Movies you saw for the 1st time May 2012

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932) the great Paul Muni as the escaped convict that makes good James Allen. really well acted movie by all involved esp Edward Ellis as chain gang convict "Bomber" Wells. considered a classic social commentary on the brutality of the southern prison system in America at that time. the movie was nominated for Best Picture and Muni for Best Actor in 1932. well worth watching IF you like great acting and  the "Hollywood Classics"

Muni also played his more famous part of Tony Camonte in Scareface the same year which later became the Al Pachino Tony Montana role in the 1983 remake. overall he's one of the all time GREAT actors of the 1930's. along with Edward G. Robinson's Rico Bandello in Little Caesar and James Cagney's Tom Powers in The Public Enemy, the character of Tony Camante is STILL the prototype for the gangster in movies.

World War I is over.  Johnny has come marching home.  But there 's little fanfare and no meaningful work for one war vet.  There 's only the desperate life of an unjustly convicted fugitive.  Twice he is sentenced to a chain gang.  Twice he escapes.  They can put his hands and feet in irons, but not his will to be free.

Paul Muni gives a jolting, lived-in performance in this powerhouse classic directed by Mervyn LeRoy (Little Caesar) and based on autobiographical writings by chain-gang escapee Robert E. Burns.  Like many '30s crime sagas, this one thrills with brisk pacing and gritty realities.  Yet it also stands apart as a film that made a difference.  It ignited protests that led to vital penal reforms.  And Burns himself received a commuted sentence.  He would be a fugitive no more.

Downloading it now. 

Downloading it now.

let me know what you think, coldsnap. I'm a big fan of "old hollywood" so I'm somewhat biased toward movies like this.

I'm hoping it's on one of my premium movie channels in the near future. I watched the old BBC series on PBS years ago and thought it was a GREAT spy story based on the true "Canbridge Spies" scandal in 1950's British Intelligence. somewhat suprised the movie ended up a box office flop considering the cast included Gary Oldman as main character George Smiley,  Colin Firth as "Tailor", John Hurt as "Control" and Toby Jones as "Tinker".

watched Cars 2 last night and though it was even BETTER than the original with it's "James Bond" style plot. Daniel "Larry the Cable Guys" Whitney's voice of of the bumbling "Tow-Mater", who is mistaken by the British secert agent cars as an American intell operative, is actually the main character in this one. FUN movie with LOTS of action.

it's on the STARZ premium channels all next week with the original Cars as lead in.

I like that 1 and the scenery is pretty good. Thats my hs timeframe right there too, reminded me of good times

Hump Day

I do NOT recommend it

watched the German movie with English subtitles Operation Valkyrie (2004) on IFC just to compare to the 2008 Tom Cruise Valkyrie. 

althought Cruise did a pretty good job as Claus von Stauffenberg, I think that Sebastian Koch was more believable and the movie caught just how "conflicted" Stauffenberg and the other conspirators were about having to actually kill "Der Fuhrer". it also went deeper into Stauffenberg's family life and that his "Frau", Nina Schenk, basically "cut him out of the family" when she became aware of the plot.

it's on IFC again Saturday May 19th @ 3:00 am and 12:30 pm pacific time. I think it's worth watching IF your into WWII history AND to compare to the 2008 Tom Cruise movie.

ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Valkyrie_(film)