly embodied by Max Von Sydow) who "drops out and turns on," contains one of cinema's thoroughly engrossing displays of a psychedelic drug trip (Performance and Easy Rider being a few others).

Hidden Gem #33: The Fire Within a.k.a. Le Feu Follet (1963, France)

Director: Louis Malle

The "recovery" of a painfully depressed alcoholic might pertain to his alcoholism, but cannot do anything to alleviate his thoughts of suicide, so after being discharged from a clinic, our subject visits some "friends," desperately hoping to find a reason to go on living in cinema's greatest portrayal of an inevitable personal tragedy. (More here).

Hidden Gem #32: The Bedford Incident (1965, U.S.A.)

Director: James B. Harris

The plot of a submarine hunt during the cold war, in this tension bursting thriller (expertly directed by Stanley Kubrick's one time producer) is so well connected to its characters' conflicting psychologies you'll be grasping your chair by the time it reaches its stunning climax. (More here).

Hidden Gem #31: Private Hell 36 (1954, U.S.A.)

Director: Don Siegel

Before he unleashed Dirty Harry, cinema's ultimate craftsman directed this tight little noir about a couple of cops who, when they find a bunch of stolen cash with no one around, decide to keep it for themselves, which in addition to its enthralling premise contains a tour de force performance by Steve Cochran as the "badder" of the two cops.

A.G. 

Hidden Gems #5 is here.

Capturing A Golden Moment #1: Footlight Parade

In this series, I'd like to present some exceptional scenes inspired by cinema's most gifted artists of yesteryear.

Footlight Parade (1933) 

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Scene: "By A Waterfall"

Smack dab in the middle of a Great Depression yet no expense was spared in creating Busby Berkeley's most extravagant, mind-blowing dream come true.

Footlight Parade is available on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Video and can be ordered here:

Footlight Parade

$17.98

Starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler

Buy on Amazon

Sterling Silver Dialogue #4

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"Why didn't you come home before?" (reply) "Why didn't I go to China? Some things you do, some things you don't."

"Home is where you come when you run out of places."

"Aren't there any more comfortable men in this world? Now they're all little and nervous like sparrows or big and worried like sick bears."

"Big mouth, fast dollar. What are you tryin' to buy, the world's approval?"

"That Mae is some dancer. Me, I'm like a hippo on two feet. (Mae's response) "Yeah, MY two feet." 

"Jerry's the salt of the earth... but not the right seasoning for you."

"You don't like women, do you?" (reply) "Take any six of 'em - my wife included. Throw 'em up in the air. The one who sticks to the ceiling, I like."

"I'm sorry I got the jumps tonight. I'm talkin' to ya but what I'm thinkin' is: What's my wife doin' in St. Louis... who's she with? Some day I'm going to stick her full of pins just to see if blood comes out."

(After an engagement has been announced) "Congratulations. I'm glad you put the guy out of his misery" (response) "Since when did you start recommending marriage?" (reply) "Since I got my divorce."

"I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said 'yes' to a divorce."

"She can't be all bad... no one is." (reply) "Well, she comes the closest."

"You can never help anything, can you? You're like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another." 

"I don't want to die." (reply) "Neither do I, Baby, but if I have to, I'm going to die last." 

"I need him like the axe needs the turkey."

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #4 are here.

Sterling Silver Dialogue #3

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"You should learn to live as though you didn't exist."

"How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants." 

"I've done a lot of lying in my time. I've lied to men who wear belts. I've lied to men who wear suspenders. But I'd never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both belt and suspenders."

"Do you drink a lot?" (reply) "Not a lot - just frequently."

"You're drunk!"   (reply) "And you're crazy. But I'll be sober tomorrow and you'll be crazy for the rest of your life."

"I envy people who drink. At least they know what to blame everything on."

"I distrust a man who says 'when'. If he's got to be careful not to drink too much, it's because he's not to be trusted when he does."

"I met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life, but you - you're twenty minutes."

(when propositioned for sex) "What am I, a bowl of fruit? A tangerine that peels in a minute?" 

"You've got more twists than a barrel of pretzels."

"That's fish four days old. I won't buy it!"

"Sidney, this syrup you're giving out, you pour over waffles, not JJ Hunsecker".

"I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic." 

"You're like a horse or a dog or a man or any other woman... Once I understand you, you're all right." 

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #3 are here.

Six Degrees of Treasure Trivia: Quiz #3

6 DEGREES OF TREASURE TRIVIA:  

Further hints to question #1 will be provided in the others (#2-#6).  Feel free to send your answers to arthur@thecinemacafe.com. 

#1. The following memorable quotes are heard in this film: 

"...the kind of man I've been looking for, lots of money and no resistance."

"Isn't there going to be any comedy in the show?"
(reply)"Plenty! The gay side, the hard-boiled side, the cynical and funny side of the depression! I'll make 'em laugh at you starving to death, honey... be the funniest thing you ever did."

Can you name the film? 

#2. In a very popular gangster film released in 1967 the central characters go to a theatre to see the film referenced in question #1.

Can you name the 1967 film? 

#3. In film #1 a scene that would have confounded Freud, features an actor who plays a baby (even though he was 8 years old at the time). This same actor memorably appears in a 1975 film about the destructiveness of the Hollywood dream machine whose setting occurs during the same decade in which film #1 was produced in.    

Can you name the actor and the 1975 film in which he appeared? 

#4. In an early scene from film #1 the fictional show's producer fires the 2 composers that have been working with him in order to hire a new composer he likes better. In reality, the 2 composers named are not only film #1's composers they also composed songs for 2 other major films with similar plot references, released the same year as film #1.   

Can you name the the composer and lyricist duo and the 2 other major film productions they worked on released that same year?  

#5. The actor playing the fictional replacement composer in film #1 stars as a very famous hard boiled detective in this film noir of 1944.   

Can you name the actor, the fictional detective and the film from 1944? 

#6. The director of film #1 had 2 years earlier made a famous gangster film which also made a huge star out of its lead actor. 

Can you name the director, the earlier film and its lead actor?

Hidden Gems #3

Hidden Gem #30: Boy a.k.a. Shonen (1969, Japan)

Director: Nagisa Oshima

Based on a shocking, true story about parents who travel the country coercing their 10 year old to fake traffic accidents so that his mother-in-law can extort money from the unsuspecting motorists; this gem derives considerable emotional impact from the way our title character seeks refuge from his harsh reality by retreating into a fantasy world of space aliens whom he imagines (oddly enough) care for and look after one another. (More here).

Hidden Gem #29: Wanda (1970, U.S.A.)

Director: Barbara Loden

Like The Night of the Hunter and One Eyed Jacks, this highly accomplished directorial "one off" by an acting talent concerns a mentally challenged drifter (played by the director) who finds a brief emotional connection to a criminal who callously uses her to assist him in a highly dangerous bank robbery. (More here).

Hidden Gem #28: Goodnight My Love (1972, U.S.A.)

Director: Peter Hyams

Richard Boone and Michael Dunn play down to their last dime private detective partners, the former a big, brutish soft-spoken guy, the latter a sharp witted dwarf in 1940's Los Angeles where film noir meets an even darker sense of humour in this highly atmospheric, engrossing and exceptionally well made for TV little gem.

Hidden Gem #27: The Aviator's Wife a.k.a. La femme de l'aviateur (1981, France)

Director: Eric Rohmer

While spying on his stand-offish girlfriend a young male student gets temporarily distracted by an even younger but more mature and socially aware female student in this spontaneous and enlightened offering from a masterful creator of subtly engaging manners. 

Hidden Gem #26: El a.k.a. This Strange Passion (1953, Mexico)

Director: Luis Bunuel

Full of inspired and highly creative situations as a wealthy man's increasingly jealous determination to posses his new wife turns to madness in one of the great director's lesser known masterpieces that looks forward to the theme of "romantic" obsession in Vertigo from Alfred Hitchcock. 

Hidden Gem #25: The Lacemaker a.k.a. La dentellière (1977, France/Switzerland/West Germany)

Director: Claude Goretta

A compelling romance develops between a very reserved but caring young woman and a middle-class intellectual, then tragically unravels when his overly-taxed mind simply cannot reconcile with her simple and beautiful heart.

Hidden Gem #24: Try and Get Me! a.k.a. The Sound of Fury (1950, U.S.A.)

Director: Cy Endfield

Brace yourself for a devastatingly confrontational first, second and final act knock-out culminating in this: the most horrifyingly honest and realistic depiction of the American dream transformed into an American nightmare the screen has ever produced and it's based on a true story. (See: Inspecting a Hidden Gem).

Hidden Gem #23: A Dirty Carnival a.k.a. Biyeolhan geori (2006, South Korea)

Director: Ha Yoo

A riveting gangster film that wisely focuses on its central character's quest to rise in his gang's hierarchy while improving his personal relationship with those closest to him which includes a fascinating "conflict of interest" sub-plot whereby our protagonist tries to help an aspiring film maker make his gangster film more realistic.

(Out of 5 Treasure Chests)

Hidden Gem #22: It All Starts Today a.k.a. Ça commence aujourd'hui (1999, France)

Director: Bertrand Tavernier

A kindergarten teacher in a poor coal-mining region of Northern France struggles valiantly to improve not only his community's welfare but his private life as well in this passionate and ultimately uplifting social drama which is due primarily to the children's heart warming resiliency brilliantly captured by one of France's most notable cinematic storytellers. 

Hidden Gem #21: Across the Bridge (1957, U.K.)

Director: Ken Annakin

A terrific premise sets up this suspenseful "man on the run" thriller whereby our protagonist must change identities with a stranger on board a train in order to evade capture once arriving in Mexico... a plan that's complicated by a most ingenious story twist which also produces a profound character change during his already intriguing journey.  

A.G. 

Hidden Gems #4 is here.

Sterling Silver Dialogue #2

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"Twelve grand would have swung it (buying his horse farm back) and I almost made it once. I had more than five thousand dollars in my pocket. Pampoon was runnin' in the Suburban. I figured he couldn't lose... I put it all on his nose. He lost by a nose."

"One way or another, we all work for a vice." 

"What's in it for me?"

"What are ya sweatin' for?" (reply) "Money makes me sweat that's all... it's the way I am."

"After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor."

"Haven't you bothered me enough you big banana head?" 

(hypnotically) "Now you will hear a voice say Now Listen To Me. You will always obey this voice. Now listen to me. Listen to me..." 

"I feel for ya... but I'm consumed with apathy." 

(when offered a free prostitute) "I don't sleep with whores... at least not knowingly."

"Is it true you're getting a divorce as soon as your husband recovers his eyesight? Is it true you wash your hair in clam broth? Is it true you used to dance in a flea circus?"

"How many times do I have to tell ya how much you love me?"

"Old age. It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being cured of." 

"The bottom is loaded with nice people, Albert. Only cream and bastards rise."

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #2 are here.