Old movies

No, I don't like all old movies, but some, yes. Just finished watching "Man's Favorite Sport". 1950's, and it's funny. Rock Hudson surely could play a part(in more ways than one).

Cary Grant had some good ones, a favorite being "Father Goose", which I swear I'll buy one of these days. Also "Operation Petticoat", which also had Tony Curtis. I loved "The Pink Panther", and one or two of the sequels were pretty good. "The Lion in Winter" is marvelous, and I do have it.

"Casablanca" is one of the best. A few years ago I finally got my daughter to sit down and watch it. When it was over and I asked what she thought she said, "You know, everything in that movie was a cliche'. Except that when they made it, it wasn't". Which I thought a: she's right, and b: that's downright perceptive.

The "Thin Man" movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy were good. Mysteries with some fine comedy mixed in. "The Quiet Man" is one of my favorites. I think I saw the movie, part of it at least, as a child. And then in school one day I found the short story in a book. Next time it was on tv I watched it and marvelled; they had expanded the story to make the movie, and changed some bits, but overall stayed true to it.

A while back I was at a dollar store and found in their DVDs "The Scarlet Pimpernel". For a dollar, a fine movie. The hero makes a marvelous court suckup, and strong leader out of the public eye, and the villain was truly villainous.

On the subject of movies, something that I both wish had been done and am glad it wasn't. If someone had taken the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber and handled them well, any of a number of them would have made damn good movies. My concern was always that the Hollywood crap machinery would screw it up. "So what that he was one of the best writers around? We can make it better", followed by the march into the toilet. Maybe someday...