Poll

What's your favorite film by Mervyn LeRoy?

Little Caesar
0 (0%)
Five Star Final
0 (0%)
Two Seconds
0 (0%)
Three on a Match
0 (0%)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
2 (12.5%)
Hard to Handle
0 (0%)
The World Changes
0 (0%)
Gold Diggers of 1933
2 (12.5%)
Heat Lightning
0 (0%)
I Found Stella Parish
0 (0%)
Anthony Adverse
0 (0%)
They Won't Forget
0 (0%)
Fools for Scandal
0 (0%)
Waterloo Bridge
1 (6.3%)
Escape
0 (0%)
Blossoms in the Dust
0 (0%)
Johnny Eager
1 (6.3%)
Random Harvest
0 (0%)
Madame Curie
0 (0%)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
1 (6.3%)
Without Reservations
0 (0%)
Homecoming
0 (0%)
Little Women
1 (6.3%)
Any Number Can Play
0 (0%)
East Side, West Side
0 (0%)
Quo Vadis (with Anthony Mann)
1 (6.3%)
Lovely to Look at
0 (0%)
Million Dollar Mermaid
0 (0%)
Mister Roberts (with John Ford)
1 (6.3%)
The Bad Seed
0 (0%)
No Time for Sergeants
0 (0%)
The FBI Story
1 (6.3%)
The Devil at 4 O'Clock
0 (0%)
A Majority of One
0 (0%)
Gypsy
0 (0%)
other (specify)
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
5 (31.3%)
don't like any
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 16

Author Topic: LeRoy, Mervyn  (Read 3063 times)

1SO

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #10 on: June 17, 2015, 09:21:39 PM »
The FBI Story (1959)
* * * - Very Good
This is one of those films made with full cooperation of the government that paints a very rosy picture of how efficient and effective the government. It's a series of cases, which are all solved by the FBI's numerous field agents and incredibly smart staff. I've seen a number of these types of films mess up Noir with its clumsy whitewashed docudrama, however this one is the best because of its lead.

James Stewart plays a sort of federal Forrest Gump, taking part in most of the FBI's most famous cases throughout history. When he's not directly involved (as in the opening and closing stories) he narrates us through. The stories themselves are dumbed down, but quite exciting as a 50s CSI. What makes this so worth the watch (and I've seen it twice now) is the chemistry between Stewart and his wife, played by Vera Miles (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance). They run through a lot of familiar scenes where the husband is never home, he's missing his kids growing up and she never knows if he's going to die out there. However, the two find a fresh groove with a charisma that is overflowing. Even for Stewart, this is one of his most smile-inducing performances.

There isn't a location that doesn't look like a movie set - both Interior and Exterior. Day or Night - the effects budget is almost Ed Wood low, most of the time it has the overall look of a failed television pilot, and it's at least two cases too long at 150 minutes. However, the performances are so delightful none of the usual negatives bring the film down. I decided to buy it.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2015, 03:43:07 AM »
Little Women

Though it's been ages.
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jascook

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2016, 12:39:43 AM »
Gold Diggers of 1933: 7/10
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BlueVoid

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2019, 03:00:28 PM »
I am a Fugitive of a Chain Gang
Gold Diggers of 1933

Little Caesar
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1SO

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2019, 12:48:38 AM »
Updated Rankings

The World Changes (1933)
★ ★
Ambitious multi-generational saga tries to squeeze too much into 90 minutes. When it leaps forward you need a minute to figure out who is the offspring of who. Stars Paul Muni, who I refer to as the classic Daniel Day-Lewis, and this is his Daniel Plainview, starting in the west and ending angry and alone, railing against everyone he knew. Some good cast – Mary Astor’s fall into madness is frightening – but this needed some time to breathe.



Fools For Scandal (1938)
★ ★ ★ – Okay
At the time people thought Carole Lombard was stuck in a screwball comedy rut, (Lombard herself speaks poorly of this film), but it’s a decent entry in the genre and Lombard is in excellent form. Allen Jenkins is on hand to help. So is Ralph Bellamy, but he lays on the jealous boyfriend part too thick.


Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
★ ★ ★ – Okay
I find Greer Garson to be a less interesting actress. She’s precise and hits all the right beats, but she’s Bette Davis without the force of will. In this bio/pic she plays a woman who works for the cause of orphan children. It’s fine, though some moments are framed too pristinely for Oscar momentum.


Homecoming (1948)
★ ★ ˝
Clark Gable is happily married to Anne Baxter, but during the wat he has an affair with Lana Turner because… well they’re Gable and Turner. Film takes great pains to portray Gable as a loving husband and Baxter is so much more interesting than Turner. That plus Gable being around 20 years older than his co-stars take out the romance and any rooting interest.


Any Number Can Play (1949)
★ ★ ★ – Good
I’m jealous of Clark Gable’s charm, which he could back with legit acting talent. I keep waiting to see him give a lesser performance in one of these less popular films, but it never happens. Turns out the film is really good too. A character drama with shades of Noir and gangster films. The kind of story with a lot going on – personal and professional – over one long eventful night. Rich supporting cast includes Alexis Smith, Wendell Corey, Audrey Totter, Frank Morgan, Barry Sullivan, William, Conrad, Edgar Buchanan and a key scene with Mary Astor. A Discovery.


Quo Vadis (1951)
★ ˝
This is why people hate sword and sandal movies. 170 minutes of ham (Peter Ustinov, more cartoonish than in Disney's Robin Hood)  and cheese (Bible parables are wedged in to give class to this trash). Robert Taylor plays an absolute jerk who buys Deborah Kerr and mocks her religious beliefs, but it all works out because she loved him from the moment she first saw him. Cleopatra is not the worst of this type of film. Not even close.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #15 on: September 08, 2019, 01:13:07 AM »
I had previously had Gypsy as my choice, but then I found Mister Roberts on the list. No choice but to change my vote.

colonel_mexico

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #16 on: September 12, 2019, 11:11:13 PM »
Quo Vadis (1951)
★ ˝
This is why people hate sword and sandal movies. 170 minutes of ham (Peter Ustinov, more cartoonish than in Disney's Robin Hood)  and cheese (Bible parables are wedged in to give class to this trash). Robert Taylor plays an absolute jerk who buys Deborah Kerr and mocks her religious beliefs, but it all works out because she loved him from the moment she first saw him. Cleopatra is not the worst of this type of film. Not even close.

Do you have a review somewhere of DeMille's Sign of the Cross?  Though you are certainly not wrong ha ha
« Last Edit: September 13, 2019, 12:15:28 AM by 1SO »
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1SO

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Re: LeRoy, Mervyn
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2019, 12:17:07 AM »
I haven't seen it, though I recently saw moments from it on Season 2 of American Horror Story.