If you lot are anything like me (and I suspect at least some of you are) you enjoy a good OLD movie. I drive my girlfriend to distraction in my passion for old movies. My Netflix (tm) movie list reads like a collection of films from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

And, seeing as we all obviously share a fondness for Vampire: The Masquerade, it's probably safe to bet that some of you enjoy the darker elements of storytelling. A lot of our themes can be found present in old film noir pictures.

I had the morning off today and had the good fortune to catch 'The Lady from Shanghai' on television, starring the great Orson Wells. A fantastic piece of cinema if I do say so myself.

Orson Wells plays a boathand (Mike O'Hara) on a rich lawyer's yacht. The lawyer Arthur Bannister, a crippled twisted soul played to perfection by Everett Sloane, is married to the stunningly beautiful Elsa (played by Wells real life wife at the time, Rita Hayworth!).

They are accompanied on their cruise by a cast of creepy, mysterious characters who each seem to have a secret. Soon, Mike falls for Elsa and the sordid nature of her marriage to her unscrupulous husband becomes clear.

This is the movie that features the famous house of mirror ending when the scheming lovers finally confront one another.

DEFINATELY worth watching if you haven't seen it. It's all the film noir without the B campiness. It brings to life 1940's San Francisco beautifully in those final scenes in which Mike flees about Chinatown, trying to escape the coppers.

Jay Bibbles Rating: A -

The one black and white I've ALWAYS enjoyed, shockingly enough, was the film A Christmas Carol. My favorite scene is the one between Scrooge and his housekeeper on the stairway! She actually throws her apron over her head and cries! I'd always read about that gesture in romance novels but had yet to see anyone do it. How anyone could see thru those thickly woven pieces of clothing and run the rest of the way down, and out the door, is beyond me!!! :shock:

Watched the remake of Flight of the Phoenix last night, enjoyable though still inferior to the tension of the original.

However, it cmade me think of one of my favourite B&W movies, Ice Cold In Alex. Starring John MIlls, set during WW2 following the seemingly hopeless journey of an ambulance carrying Mr. MIlls and his colleagues to Alexandria.

The scene however that sticks in my head is when upon reaching Alexandria, and Mills reaching a bar for an "ice cold" one. One of the passengers, who claimed to be South African, reveals himself as a German. However he DID help them escape capture. So what do they do?

Do they throw him to the dogs?

No.

They buy him a beer!

Excellent.

the postman always rings twice.

is that the right title?

While on the topic of movies, does anyone use movie quotes in regular conversation?

My sister and I are nuts for the Marx Bros. It's not uncommon for us to throw lines from their movies into normal conversation - this drives my sister-inlaw mad because she falls behind in the conversation and has no idea what we're talking about.

A prime example, we're at the supermarket and had intended to pick up a few items and go but before long we had an armful of items each. My sister shuffled a couple of her items into my arms, to which I replied "getta your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!" to which she replied "Free bus! Standish sanitarium!" My sister-inlaw just stood there.

Both lines are from 'A day at the races', Chico gives Groucho a huge pile of books to carry while disguised as an icecream vender (long story - watch the movie!).

So, is it just me (and my sister) or does everyone do this?

My brother, best mate and I regularly quote Commando every time we see Jenny first time in the morning.

*adopts Arnold voice* "Jenny!"

[quote:fe02790bf7="batty"]While on the topic of movies, does anyone use movie quotes in regular conversation?

<snip>

So, is it just me (and my sister) or does everyone do this?[/quote:fe02790bf7]

Nah, it's the whole world, actually. I don't think there's a day that goes by that people (my family included) don't quote some line from a movie. Star Wars, Star Trek, Casablance, etc... they're all fair game. However, most of us just throw out a line or two and let it go at that. BUT, if the situation warrants it, sometimes they can spout off a whole bunch of them. My daughter is very good at that and I think my granddaughter is following in her (and her fathers!) footsteps. :shock:

my best friend and I can have entire conversations with only msotly quotes from so many varied things that ppl can't keep up.... i'd post an example, but im tired, so nyah

AAh good, I feel much better now, thank you. :)