The one thing about a murder case is -if you just let people talk long enough, sooner or later, somebody will spill the beans. Well, somebody has.
It’s time for another Thin Man Thursday!
As I have said before, I LOOOOVE The Thin Manseries! The characters, the pacing, the mystery, everything is amazing. It’s a perfect blend of mystery, comedy, drama, and film noir. While the third film was okay, the fourth one was back to amazing and is one of my favorites.
This also has Donna Reed in it before she was a big star.
Unlike the other films in the series, you can watch this one on YouTube for free.
The Charles have left New York and returned to their home in San Francisco. We start off the film with Nick and Nick Jr. going on a walk and stopping in the park where Nick is supposed to be reading little Nick a story. He’s reading to him, but instead of a kids book, it is the odds for the racetrack. That Nick!
I really like that Nicky was shown in the films and that the Charles family were able to have a child and still investigate. It seems like a lot of shows/movies won’t let their crime solvers do that unless they want that character’s story to be all about the fight between work and family. Plus little Nicky is absolutely adorable.
Nick has racing on the mind more than ever as they are headed to the racetrack. While on the way Nick gets pulled over for speeding, but when the cop discovers that it’s Nick Charles the detective, he’s so excited be still gives Nick a ticket, but he also escorts them to the track (siren on).
They are soon caught up in a police and ambulance motorcade as they are also headed to the track. When the Charleses get there, it turns out a jockey was murdered, and not just any jockey, one who had been accused of throwing a race only the day before, and a witness in a gambling syndicate case.
Hmm…suspicious
Also arriving on the scene is our old pal Lt. Abrams from After the Thin Man. I really liked Lt. Abrams so I’m glad they brought him back. Another character who will be central to our plot is newspaperman Paul Clarke (Barry Nelson), a thorn in Abrams side and a friend of Nick.
Lt. Abrams tries to get Nick on in the investigation, but again Nick refuses. The only way he ever gets involved is if a friend is in trouble.
Later that evening, Major Jason I. Sculley and Paul come to Nick and beg him to take on the case, but as always he is still uninterested. While Nick is stubborn, he is loyal. He will constantly refuse unless he needs to lend a friend a hand.
Nick tries to use Nora as an excuse as to why he can’t help, he needs to take her out places. (To be honest I think Nick just wants to do his own thing whether it is stay home and relax or go out and go to places he wants to go to, he’s kind of over being the world’s greatest detective).
However, this backfired as Nora wants to go out to a wrestling match and Paul happily offers his press badge to them.
They go to the fight and tensions are high. Something is going down with the gambling syndicate owner. Newspaperman Whitey seems to be too familiar with Stephens, the gambling syndicate owner, he also is interested in the gangster’s girl. But his interest isn’t in her, but the money she owes him.
Hmm…
As it always tends to happen, whenever Nick is out he always runs into people he used to know, (more often people he sent to prison), and they all love him. It’s hilarious how many friends he has, often “unsavory” people in comparison to the ones Nora is friends with. L
Link Stephens, arena owner and head of gambling syndicate has missed most of the bout as he has had some “serious business”. His secretary is Molly (Donna Reed), who also happens to be the girlfriend of Paul. While Molly gets ready to leave, Whitey comes by and tries to get with Molly, who staunchly refuses. She goes to leave, but doubles back to listen to then talk. Whitey has been helping Link by keeping him clean in the papers and trying to cover up/avert suspicion. However, it sounds like he wants more than his usual cut and is trying to intimidate Link.
Whitey tries to get money, $10,000 out of Link who asks him to come back later (not good). Not only is he trying to get that money, the money from Link’s girl, but he also borrowed $8000 form “Rainbow” Benny. Why does he need so much money?
Molly goes to meet Paul for supper and the two talk about her job and his story. Paul feels so frustrated that he hasn’t had a break in it and takes Molly’s keys intent on searching Link’s office for solid proof. When he’s there he searches for things, Whitey comes upon him, he gets knocked out.
When he wakes up the police have come as someone discovered Whitey’s dead body and Paul is the one they are looking at for murder.
Nick gets on the case to help his friend, and like all the mysteries the twist is one you wouldn’t suspect.
It seems to me, Mrs. Charles, that every time your husband gets in with a girl, the insurance companies take an awful beatin’. Now, it’s nice, very nice, for a wife to trust her husband, but, get this, there’s that Wynant girl he knew before he was married. He comes here to New York and, bing, there’s a murder. He goes back to the West coast, there’s a good lookin’ girl there and, bing, there’s another murder. He comes back here, meets this Lois MacFay and… Bing – Bing – Bing! There’s another murder.
It’s time for another Thin Man Thursday!
As I have said before, I LOOOOVE The Thin Manseries! The characters, the pacing, the mystery, everything is amazing. It’s a perfect blend of mystery, comedy, drama, and film noir. However, this film is not my favorite of the series and for good reason. Unlike the other films, this one has very little William Powell.
It’s not that they replaced him or anything like that. There is two good reasons. While they were getting ready to make this film, William Powell’s fiancée, Jean Harlow, died; and then he was diagnosed with cancer. He had to have colon bypass surgery and radiation treatments. At first they were going to recast him, (no the horror), but wisely decided to wait. When they finally started filming all gave him a standing ovation.
Because of all that had happened, they were very careful with Powell. They filmed for only six hours a day and hired stand-ins to lighten his load as much as possible. The story is just okay, and I understand. This is one of those times when the studio put the person ahead of the studio and the money and wanted to have a a good film but also a well rested star.
So on to the film.
When we ended After the Thin Man, Nora surprised Nick with news that she was pregnant. Fast forward and the Charles family + their new addition are back in New York City.
While Nora calls her friend in San Francisco to let them know she has arrived in NYC, the operator cuts in with a call from Colonel MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith), Nora’s father’s old business partner who wants them to immediately come out and see him. Nora doesn’t want to as they have just arrived from a cross country train trip (with a dog and a baby)…
From The Iron Giant
But Colonel MacFay has already sent the chauffeur and collected their bags, so they are once again off on another mystery and adventure.
On the case!
While they are getting their personal belongings together, the bell boy plots stealing from Nora until her realizes that it’s Nick’s place. He’s Creeps and like all the crooks that Nick sent away when he was a detective, he still likes Nick. He congratulates them on the baby and plans a baby party for when they return.
The two make their way to the Colonel’s both really unhappy to have to go, but they don’t have a long to think about it as when they arrive at the Colonel’s gate they find a dead body, the chauffeur flees, the “dead” body disappears, and the Colonel’s armed guards harass them.
From Veronica Mars
Eventually they are able to make their way inside where they chat with the Colonel, his adopted daughter, Lois (Virginia Grey), and her fiancé, Dudley (Patric Knowles), who works for the Colonel. Also there that night is the Colonel’s secretary, Freddie (Tom Neal).
Nick has been dreading this meeting with the Colonel as he thinks all the Colonel is going to want to talk about is Nora’s money, as the Colonel is in charge of her finances and investments; but to their surprise that’s not what the Colonel is interested in. The Colonel explains to Nick and Nora that a former employee, Phil Church, has threatened to kill him. Church was an engineer who did some illegal things at the Colonel’s company and went to prison for ten years. He blames the Colonel and as soon as he was released moved into the Colonel’s neighborhood. Church has demanded the Colonel pay him in order to end his terror. Lois agrees with Nick that they should pay him off, but the Colonel refuses.
From Secret Window.
It doesn’t take long for things to take a bad turn with the pool house being set on fire and Lois’ dog murdered. After all these events Nick goes to talk to Church who is a creep and threatens Nick and his family.
This is the part I don’t really like as I feel it drags as we see t going back to New York, there is another intimidation crew who comes to town, Church’s mistress, etc.
We finally get back on track when the Colonel gets shot and Nick now needs to figure out who killed him.
Many think it is Church, but could it be someone else? What about Dudley who is running around with a gun trying to take a shot at Nick (and ends up shot by the police)? The Charles’ nanny also takes off when the police come, hmmm?
The police investigate and discover that the Colonel was going to cut off Lois if she married Dudley. They think that Dudley killed the Colonel to keep the money and then tried to kill Nick to keep him from finding out, and while that ties everything up…that explanation doesn’t sit right with Nick at all.
Nick is on the case, a case that takes him to a club where he finds out that Church had another girlfriend besides the afore mentioned Smitty (Muriel Hutchison). The other mistress’ name was Linda Mills and she was known to be a tough dame. The Charles start looking into it, while Church also turns up dead.
Nick starts putting things together, but I think my biggest problem with this film is that there are too many characters and too many locations that it feels busy and is easy to lose track of who was who. The best part of the film is the end.
Nick assembles all the characters but while tbeh are in the middle of him breaking down the case, they are interrupted by the “baby party” planned by Creeps earlier in the film. This is one for be best scenes as you see all these hardened crooks with these little babies (as you need a baby in order to come, and all want to be a part of Nick’s Baby Party).
We end up finding out that the killer was Lois. She hated her life with the colonel and wanted something exciting. She would constantly sneak out and live her double life of Linda Mills, by doing so she met Church and started dating him; planning to kill the Colonel, frame Dudley, and kill Dudley as well.
However, then she discovered that Church was dating another woman. After finding that out, he had to go.
But Lois won’t be taken alive by the police, she flees to the baby party and kidnaps little Nicky using him as a human shield. It looks like it is all over, until a former crook returns to the party to trade babies as he took Nicky by mistake. Lois is taken away and all ends well.
While this is not my favorite of The Thin Man franchise, I do think the killer was done extremely well. You never suspect her through the whole film, and at the end when she drops her “I’m just a sweet innocent girl” act and becomes “Linda Mills”, I had shivers. Definitely a very well done villain.
I don’t understand what any of this has to do with my mom.
Your mother was a shadowhunter, like him; like you.
So about a year ago, I read the book City of Bones (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare. I decided to read it as it is SUPER popular at the library. The book is returned and gets checked out as soon as it is shelved.
After I finished it…I was not pleased at all and I could not get the appeal.
It kind of felt like a mashup between Supernatural and Harry Potter. And it MOST definitely was not better than The Hunger Games.
Seriously, they thought that?!
It was an okay story, but it went overload on the cultural references. Like these kids are into fantasy and Scifi, I get it-but when you just reference or quote things constantly to fill in your story instead of developing the characters-that’s where I have issues.
Not for me.
Plus I found the character Simon, Clary’s best friend, to be super annoying, and I wanted her to end up with Jace the shadowhunter she meets-as the author is constantly putting them together, but it turns out that they are brother and sister?
I mean why would you construct a story that way to want two characters to get together and then be all, psych they are brother and sister.
Why, why would you do that. Ugh, it made me feel disgusting after reading it.
Or are they? Could Valentine be lying?
Hmm…is it her?
Yeah, not interested in reading more…
So I was scrolling through my streaming sites, and the film popped up and I thought, why not? There was nothing else on. Let’s see how they did the film.
Hmm…
So Clary Fray (Lily Collins) is a normal 16-year old. She lives with her mother as her father passed away years ago. Her family is rounded out by her best friend Simon, who has a huge crush on her that she can’t see, and her mother’s best friend Luke Garroway (Aiden Turner).
Wait, what?
AIDEN TURNER is in this?
For those of you who don’t know-Aiden Turner is an Irish actor who is immensely talented and has the best looking curly hair I have ever seen. I became a fan of him and his hair after watching Poldark, so I was excited. As I said, it’s been over a year since I read the book, but I do remember Luke playing a crucial role in the end of the book and I couldn’t wait to see Aiden Turner.
Clary and Simon go out to a coffee poetry night. Clary sees this “hot” blonde guy and decides to be spontaneous and go to the club he is going to. To be fair it wasn’t just because of the guy-her mother has sheltered her, her whole life and tht coupled with her mom calling her again about when she will be home and her turning 16-she decides to have fun. The hot gut was the final push.
At the club she sees him with a girl and a guy and watches the group as they approach a man and kill it.
What!
She hurries away but its too late. Life has changed forever.
She has realized the “reality” of her world and its not going away. Clary gets in a fight with her mom, and later Jocelyn Fray (Lena Headey) calls Clary and warns her not to come back. Jocelyn is kidnapped and the apartment torn apart. Clary returns home, but is attacked by some wolflike creature. Jace, the boy from the club, comes and saves her.
Where is everyone?
He saves Clary and tells her the creature was a demon, as was the man the night before. Jace is a shadowhunter, shadowhunters are a race of mortals who have angelic blood. They reside in the shadow world but cross over to the mortal realm to hunt demons, vampires, werewolves, etc. Shadowhunters can only be created by being born of a shadowhunter or turned into one by The Mortal Cup.
As you have guessed it, Jocelyn is a shadowhunter, meaning that Clary is too. That is why she could see Jace and his friends and no else could. They question the neighbor, a witch, and discover that people are after the mortal cup and believe she has it.
That’s not good.
They need a ride and Simon drives her and Jace over to Luke’s to get more information. Simon is less annoying in this, but is still annoying. And surprise, surprise he hates Jace as Jace is clearly into Clary.
The actors weren’t bad but Lily Collins and the guy who plays Jace have like zero chemistry. In the book they actually connected better.
They reach the antique shop to look for Luke, and find him being beat up. He tells the two guys (the ones who kidnapped Jocelyn) that he cares nothing for the Frays and only wants the cup too. If they let him go he will be able to find it.
The crew leave him-RUDE, like geez Clary this guy was a surrogate dad and you watched him get beat up and did nothing.
So Jace knows they won’t be safe in the city and takes them to the Shadowhunter Institute. On the outside the muggles mundanes see a dilapidated broken down church, but on the inside it is a beautiful building with weapons.
There she meets Alex (Kevin Zeggers) and Isabella Lightwood, and Hodge who runs the institute. The three of the Shadowhunters are on earth because of what their parent’s did. Years ago, Valentine Morgensten’s father was killed by a werewolf and that set him on dark path. He wanted to destroy all downworlders (demons, werewolves, vampires, etc) even ones that were not breaking the law or the Accords. He was aided by the Lightwoods and intended on starting the killing when the next Accord signing was set up. They were stopped and punishment ended up with them being sent from Idris, their home in the Shaddoworld to New York City. Later Jace was sent to live with them. Hodge on the other hand is banished to never be able to return to Idris.
Valentine was experimenting with The Mortal Cup to become more powerful, but he was believed to be dead. With them searching for the cup and coming after Jocelyn, he must have returned.
That’s not good.
Hodge tells Jace to take Clary to the Silent Brothers so they can reveal her memories. When she gets there she discovers that there is a lock on her memories only one person could do that-Magnus Bane.
Magnus Bane is the high Warlock in the area and is just happening to be throwing a killer party. Of course poor Clary knows nothing about fashion and wears boring clothes so we have a makeover by Isabella.
After the makeover all the boys are upset- Jace has been struck by cupid, Simon is mad that Jace is into Clary, and Alec has a thing for Jace and doesn’t like that he is into Clary.
They head to the party and Clary goes off with Magnus. Magnus tells her that her mother wanted to keep her safe and used to take her to appointments regularly. It was getting harder for the block to stay as she growing older and they missed the latest appointment which was to be on her birthday. Magnus tells her he can’t do anything but that without the last session in time everything and all her powers will develop.
Well, thanks for that I guess.
Well that was a useless detour-except Simon gets kidnapped as he is turned into mouse and stolen by vampires. The gang has to go after him and fight, only surviving when they are saved by werwolves.
So about here I was checked out of the film. I like that they had pared down the pop culture references but to be honest this movie is really boring. It was just too much like things you’d seen before you know. I wouldn’t be able to give specifics but it was like a large order of deja vu.
Back at the institute Simon recuperates while Jace and Clary grow closer. Clary is a prolific artists and it turns out that her Shadowhunter powers are very interesting. She can draw something and pull it off the page, or put an ordinary object on into paper. That gets her thinking…
Hmmm…
Jace, Clary, and Simon all have a spat as they are in a triangle-Simon likes Clary, and Clary likes the attention but she likes Jace who likes Clary, but Jace doesn’t like how close Clary and Simon are, etc.
Blah, blah
Clary thinks about her abilities inherited from her mom and realizes she has seen a painting by her mom of The Mortal Cup. It was on set of tarot cards her mom made or their neighbor, the witch.
Jace, Alec, Isabella, and Clary head to her neighbors to get the cup-but she is possessed by a demon. They fight and get the cup, but Alec is wounded. At the institute Isabella blames Clary as Alec is wounded badly, so badly they have to call Magnus as he is the only one who could do anything.
That’s not good.
Clary gives the cup to Hodge, who betrays them by bringing Valentine into their word-he’s been biding his time working for him, the Death Eaters, as long believed dead leader is back.
Oh, wow…
Valentine is back and played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, oh I had a huge crush on him in the ’90s.
From Bend It Like Beckham
So Valentine reveals that he is Clary’s father. Clary has special abilities she isn’t aware of as he experimented on her when she was a fetus with angel blood and his son (her brother) with demon blood. I am really disappointed that he isn’t in the film that long and second his character is top comical. He’s chewing the scenery in every shot-and he’s not usually like this, so I blame the director.
So Clary is asked by her father to join the dark side him but she refuses, She puts the cup back in the card and travels through a portal to Luke’s. Meanwhile, Valentine bring Jocelyn to the institute and tries to figure out how to turn his daughter. Hodge comes up with the plan to lie to Jocelyn and Clary that Jace is the dead son Jonathan. I’m glad they made it clear in this that the incest is a lie-although it is still a weird plot.
Apparently, in a later book it is revealed that Valentine faked his and his older son Jonathan’s death and took the identify of Michael Wayland becoming a recluse. Michael and his wife had died, Valentine has been experimenting on Jace’s mother without her knowledge and when she died he saved the child and raised it. Jonathan had extra demon blood and Jace extra angel blood.
Hmm…
So they get to Luke’s shop and he reveals that he is a werewolf (Valentine was trying to get rid of him and took him on a hunt to get him turned into one and killed). Luke has always loved her mother and traveled with her to this world to protect her. He reveals information about Valentine and tells her that he lied to the the men torturing him to protect them. After he escaped he fought with another werewolf and gained a pack, them being the ones that saved them with the vampires.
The werewolves and few shadowhunters team up to take Valentine down.
Back at the institute, Valentine has brought demons in to help him and the Shadowhunters and werewolves do their best to fight him off. Simon discovers Jocelyn in a comalike state in the crypt of the church and tries to revive her. Valentine and Jace fight, but Jace stops when he is told that Valentine is his father.
He stops fighting, as that’s his “dad”, but Clary defeats Valentine and tricks him by giving him a fake cup ands him through the portal. Later Jace goes to see Clary and invites her back in to the Shadowhunter world-telling her he doesn’t think they are really siblings.
That doesn’t change it, still…
This wasn’t that good of a story. I think it was better in some ways than the book, but it was boring. It felt like a Star Wars, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer smoothie-and not in a good way. I liked Aiden Turner-although I wish he was in it more. Otherwise, meh.
Police Lieutenant: Well, Denham, the airplanes got him.
Carl Denham: Oh no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEE King Kong!!!
I grew up watching this film and owned a VHS that had a King Kong on it that growled when you pushed on it.
The film all started with Merian C. Cooper’s idea of a giant ape on top of the world’s tallest building, fighting airplanes. He worked backward from there, to develop the rest of the story.
The name comes from producer, David O. Selznick, who decided King Kong was better than just Kong.
I know a lot of people hate the effects and such-but I don’t care. It was amazing in 1933 and it is amazing now!!
So without further ado-here we go!
So we open our film on 1930s New York City. There is a ship heading out to go on location to film, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is in charge of it. Everyone is talking about it as the ship has three times the crew needed to sail.
Denham has explosives and gas bombs-he doesn’t care about legal issues, morality-he cares about money and his film. Its in his blood.
He needs an actress and no agent will help him hire one-as Denham has a reputation for being recklessness and he’s so private about where they are going. Everyone is afraid of what might happen. Go who knows where, to do who knows what, and stuck on a boat full of men. Yeah, I’d pass too.
I wouldn’t!!
The first mate is John “Jack” Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) and he doesn’t think they should bring a woman on board. They are bad luck. I think Mrs. Croft would not agree.
They can’t see why Denham needs a girl, as none of his other pictures has them. He says that he’s tired of people going on that if it had a love interest it would make twice as much money-so he is giving them what they want. But he need girl to do it!
“Skipper: What are you doing?
Carl Denham: I’m gonna go out and find a girl for my picture – even if I hafta’ marry one.”
He heads to a woman’s shelter as he needs someone young, hungry, and desperate. But none look right.
He heads to a fruit stand and spies a woman, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), looking at the fruit, she gets caught by the fruit stand owner for stealing, but Mr. Denham comes to her aid. He takes her to a nearby diner to eat. There Mr. Denham questions her-no job, no family, used to act, etc. He tells her he has a job, but Ann is no fool. She needs more info. She’s not walking into a sex slavery or whatever.
Denham slows down and introduces himself and tells her about his new picture and how he needs an actress ASAP. She agrees as she has heard of him, so knows he’s legit, needs a job-and this provides food, clothes, money, etc!
On the ship Ann and Jack meet. Jack is gruff and his interactions with Ann have always made me laugh. I think it is because he’s trying to be so macho and tough, but just becomes a big teddy bear around Ann.
Ann loves being on the ship and befriends everybody. The one she gets closest to is Jack who’s compliments just sound like facts. He cracks me up. He is trying to be romantic and failing.
Jack says she is trouble, just being around. He’s trying not to like her and keep her away, bit he does. He’s just a marshmallow.
This guy.
Jack doesn’t really like Denham, and hates that he hasn’t told him where they are going. It wouldn’t bother him so much, but he’s worried about Ann. Denham points it out that he likes her, but Jack deies it. Sure…
Carl Denham: [warning Jack about women] Some big, hardboiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy!
Which if you are paying close attention-that basically reveals the rest of the film.
So Denham finally reveals to Jack and Captain where he wants to go next. They are confused as there is nothing known out in that direction but ocean-but Denham has a secret island, that he got from a skipper who’s boat was destroyed. The place is called Skull Island. There is a giant wall that was built centuries ago, and no one knows what is on the other side but they police it and make sure it stays strong. That sounds kind of familiar…
Did you ever hear of white walkers Kong? Denham asks. He wants to go and create a picture with this Kong, whatever it is. He doesn’t care about anything or ayone other than money and this picture.
Denham does some screen tests with Ann, with all the sailors watching. Ann practices with the famous scream scene.
Sidenote her dress kinda looks like the one in White Zombie.
She is like a zombie.
Anyways, back to the film-this screaming pierces Jack as he loves Ann, but it also makes him wonder-what is Denham planning on them seeing?
They come into a fog and look for the island, but can hardly see anything…As they get closer they hear drums, but the fog burns off and they see the island.
Carl Denham: [seeing the island for the first time] Well, Skipper, there she is… Skull Mountain, the wall… everything just like on my funny little map.
Denham and the group plan to go ashore. The skipper comes as he knows languages, they have a guy who does the gas bombs (just in case), etc. Jack wants Ann to stay behind until they have assessed the situation, but Denham won’t listen. He wants his camera and cast by his side so that at any moment a picture can be filmed.
They look at the Wall and Denham goes ape over it, wanting to film it immediately. As they go Ann holds Jack’s hand, she’s excited and slightly fearful. But Jack is very afraid, he thinks having Ann come along was an awful idea.
The group stumble on a ceremony. The people are dressed up in ape skins, beating drums, and preparing a girl for something-some special ceremony is going on. The poor girl, she looks so sad and upset, but doing her duty.
Denham films them, and Ann peaks out trying to see what is going on. But they are spotted by the native’s leader. He walks over to them and the Skipper speaks to him in the hopes of keeping any fighting from happening.
The leader asks them to leave and says that the girl is the bride of Kong. One guy is upset-he says the ceremony has been ruined as it was viewed by outsiders. The chieftain asks to purchase Ann because of her yellow hair, and they think she would make a better gift for Kong. He wants to buy her, six of women for her.
They leave as the situation is hot, and say they will be back tomorrow to make friendship.
Anyone!
This want of her blonde hair as they had ever seen one before reminds me of my friend Margery. Margery had beautiful red hair and traveled all over, and people in other countries where red hair was scare were always in awe of it and wanting to touch her curls.
Jack and Ann talk, and he admits that he cares for her. He scared for her and a little of her.
He makes me laugh. Jack has zero clues on how to be romantic.
Ann likes him too and they kiss. Jack gets called away by the Skipper, while Ann waits for him. But little does she know the people are intent on gettig her. They want her for their god and sneak aboard the boat and snatch her.
Denham notices torches going throughout the village, and Jack finished his duties and searches for Ann. But Ann is gone.
He goes to her room-no Ann, no one has seen her. But Charlie finds a native bracelet and calls all hands on deck as he has a bad feeling about it.
So the ceremony has begin, but unlike the previous girl-Ann doesn’t want to do the duty so they have to hold her.
They pull the bar from the door back and open to reveal…..a stage, they drag her through the giant walls, looking like little dolls next to them and pull her up the steps, chaining her t it. And seal her on it.
I remember the first time I saw this and I was just on the edge of my seat, what will it be? What is it going to look like??!!!
And then you hear the noises
And then he crashes through and we see his giant scary face!!!!!!!!! Those teeth!!!!! I LOVE it! They did such a great job, and I think it still looks 100% aMAZING!
Kong is just like what is this and grabs her carrying her off.
Meanwhile, Jack leads the band to save her. The crew goes storming in, all willing to save her as all loved her. A chunk stay behind to guard the gate and make sure that it stays open for their return.
The chieftain sees them storm in and sends his own men after. You guys never should have taken their women, it ruined your whole way of life.
As they march Denham still is thinking about the picture-money, filming.
They spot a stegosaurs, but they knock him out, temporarily and shoot him.
It’s funny but like all the creatures are giant on this island, bit the humans are still human-sized. I wonder why?
They make a raft and drift dow the river, I would be very, very, very afraid to be on that river safer seeing a stegosaurus. Who knows what else is in the water.
As they drift along we see some loch ness monster type thing
I still think it looks cool. It looked cool as a kid and still does. And I don’t care about what anyone else says.
NOOOOOO it eats some of the crew!!!
Things just get worse as they are followed by a Brontosaurs. This would be the worst island of all time to be stuck on. Basically everything is giant and trying to kill you!
Everything is trying to kill me!
Meanwhile Kong has Anne and Jack and the rest are not too far behind. The chase is on!
They are crossing a tree branch above a ravine, except Jack who gets on a vine nearby, but Kong picks it up and shakes them off-some falling to their death only two managing to hold on, opps..make that one. Kong then throws the branch and they all are dead.
All but Jack.
Wow!
Kong spots him and tries to grab him from his hiding spot, but Jack stabs his hand. But Jack has more serious problems when a snake like creature also goes to attack him.
Meanwhile, Ann is waiting in the tree that Kong placed her in for safekeeping, when a T-Rex comes out and tries to get her. We then have the epic Kong and T-Rex fight, YEAH!
I like T-Rexs, but..oh no, they bumped into Ann’s branch and it fell. She is almost crushed and finds herself trapped under the log.
Poor Anne, I bet she’s thinking I should have never agreed to this job. I should have just walked away from Denham and never looked back.
Oooh King Kong rips the T-Rex’s jaw apart and then plays with it not going back together. His creepy ape face with all the teeth!
Kong picks her up and caries her away screaming. Jack comes up and sends Denham (they guy has nine lives, I swear) off to get some more smoke bombs to knock Kong out.
Jack is prepared to go alone and fight the giant ape monster.
Carl Denham: [talking to Jack across the ravine] Why, you wouldn’t follow that beast alone?
Jack Driscoll: Someone’s got to stay on his trail while it’s hot!
Ladies, find yourself a Jack. Like this is the kind of bravery and love you want in a person. Can you imagine this-a giant freaking ape that could squash you like a bug-anyone could have been out but he decides to face it on his own because he loves Ann. How sweet.
So cute!!
Denham heads back to shore tells them the story, and Skipper is sure all they are all dead men. Everyone else is after all. Denham plans to leave at dawn with the bombs and go after them.
Meanwhile, Kong goes to his lair where he sets Ann down for a minute and another creature comes after her out o the water.
Man today is not anybody’s day!
We get another fight scene!! Yeah!! Of course after winning Kong must do a victory roar.
So now it is Ann and the monster alone she faints. And Kong picks her up looking and her. He rips her clothes off trying to figure out what they are-the other girl was in a skirt and flowers, the one that was supposed to be the bride.
This scene was one that was removed as it was too “graphic” and then added back in later.
Hmmm?
Jack tries to sneak up on them, but knocks a boulder over. Real smooth.
Kong looks for him, and as he does Ann inches away and is attacked by a pterodactyl. Geez-it has really not been her day.
While Kong fights it, Jack sneaks in and leads her away on a vine. Kong eats the pterodactyl and Ann is grateful to be away.
See this is what bugged me in the remake, how they tried to make Ann and Kong friends. She doesn’t want to leave the giant ape monster which makes no sense to me. Like I LOVE cats, but being stranded on a desert island with a ginormous one that has bee known to devour the previous women-I don’t think that I would ever want to do that.
And let’s be serious-if I want a giant friendly ape-I’m watching Mighty Joe Young-If I want a killer monster ape, I’m watching King Kong. I don’t watch King Kong to have a girl beast love affair and ice-skating and Jack jealous of a gorilla and all that dumb stuff.
For the thousandth time
Speaking of giant cats, did anybody ever read the picture book Kat Kong as a kid? I used to check that out over and over again.
They all want to leave but Denham of course is all about the money. He wants to take Kong with them.
Carl Denham: Wait a minute, what about Kong?
Jack Driscoll: Well, what about him?
Carl Denham: We can here to get a moving picture, and we’ve found something worth more than all the movies in the world!
Captain Englehorn: [incredulous] What?
Carl Denham: We’ve got those gas bombs. If we can capture him alive…
Jack Driscoll: Why, you’re crazy. Besides that, he’s on a cliff where a whole army couldn’t get at him.
Carl Denham: Yeah, if he stays there…[looks at Ann] but we’ve got something he wants.
Jack Driscoll: [holds Ann] Yeah. Something he won’t get again.
Jack is not interested and wants to get gone. They all hurry when they hear Kong is coming. Seal the doors, run for the ship, the natives try to keep him out too-all joining together but, Kong comes and boy is he mad.
He breaks the doors down (FYI whoever built that wall you din’t build it strong enough). Everyone flees in terror! If I was the chieftain I would fire whoever come up with the idea to get the blonde woman.
RUN, the men try to protect their people and women but Kong is too strong!!!! He eats them and kills them.
Kong eventually makes it to the beaches and they throw the bombs at him trying to knock him out and accomplishing it.
Denham makes a big speech and they take him to New York.
[Kong has been knocked out by gas bombs]
Carl Denham: Why, the whole world will pay to see this.
Captain Englehorn: No chains will ever hold that.
Carl Denham: We’ll give him more than chains. He’s always been king of his world, but we’ll teach him fear. We’re millionaires, boys. I’ll share it with all of you. Why, in a few months, it’ll be up in lights on Broadway: Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World.
One thing that has always bothered me-and they never explain in the new one either-how did they get that giant creature from the island to New York? Like he is ginormous! He’s bigger than the boat. How did they feed him?
Anyways, I don’t know how, but they do it and bring Kong to New York City.
They all come to the opening night and Ann is excited and Jack is not happy. He doesn’t care for being there and hates the suit. Jack is very humble when Denham tries to paint him as the hero and Ann the star!
The house is packed out and all are eager to see Kong. Denham gives a great speech, but like Ian Malcolm says-chaos you cant control everything. He reveals Kong-now chained to a platform-oohh the irony. Ann and Jack are engaged! Aw! Denham has the press come foward and they take pictures. Bad idea!
All the light bothers Kong and then Jack holding Ann-it gets to be to much and Kong breaks free.
Everyone goes screaming and running as Kong chases after them, Grabbing people, throwing them while searching for his girl.
Even as a kid I was always conscious of money and always wondered who’s going to pay for all the damage? Denham? Does he get arrested for the carnage and wreckage? Can you imagine if this was made today? Lawsuit after lawsuit would come running in.
Ann is upset and discussing her PTSD over the event, while Jack tries to console her-but too late. Kong has found them. Jack gets knocked unconscious and Kong takes Ann.
Jack wake up and runs off to rescue her again.
Meanwhile the police and fire department gets called in. Can you imagine the luck of being one of the people who pulled that shift this night. Getting a calls about giant apes!
Kong causes destruction and mayhem and gets caught in a train, breaking it and you just gotta love it. He’s destroying everything!
So the story says Merian C. Cooper didn’t like that the film was at thirteen reels, too unlucky! He insisted they add another shot, one he’s been wanting all along that was the train scene.
He heads for the tallest building in the world (at least in 1933) to the Empire State Building.
They don’t know what to do or how to stop him, but Jack comes up with the idea of airplanes, so the military is called in. While everyone is watching the planes. Jack sneaks into the elevator and heads to the roof.
We see Kong at the top with the planes. I LOVE this scene.
The planes shoot him and he falls, down down to his death! Jack makes it to the top and he and Ann are reunited!
Down below Denham makes it to the ape and says the famous line.
Police Lieutenant: Well, Denham, the airplanes got him.
Carl Denham: Oh no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.
I LOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
You know this film made $90,000 its opening weekend, the biggest opening ever at the time. When the film opened in London, 12,000 people had to be turned away.
You know its funny, I planed to review this movie way back when I first started Horrorfest, but I just ran out of days. I had always planed on reviewing it, but never imagined it would take seven ears Oh well!
Day 18) R is for Remake: Choose a Book that is a Retelling of a Classic
The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark
I was in the college campus bookstore because I needed to buy some scantrons and decided to look around as my friend’s birthday was coming up. She is really into being environmentally friendly, so I was looking at the recycled products when I spotted one of my favorite things: Clearance Books. You know how I feel about that.
I didn’t really see anything that I was interested in or would be a good gift for my friend. As I pushed the books around I spotted this one.
The first thing that intrigued me was the cover and how the hair is butterflies. I flipped the back over and read that it was a retelling of Pygmalion, the story most would recognize as its musical form My Fair Lady.
I thought it sounded interesting and was reduced to a good price, but I felt like I couldn’t buy it as I didn’t have the extra money for myself and was supposed to be shopping for my friend. So I left it behind.
I don’t need it.
Later I began thinking about it.
I just couldn’t get it off my mind so I ended up looking for it in the library.
But they didn’t have it!
But I was able to ILL (Inter Library Loan) it and I got it from another place.
I then read the story and quickly loved it, finding it hard to put down.
Now you know how I feel about remakes and sequels:
But this was nothing like that. I thought this book was absolutely amazingly written and was incredible in retelling the story.
Background:
So the original play Pygmalion takes place during Victorian Era England. Eliza Doolittle is a woman from the lower classes who sells flowers to survive. She comes upon an angry Professor Henry Higgins, an aristocrat, who is appalled at how her cockney butches the English language. He makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he could take Eliza, teach her how to talk eloquently, and she would be able to pass off as a wealthy woman. He never imagined that Eliza would take up his offer, but she does and Col. Pickering insists on them continuing the bet.
Plot Synopsis:
In this version, we are in modern day Manhattan. Wyatt Hayes IV is from an old family stock, high in the community, and biological anthropologist with his doctoral degree from Harvard. He is bored with his life and stalled career, and disgusted with the way that these modern Manhattanites conduct themselves. More like the Kardashians, taking every bit of limelight they can, rather than being the Jackie Onassis.
He breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, Cornelia, as all she cares about is becoming a “brand” and working on her “career” as a socialite.
He heads over to his favorite bar to hang out with his friend Trip Peters, fellow Gothamite and complains that these women today, are just like the animals he’s studied.
Or them
Meanwhile, Lucy Jo Ellis is the daughter of a manicurist in Milwaukee. She came to New York in the hopes of becoming a fashion designer; but has barely been able to scrape by on her pay as an assistant seamstress for a designer. She believes she is given her dream when she is gifted an invitation at the designer’s fashion show, but that turns out to be a call for assisting in catering and does not go well.
Fired, and with zero options and no money; it looks like Lucy is headed back to Milwaukee.
Wyatt muses on this thought of society women like the animal kingdom, and as he drinks decides it is the perfect project for him…for a book! He could take any average woman and using his knowledge of the animal kingdom and New York socialites; he could change her into the top debutante.
A chance meeting with Lucy, as she is trying to make her way home, he bets he can turn her into the top socialite.
Lucy reacts like any normal girl would, and freaks out thinking that he is crazy or trying to pick her up. She takes off.
I’m getting out of here
However, with no possibilities coming her way and living on her last dollar she decides to take Wyatt up on his crazy experiment. Wyatt is eager for this to work as he has his book deal, which he has not told Lucy anything about (bad idea)
And Lucy believes that when she becomes a socialite she can use that to create bonds with the right people, finding a new designer to work with or possibly even start out on her own.
Will Wyatt be able to make due on his bet and turn her into a real lady?
Or will the whole plan flop?
Not good
Will Lucy be able to score her dream job?
Or will she become the laughingstock of the upper crust and be kicked out of New York City?
And run fast
How Does It Compare?:
I thought the characters were amazingly well done and I loved how the book was able to follow the map of the original story; but at the same time infuse it with their own style and create a new-old tale.
Some changes that the author, Clark, made , I felt enhanced the story. She added a girlfriend for Wyatt’s Professor Higgen’s character, being the catalyst for his bet. She is shallow, vain, and only cares about her image; being the foil for Lucy.
We also have a girlfriend for Trip (the Col. Pickering character), being Eloise. Eloise is a personal shopper/stylist ad gets recruited to assist in dress and makeup for Lucy. The two become fast friends and we become invested in her and her distress over Trip’s lack of commitment.
Clark also extends the characters of the Eynsford-Hill family; the mother, daughter Clara, and son Freddy (Max in the book). Mrs. Eynsford-Hill is a social climber; trying to overcome her family’s downfall by trying to marry her children up. Her daughter is closer to the mother while Freddy is ruled by both women in his life. In the play, they treat Eliza poorly when they see her as a peasant, Freddy later becoming one of her biggest admirers, falling in love with her. In a way they are seen as Eliza’s accomplishments; so well trained in being a lady they don’t even realize she is the same women from before.
In this book we spend a lot of time in their head and learn that Clara wishes to have wealth and fortune, but is willing to put that aside for love and true happiness. Freddy, Max in this book, isn’t interested in continuing “wall street business” but is more comfortable creating things and doing capentry. He has a lot more to him, and eventually strikes out on his own. He later becomes a love interest for Eloise, who is tired of Trip’s stalling.
I thought this was a fantastic read and highly recommend it.
Today’s Christmas carol is Silver Bells. It was written in 1950 and composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. At first it was called Tinkle Bells, until Livingston pointed out the other meaning of tinkle.
There is a big conflict as to where the idea came from. Livingston was quoted saying the idea came from hearing the Salvation army bells, while Evans said it was a bell on their desk. Oh well, it doesn’t really matter as a great song came out of either source.
The song was orginally sung by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in The Lemon Drop Kid, but the first official release of the song was done Bing Crosby and Carol Richards.
janeaustenrunsmylife 