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Poll

What's your favorite film by Richard Quine?

Drive a Crooked Road
1 (6.3%)
Pushover
2 (12.5%)
My Sister Eileen
1 (6.3%)
The Solid Gold Cadillac
1 (6.3%)
Full of Life
0 (0%)
Operation Mad Ball
0 (0%)
Bell Book and Candle
2 (12.5%)
It Happened to Jane
0 (0%)
Strangers When We Meet
1 (6.3%)
The World of Suzie Wong
0 (0%)
The Notorious Landlady
0 (0%)
Paris - When It Sizzles
0 (0%)
Sex and the Single Girl
0 (0%)
How to Murder Your Wife
0 (0%)
Hotel
0 (0%)
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad
0 (0%)
The Moonshine War
0 (0%)
The Prisoner of Zenda
0 (0%)
other
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
7 (43.8%)
don't like any
1 (6.3%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Author Topic: Quine, Richard  (Read 3652 times)

GothamCity151

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2011, 01:20:38 PM »
I have only seen Bell, Book, And Candle. The second best film from 1958 starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.

Totoro

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2013, 02:15:56 PM »
I just checked out Sex and the Single Girl from the library. Interesting cast (Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall). Has anyone seen it?

roujin

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2013, 05:58:38 PM »
Saw it last december, but never wrote about it.

It isn't very good. Cringed audibly at the whole retrograde sexist vibe to it. Nathalie Wood is Nathalie Wood, however.

1SO

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2013, 10:30:37 PM »
The Notorious Landlady
* * *

When I discovered there was a film starring Jack Lemmon and Fred Astaire I was interested and when I saw the script was a mystery/comedy by Larry Gelbart and Blake Edwards I was sold. Quine directs, but this is much more A Shot in the Dark or Operation Petticoat than Pushover. It's a tough balancing act, but by letting Lemmon be hapless and Astaire be cheery as he torpedoes his co-star with sarcasm the film is overall quite a bit of fun. Astaire doesn't dance in this one, but Lemmon is every bit the physical comedian that I love in his Wilder films. The guy can make me laugh just by checking his watch.

Then there's Kim Novak. Top billed, the title character. Very hard to put my finger on as a movie star. She seems to work best when being icy, but every now and then she comes up with a bit of goof and warmth and it's like a whole new type of movie star is hiding under that blonde bombshell. I was surprised by the unflattering angles she had here, where she looked human, older and kind of large for a beauty. Yet, she never completely loses her "goddess among the men" status. She's not a born entertainer like her co-stars, but there's something else at work. It's like she wants to come off as natural and the filmmakers keep putting her on that pedestal. The tension is interesting, though I'm probably the only person who sees it.

1SO

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Re: Quine, Richard
« Reply #14 on: December 08, 2013, 01:47:39 AM »
1. Pushover
2. The Solid Gold Cadillac
3. The Notorious Landlady
4. Drive a Crooked Road

5. Operation Mad Ball
6. My Sister Eileen
7. Strangers When We Meet
8. Bell, Book and Candle
9. How to Murder Your Wife
10. It Happened to Jane

11. Sex and the Single Girl
12. Paris When it Sizzles
« Last Edit: February 02, 2021, 07:40:08 PM by 1SO »

1SO

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2014, 11:04:37 PM »
Paris When it Sizzles
1/2

Horrible misfire that has Hollywood trying to hitch a ride on the French New Wave. William Holden plays an insufferable screenwriter who has less than 2 days to deliver 138 pages of brilliance. He keeps reminding us of his talent and awards, but all of the scenes we hear and see are horribly written, destroying the premise at the foundation. Along the way, he and Audrey Hepburn (the film's one saving grace, though I've never seen her struggle to be charming before) immerse themselves into the story while Richard Quine tries for a fantasy celebration of cinema, its genres and its classic story structure. It's often depressing in its desperation and Holden's constant references to his talent and good looks are a tremendous turnoff. I won't be watching one of his films for a while.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2021, 01:11:30 AM by 1SO »

Antares

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2014, 08:07:40 AM »
The Solid Gold Cadillac

My Sister Eileen
Bell Book and Candle
How to Murder Your Wife
The World of Suzie Wong


Sex and the Single Girl
« Last Edit: April 19, 2014, 08:09:30 AM by Antares »
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)

roujin

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Re: Quine, Richard - Director's Best
« Reply #17 on: October 19, 2014, 03:57:46 PM »
1. My Sister Eileen (1955)
2. Strangers When We Meet (1960)
3. Bell Book and Candle (1958)

Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
« Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 11:35:56 AM by pixote »

1SO

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Re: Quine, Richard
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2021, 07:41:39 PM »
Updated Ranking

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)
★ ★ ★ – Very Good
Personal bias. I have never seen a more accurate representation on screen of my wife. Judy Holliday has a few shares in a large company and she uses them to ask simple, direct questions about how the company is run until the Board give her a job to keep an eye on her, and that’s when she really starts to show her worth. There’s a small diversion about acting that doesn’t pay off for her or co-star Paul Douglas, but the rest is solid gold. I had to watch it twice to show it to Mrs. 1SO, and it only took 10 minutes before my wife exclaimed, “that’s me!” 


Operation Mad Ball (1957)
★ ★ ½
Co-written by Blake Edwards, Jack Lemmon channels his Oscar winning Ensign Pulver hustler into this Sgt. Bilko knock-off that’s full of energy and sexism but light on genuine laughs. Film takes a major downturn about an hour in when Mickey Rooney joins the mayhem, determined to act bigger and louder than Lemmon.


Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
★ ½
I knew this sex comedy starred Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. I didn’t know I was also getting Henry Fonda coupled with Lauren Bacall. That perk quickly wore off, and not because of the dated sexual politics I went in aware of. The jokes become increasingly desperate until this resembles a bad parody film. Characters lose all dimension, taking the charm of the cast with them. It culminates with a race to the airport that’s a sub-Love Bug comedy stunt show.


How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
★ ★
Despite the title, this isn’t AS sexist as the previous two films. A surprise supporting performance by Claire Trevor and an innocuous one by Jack Lemmon in the lead role see to that. It’s also not funny… like ever. Sometimes wild and sometimes timid, it’s a film that just exists.

Antares

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Re: Quine, Richard
« Reply #19 on: February 04, 2021, 05:26:19 PM »
Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
★ ½
It culminates with a race to the airport that’s a sub-Love Bug comedy stunt show.

OMG! Perfect description!
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)