Nostalgia Trip

[Cadman]

Having developed such disdain for the utter garbage endlessly churned out by Hollywood (with the occasional exception to be fair) ... dipped into my video library and watched these classics on consecutive nights over the past week;

 

Angels One Five (1952)

The 39 Steps (1935)

Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

Ice Cold In Alex (1958)

Malta Story (1953)

Passage To Marseille (1944)

 

All of them staple Sunday afternoon TV fare when I was a kid.

And to complete the latest walk down memory lane it'll be this one tonight;

They Were Expendable (1945)

 

 

 

[Vince1159]

I avoid pretty much anything to do with modern Hollywood as well...

 

12 Angry Men.

On the Waterfront.

The Tin Star.

The Big Sleep.

Casablanca.

D.O.A.

This Gun for Hire.

 

(Edit, I'm also a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone,the best Holmes in my opinion)

 

The list could be endless...

Edited April 28, 2023 by Vince1159

[Cadman]

2 hours ago, Vince1159 said:

I avoid pretty much anything to do with modern Hollywood as well...

 

12 Angry Men.

On the Waterfront.

The Tin Star.

The Big Sleep.

Casablanca.

D.O.A.

This Gun for Hire.

 

(Edit, I'm also a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone,the best Holmes in my opinion)

 

The list could be endless...

 

The list is indeed endless.

Took me years to realize that the character of P/O Baird in "Angels One Five" had been my childhood role model ... 🤯 ... ☺️

Totally agree on the Basil Rathbone/Holmes comment. Need to check, but I think I have every one of them in MP4 or MKV format downloaded from YT.

Also got the colourized version of "Casablanca" from the local DVD shop at some point in the past. It's worth watching for curiosity value, but I still prefer the original B/W version.

Some years ago I decided to convert my DVD box set of "The World at War" to MP4 format and am presently in the process of trying to enhance both the audio and video quality. Ought to be finished doing that in time to begin watching it yet again tonight -- after "They Were Expendable" of course ... 😄

 

Trouble is -- all this is eating into my modelling time and delaying the new WW2 diorama project that was kicked-off last week. Oh well, I'm still waiting for the latest order for a couple more 1:35 Jeeps to pop through the letterbox and it's not like I'm in a race with myself to get it done anyway ... 😆

Must remember to post up a few WIP photos though.

Cheers

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Cadman

[Vince1159]

I remember seeing a colourized version of The Longest Day years ago and i agree with you it's not the same and prefer the black/white versions...

[Cadman]

6 minutes ago, Vince1159 said:

I remember seeing a colourized version of The Longest Day years ago and i agree with you it's not the same and prefer the black/white versions...

 

I've seen that one as well. It was okay but as you say "Not.The.Same".

Edited April 28, 2023 by Cadman

[Vince1159]

One of my favourite silent films is Metropolis (along with Nosferatu),here's the dance scene in the colourized version which to me takes away the age of this classic which is 96 this year...

 

[Cadman]

4 hours ago, Vince1159 said:

One of my favourite silent films is Metropolis (along with Nosferatu),here's the dance scene in the colourized version which to me takes away the age of this classic which is 96 this year...

Sorry mate.

I can't access YT anymore because it's blocked by my ISP and the use of VPN's to get around the situation can attract unwelcome attention.

It is what it is -- unfortunately.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Cadman

[malpaso]

Wow I have only ever seen 5 Graves to Cairo once on UK TV, which seems amazing as 1 it’s great and 2 by Billy Wilder.

Plus Erich con Stroheim as a carpet chewing Rommel, no lovable Desert Fox in this movie. Without giving spoilers , for a period film the ending comes across in quite a measured way.

 

Obviously Lucas and Spielberg had seen 5Graves as it’s definitely an Influence on the first Raiders.

[Cadman]

15 hours ago, malpaso said:

Wow I have only ever seen 5 Graves to Cairo once on UK TV, which seems amazing as 1 it’s great and 2 by Billy Wilder.

Plus Erich con Stroheim as a carpet chewing Rommel, no lovable Desert Fox in this movie. Without giving spoilers , for a period film the ending comes across in quite a measured way.

 

Obviously Lucas and Spielberg had seen 5Graves as it’s definitely an Influence on the first Raiders.

For many reasons it was definitely one of the best films to be released during the 1940's.

All opinions (on any topic of conversation) are subjective, of course.

[malpaso]

54 minutes ago, Cadman said:

For many reasons it was definitely one of the best films to be released during the 1940's.

All opinions (on any topic of conversation) are subjective, of course.

Yes, the amazing thing is it’s virtual invisibility on UK TV.

At one time I tried to get a dvd, but all that was available was Czech with English subtitles!  Even now Blu-ray or DVDs are rare and expensive; it’s weird considering it must have some of the highest ratings on IMDb rotten tomatoes and so on…

[Cadman]

17 minutes ago, malpaso said:

Yes, the amazing thing is it’s virtual invisibility on UK TV.

At one time I tried to get a dvd, but all that was available was Czech with English subtitles!  Even now Blu-ray or DVDs are rare and expensive; it’s weird considering it must have some of the highest ratings on IMDb rotten tomatoes and so on…

Hmm.

I have a feeling that I downloaded it off YouTube before my VPN expired and then enhanced it using one of the free audio/visual converter software packages that are available on the internet.

Might be worth doing a YouTube search for it, although free movies on that website tend to disappear after a certain length of time.

[Vince1159]

I've been through my dvd collection and found a few more

 

The Cruel Sea.

The First of the Few.

Reach for the Sky.

The Long the Short and the Tall.

The Man Who Never Was.

The Sea Shall Not Have Them.

For Those in Peril.

The Way to the Stars.

Silent Enemy.

Light up the Sky.

Theirs is the Glory.

Carve Her Name with Pride.

Odette.

The Way Ahead.

[Pete in Lincs]

Try the free TV channel talking movies. Appointment in London was on this afternoon. B & W, Dirk Bogarde and Lancasters.

[Cadman]

8 hours ago, Vince1159 said:

I've been through my dvd collection and found a few more

 

The Cruel Sea.

The First of the Few.

Reach for the Sky.

The Long the Short and the Tall.

The Man Who Never Was.

The Sea Shall Not Have Them.

For Those in Peril.

The Way to the Stars.

Silent Enemy.

Light up the Sky.

Theirs is the Glory.

Carve Her Name with Pride.

Odette.

The Way Ahead.

Several 10/10 movies there Vince.

The rest? Oh, maybe 9.9/10 ... 😉

"Carve Her Name With Pride" was always a must-watch any time it popped up on the telly.

 

PS. I'm up to E18 on my re-watch of "The World at War" already.

If there's a better WW2 documentary series, then I haven't seen it, although to be fair, some do come close.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Cadman

[Paul H]

Quite a list of excellent films there.  Some I have already seen, some that are on my list of ones that I want to watch.

 

On 28/04/2023 at 08:03, Cadman said:

Angels One Five (1952)

 

All of them staple Sunday afternoon TV fare when I was a kid.

 

On 28/04/2023 at 10:06, Cadman said:

 

The list is indeed endless.

Took me years to realize that the character of P/O Baird in "Angels One Five" had been my childhood role model ... 🤯 ... ☺️

 

Angels One Five was probably the first of these films that I recall watching when it was often on TV (BBC2?) during Christmas and New Year, and is a firm favourite of mine along side Ice Cold in Alex.  My late grandmother was particularly fond of Angels One Five, and I would often watch it with when I was as a child.  She remembered quite a few of the incidents that inspired some of the scenes from her own childhood, as her father wrote the book it was based on, and was also technical advisor to the film.  The cocker spaniel that appears in some scenes on the airbase was her own dog.  Cyril Raymond and Dulcie Gray's characters were essentially semi-autobiographical representations of her parents, including references in their names, and the part with their house at the end of the runway was also based on reality.

[Cadman]

10 minutes ago, Paul H said:

Quite a list of excellent films there.  Some I have already seen, some that are on my list of ones that I want to watch.

 

 

 

Angels One Five was probably the first of these films that I recall watching when it was often on TV (BBC2?) during Christmas and New Year, and is a firm favourite of mine along side Ice Cold in Alex.  My late grandmother was particularly fond of Angels One Five, and I would often watch it with when I was as a child.  She remembered quite a few of the incidents that inspired some of the scenes from her own childhood, as her father wrote the book it was based on, and was also technical advisor to the film.  The cocker spaniel that appears in some scenes on the airbase was her own dog.  Cyril Raymond and Dulcie Gray's characters were essentially semi-autobiographical representations of her parents, including references in their names, and the part with their house at the end of the runway was also based on reality.

WOW..!! Thanks for contributing to the thread

I find info like this utterly fascinating. 

There's certain similarities in the screenplays of "Angels One Five" and "Malta Story" IMO.

Both are wonderful movies of their time.

Cheers