There are going to be many films listed that, I fear, I will like and may be Keelhauled as a result. I just learned Pepe Le Pew is gone from the 2nd stupid sequel of Space Jam because he is perpetuating rape. Sigh....listen, I get it...the smelly bastard doesn't take no for an answer...that smelly bastard but I like that smelly bastard. It made me love skunks, smell and all. Remember the poor le Mew, La Meow was all for getting some love but once she smelled his pep, she had to go. She was all for some lovin' just not the stinkin. In fact, there is one cartoon where she plugs her nose with a clothespin so she can be with him and he takes off only for her to follow him! Yeah, I am probably in the minority but I like him and Speedy Gonzales who was quick in feet and in mind. I do digress, Let's see what everyones' picks will be, so head over to Wandering Through the Shelves and see which films people choose as films that have not aged well. Here are my 3...
1. LADY IN THE DARK-1944
I had wanted to see this film for quite a while which was called a "woman's picture" starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland(whom I always wanted to punch in the face for some reason). When I finally saw it, I was just pissed. I must have been in my late teens when I saw this flick where Ginger Rogers plays the head of some fashion magazine and is quite successful. She is engaged to one guy, fights with another who thinks he knows better and a third who is quite handsome. She dresses down, no fluff for this serious gal who suffers from headaches and refuses anything feminine so..she must be mentally ill. The 40s was the age of psychoanalysis, Freud style and this film reeks of it. She sings and dances her way through dreams and reality finally becoming cured and seeing that she loves the man who can tell her a thing or 2 and makes the a-hole her equal in the magazine after falling in love for the idiot. Ughhh
2. THE SNAKE PIT-1948
Olivia DeHavilland stars in this film as a mentally unwell woman who meets and falls in love with a nice guy but abruptly leaves only to meet him again in NYC..I think. They marry but her illness only gets worse. She ends up in a mental institution but she has no idea how she got there and does not remember her husband. We find out she has schizophrenia and with the help of a good doctor she, at the end, is getting the help that is needed. Now this is a good film and worth watching for Olivia's great acting as the hapless gal with a medical condition (I hate using the term mental to be honest when dealing with people who struggle, bravely, with diseases that come from the brain). It is one of the very first films to portray "mental" illness in a serious and compassionate manner as we see her sink to her depths only to rise slowly from them. At one point, because of the nastiness of a nurse, Olivia ends up in the "snake pit" which was a level where people, with no further hope of becoming better, go to spend the rest of their lives existing. The gentle doctor finds her and rescues her making sure the nurse will get reprimanded. The problem with this film, even when I watched it, is the Freudian aspect..again, used to help her plus condoning electro-shock therapy as a good treatment which seemed barbaric to me even when I was a kid. The look of this facility and the methods used now date this film but it is still worthy to see.
3. THE FBI STORY-1959
Oh...I hang my head low with this one because it stars my favourite, James Stewart but this is a film I just remember shaking my head at in disbelief. At one point, I do forget the reason why Stewart's character says this comment but I do remember laughing at this. Stewart is recalling his life as an FBI agent and when the "Red Scare" happened when many people were condemned for being Communist because of their way of thinking or who knows what, they were blacklisted. This one scene, Stewart says that this man did something(sorry, I can't remember what) so he is obviously a communist..haha ....hahahaaaaaa. I just was shaking my head at this comment. Almost the whole film is done in flashback with Stewart, after hearing J. Edgar Hoover (you know the guy who broke souls but wore dresses in private and was probably gay but went after people who were gay and anyone else he didn't like) give a rousing(HA!) speech, join the FBI. Stewart's character infiltrates the KKK, deals with the big gangsters from the 1930s like Baby Face Nelson and faces Communism head on. I have to see this again to just remember how bad it really was. Maybe I am being too hard on it but, since Hoover approved of this film and made a cameo, probably not.
Which films would you choose?
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteYou love skunks, dear friend? That explains what you see in me. :)
#1 is the only film I haven't seen. WHAT??? You don't like Ray Milland? Heck, he's got X-Ray eyes, He's got "M for "Murder" on speed dial, and he never has to say he's sorry!
I've mentioned several times how much I appreciated Olivia De Havilland and her movie The Snake Pit. I saw the film at an early age and it made an indelible impression. The innovative camera angles used in the production helped convey the sense of isolation, desperation and hopelessness of the forgotten ones confined for life to the worst wing of the asylum. Dang, now I've got "Sweet Georgia Brown" stuck in my noggin on repeat!
Like you I admire Jimmy Stewart, and I am taking this opportunity to again coax you to watch Anatomy of a Murder, a movie released in 1959, the same year as The FBI Story. It's must see. In that clip you posted we see, along with Jimmy, character actor Murray Hamilton, who was also in Anatomy of a Murder (and played Mr. Robinson in The Graduate and the mayor of Amity Isle in Jaws). In that speech in the clip, I was waiting for Hoover to say to his troops, "There's no "I" in FBI... oh wait... there is, but from now on it's gonna be F-B-We."
Have a wonderful Thursday and a safe and happy weekend, dear friend BB!
Oh, I meant to tell you..I watched Anatomy of a Murder and it is excellent! I thought this is where they got Matlock from...either that or Stewart's TV show Hawkins which was great. Murray Hamilton was a great character actor for sure.
DeleteI like Snake Pit and the acting is superb but the handling of the mental patients is outdated now. It is still a good picture.
Ray Milland...I always found him a bit egocentric but he is good in some films and loved him in the man with X-Ray Eyes although he should never dance.:)
I can think of a lot of movies I saw when I was younger that I wouldn't watch now because they haven't aged well.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Speedy is next to go...
Yikes! Speedy can’t go either but I heard he is fine because the Mexicans love Speedy. He is fast, smart and outwits his foes...what’s not to love actually?
DeleteThis is the first time I'm glad I haven't seen any of your picks.
ReplyDeleteI would give The Snake Pit a try because it is well acted
DeleteI'm glad Pepe is gone just because I never liked him. He made me uncomfortable. I haven't seen any of your picks this week.
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling you would say that about Le Pew.
DeleteI saw the Snake Pit years ago - 1960's? -and remember enjoying it. Haven't seen the other two. Off hand I can't think of any movies, but I did mention a friend how some early Agatha Christie books had some racial and anti-semitic overtones, IMO.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good movie. Yes, I think Agatha had a bias...to put it mildly.
DeleteI haven't seen any of these although I've heard of The FBI Story. I've only recently started reading more about McCarthy and communism, etc and... sadly, I could see that happening even today with some of the buffoons we have in Congress. But man, I love Jimmy Stewart so much! I'd probably watch it solely for him.
ReplyDeleteI love Jimmy Stewart..he’s my favourite actor but this will be the last film of his I will see again because I just couldn’t handle the over the top moralizing especially the communist part.
DeletePepe Le Pew was one of my favorite characters too. The kitty reminded me of Faux Paw:)
ReplyDeleteHope your day is fun and pain free.
I’m glad you liked Pepe. That’s cute and when I was yo7 g, I had a black cat named Fuzz( like the cops) and thought of Les Mew too.
DeleteThe whole Pepe Le Pew thing is so ridiculous, now we're striving to be offended by cartoon characters?!
ReplyDeleteLady in the Dark is a candy coated misfire. It's almost glaringly overbright and gaudy but the underlying psychology is arcane and flawed.
FBI Story is one of my least favorite of Jimmy Stewart's films. A somewhat dull procedural. A good cast but that's about all.
The techniques in The Snake Pit are dated but since they were what was in use at the time they're dated in a different way. Olivia is superb but unlike many of her films this isn't one I watch often. I don't think I've ever sat down and given a full viewing since that first time.
I had planned to do an all 70's theme but my first pick is one that has aged so badly I had to include it.
Crash (2005)-Inexplicable Best Picture winner is a dreadful collection of noxious elitists having conniptions about all “the dark people” threatening their privileged existence in Los Angeles. Yuck!
Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)-They say nothing ages faster than topical comedy and here’s the proof! Awash in shag carpeting, Nehru jacket, love beads and “groovy” talk of raising consciousness, EST, and a bunch of other hippie dippy subjects of the ME decade. In its favor it does have a phenomenal cast-Bea Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Stiller & Meara, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia and in her screen bow Diane Keaton among others, plus the Oscar winning song “For All We Know”. This was a big hit, but you’ll be scratching your head as to why if you watch.
Easy Rider (1969)-Meandering biker flick was a seminal turning point in cinema the year of its release, made on a minuscule budget it was unbelievably successful becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 1969, creating the whole “Born to Be Wild” rebel motorcycle genre. But it is a collection of maddeningly diffuse thinkspeak vignettes when viewed today.
I am so late, Joel....yeah, I am sick of attacking Pepe etc... reminds me when I was young and they censored all the so called violence in the cartoons. I thought I was stupid then and still do. Crash was stupid and I never understood why it was so big. I haven’t seen your second choice or even Easy Rider. I never had the urge to see Easy Rider because of the ..er..plot. It is a drug culture film more than anything but it does date the film like many of that time. You are right about 70s films because so many seemed to end right in the middle of the film. It never felt like an ending. Whenever I saw a film like this, I would just call it a typical 70s movie because I found them irritating. Funny, my mom saw Easy Rider which made me laugh.
DeleteI don't think I've seen all of The Snake Pit, but I've seen scenes. I think I've seen much of it, but not quite all. The end, for sure.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that immediately came to mind was Ghostbusters. If you haven't watched it lately, do so. Then we'll discuss. I'm sure I can think of some others if I give it some time to ponder.
I have seen Ghostbusters recently and was not too bothered by any of it even the beginning when the Bill Murray character keeps zapping the poor kid and saying the pretty blond is guessing everything right just so he can try to get into her pants. Maybe that makes me a bad gal.
DeleteI've never seen your first and third choices. I saw The Snake Pit once and thought it was strange. My choices: 1.I'll go out on a limb here and say Gone With The Wind hasn't aged well. It's a beautifully made movie and the acting is great, but all of that sentimentality about the Old South and the slaves who love the family so much that they stay on after they're freed . . . that gets to me and I no longer enjoy the movie. 2. I re-watched The Big Chill recently and thought it was dull. 3. Animal House no longer seems funny to me.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Great category...
ReplyDeleteOne I haven't rewatched because I know it wouldn't hold up: St. Elmo's Fire. I loved it at the time. I'm pretty sure now it would be unwatchable.
It's interesting how some stories just can't carry through time. I actually haven't seen any of these films, but that's no surprise.
ReplyDeleteHi Birgit, not seen any of these films, but I would like to have seen your second one with Olivia De Havalland that one sounds really interesting, Kate x
ReplyDeleteI've only seen The Snake Pit and it's a good one. I recall my mother talking about it when I was a kid--I guess she liked it a lot. I saw it when I was very young and didn't really understand much of it I guess. Seeing it in more recent years I did enjoy it though I can understand the anachronistic nature of it.
ReplyDeleteI tend to be very forgiving of films that are of a certain era and they don't bother me though I can see how some might be offended. It's partly a willing suspension of disbelief I guess, but also I can understand how times and attitudes change so I watch older films in context.
No films like this particularly come to mind other than the silent film Birth of a Nation. I have this on DVD and have watched this epic 3 hour film a few times with an appreciation of the history of the times in which it was made. I don't get offended by it, but I can understand how people who would not be watching it taking context in mind could be upset by it.
There are so many older films that don't bother me, but make me think how younger people watching them now might think they are horrible in their messages or depictions of people and events. Especially when it comes to depictions of racial stereotypes.
It takes quite a bit to offend me and my biggest offense comes with too much profanity or promulgation of some ideologies or lifestyle that I don't care to hear. And that has little to do with older films for the most part.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
NO surprise here. I've never seen any of these, but I enjoyed reading how you felt about these films that didn't age well. I think a lot of the ones that were made after the censorship of the Filmmakers' Production Code didn't age well.
ReplyDeleteI think Jedgar and Clyde Tolson had a thing going. Hoover turned the FBI into a criminal enterprise, keeping dossiers on people he didn't like and using agents to carry out his personal vendettas.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of these- but it is interesting to watch movies that don't age well. If you never watched and fell in love with them when they were current then sometimes their outdated ideas really stand out. Fresh eyes see things differently for sure. Enjoyed reading your thoughts on these. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd like Lady In the Dark.
ReplyDeleteHope you are enjoying your staycay to the max.