The Swimmer is his best movie:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/swimmer/
Good Lancaster movies I've seen are:
The Killers
Sorry, Wrong Number
From Here to Eternity
Vera Cruz
The Unforgiven
Judgment at Nuremberg
The Train
Atlantic City
Local Hero
The Leopard
Gruppo di famiglia in un interno
Both his Viscontis are not among my favourite Viscontis, but of course they're still good movies.
What a great thread, Burt Lancaster...and Barbara Stanwyck too!
Some of my favorite Lancasters:
The Sweet Smell of Success
Brute Force
Criss Cross
Seven Days In May
Local Hero
Sorry, Wrong Number
The Train
The Midnight Man
Elmer Gantry
The Professionals
I've downloaded The Leopard and The Swimmer, but haven't got around to those yet.
As for Barbara Stanwyck, I love her work with Fred MacMurray (another one of my faves):
Remember The Night(wonderful Christmas/romance)
There's Always Tomorrow
Some other Stanwyck goodies:
Crime Of Passion (with Sterling Hayden)
Witness To Murder (with George Sanders)
Clash By Night (with Robert Ryan & Marilyn Monroe)
I recently watched an early Stanwyck film, Night Nurse (1931), which was fun but a bit creaky, but still she looks so gorgeous as did her co-star, Joan Blondell. Getting into pre-code films at the moment, they're really good.
Last edited by Capt Bringdown; 05-09-2011 at 05:53 PM.
Babyface is my favorite pre-code Stanwyck film. But I think Ann Dvorak is the greatest pre-code girl---check out Scarface 1932, and Three On A Match 1932.
I haven't really seen that many Barbara Stanwyck movies. Those I can think of are:
Meet John Doe
Double Indemnity
The Two Mrs. Carrolls
Sorry, Wrong Number
Jeopardy
Executive Suite
But , even if she hadn't made another film besides Double Indemnity, she still would be an icon. One of the greatest noirs, and Stanwyck's performance has a lot to do with that.
Dial M for Murder by Al Hitch . Did it yesterday.
Pretty good. The part with the key was way too drawn out and convuluded but otherwise good flick.
Walter Huston and Humpy Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
Great plot setup. Huston was great as the old prospector with the correct viewpoint on most everything. Good lesson in the end. Pursue greed like Humpy did with a heartless vengence, end up dead. Be generous and kind, end up rewarded.
yeah Treasure of the SM was one of Bogart's best.
caught two Stanwyck movies recently: Cry Wolf - ok, but not great. bonus points for co-starring Errol Flynn. Ball of Fire - really enjoyable, co-starring Gary Cooper as a nerdy professor.
Great movie. I liked Lancaster's work because he did a lot of his own stunts, especially in this movie. Sliding down the hill (in one sequence) you can see it's him actually performing the hazardous part. Incredible.
Other Lancaster favorites of mine:
Elmer Gantry
Come Back, Little Sheba
Airport (it's cheesy, but, he's wonderful)
There's an early Stanwyck I love: "Forbidden" (1932). She plays the part of a woman who is in love with a married man (Adolph Menjou). He's an up & coming politician seeking higher office. She is content to be the woman behind the man. He's a good man and is portrayed as such. In a riveting part they're in a cab going cross town. She's at her wit's end and they argue, almost violently as she's trying to break away physically & emotionally. The cab stops, she breaks free of his arms, maniacally flee's the cab and runs into the nearby park. It's raining in sheets. She is shown sitting on a park bench, alone, crying in sobs. He enters the frame from the left, sits down next to her and holds her close, the rain running off his hat.
It's gets better. Her boss (Ralph Bellamy) at the newspaper where she writes an advice column is trying to trace down the illicit affair of her lover. He has no idea it's Stanwyck. He's always loved her, but, she doesn't want him. As he gets closer to finding out she marries him in order to keep him at bay and occupied. Nonetheless he finally gets the proof and confronts her in their apartment.
- "What are you going to do?" - Stanwyck
- "I'm going to destroy him." - Bellamy - Turns and he walks thru the door and into the next room."
- "No you won't." - Stanwyck - pulls a .38 and empties it into the door killing the man on the other side.
They show it once in a blue moon on TCM. If you get a chance, don't miss it. The ending is Hollywood tear jerker materiel, but, it's still a treat.
Criterion released The Sweet Smell of Success earlier this year on blu-ray. One of my favs. The transfer looks great and since it's criterion you know it's stacked with features. Barnes and noble is having their biannual 50% off criterion sale till Aug. 1. thinking of picking this up.
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sweet-.../13132/#Review
That is a solid motion picture. It's got the taboo of incest lurking about twixt Lancaster & his sister. And the actress who portrays the sister is a doll.
This. Edward G. Robinson was classic in it as well, but Stanwyck was amazing.
Yep, that one stays with you.
Neff (MacMurray) knows from the beginning he'll never get away with it, but one look at Stanwyck in the white towel, his imagination wild at her claim that she was sunbathing, then the ankle chain and he's finished & ed, just like that. He was just marking time anyway. Same thing at the end when he's collapsed at the office door. He's bled out, but, still insists he'll get up & cross the border into Mexico.
"You're not going anywhere, Walter." - Robinson
Grim business.
Don't know if you guys noticed, but today is Burt Lancaster day on TCM. Caught "Jim Thorpe All American" earlier this morning and "Sweet Smell of Success" just started. "Brute Force" and "The Killers" coming up later
got DVR set for the killers, flame and the arrow, and seven days in may. Caught this heads up too late at work to catch brute force on dvr. I should have started goofing off sooner
I've tried The Killers numerous times and I just can't see the goodness. Brute Force has a television movie feel about it, but, it's tolerable.
More notice next time please.Don't know if you guys noticed, but today is Burt Lancaster day on TCM. Caught "Jim Thorpe All American" earlier this morning and "Sweet Smell of Success" just started. "Brute Force" and "The Killers" coming up later
Where do these rank on MMs list?
Yea I know, I was lucky to have caught it myselfMore notice next time please.
Where do these rank on MMs list?
Well of the 4 films I managed to see, Jim Thorpe was my favorite, because I've just always loved it.
It was my second time seeing Success and it was better than I remembered----Lancaster was absolutely sinister and I loved the "desperation" of Tony Curtis' character.
First time catching Brute Force and man, it was brutal and surprisingly good. Hume Cronyn was really great as a sadisitic prison guard. Lancaster is so tough and his body just amazing. It spends a lot of time explaining how each of the 4 main prisoners ended up there (very cliche---they are all innocent and were double crossed by some heartless, greedy dame). It's not the typical prison break movie, but it was so familiar I wonder some other prison break movie was a remake or based on this one. Anyone know?
And it was my second time seeing The Killers, and it was still a struggle. The story unfolds in good flashbacks, but there seem to be many holes and chapters put together without any "linkage". I'm not sure that description gets across what I'm trying to say. But really, I think the popularity and reputation of the film is based on the fact that it's the first time Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner were featured as leads in a film, and they were both just overwhelmingly gorgeous!
I think I still prefer Lancaster in less tough guy mode and more "psychologically flawed" as in Come Back Little Sheba and Sorry, Wrong Number.
Oh well, I'm starting out behind the power curve again today......there appears to be Burt Lancaster swashbucklers playing all day today on TCM! I've never seen one and chances are I won't get to today cuz I've got a full schedule. I suppose I should have tried to figure out how to use that new DVR machine thingy on my shelf before today----there must be a "start" or "record" button here somewhere
stoker ace is pretty good, it was on the other day
Guns of Navarone
Some good acting and okay script but all in all I was left -meh-.
Me too.
Elephant Walk (1954) Liz Taylor when she really did look good.
Pretty good plot. Drags on a bit 3/4ths of the way till the end. However, all in all a good show. Vieworthy.
This guy as "Appuhamy", the sterotypical Indian main servant of English Mastah:
Guy appeared in an unbelievable # of movies and t.v. shows.
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