alorendorff

@GangsterCinema Excellent film. My introduction to Michael Mann.

The character of Frank, played by James Caan in Thief, was partly based on real-life professional thief John Santucci, who served as a consultant on the film. Santucci also appears in the movie as Sergeant Urizzi, the corrupt Chicago vice cop who harasses and shakes down Frank. Santucci, who had only recently been paroled, trained Caan in the methods of a professional thief and supplied the production with his own collection of burglary tools. Under his supervision, Caan spent weeks learning to operate specialized drills, hydraulic pullers and high-temperature thermal lances. The safes Caan breaks into were real, worth thousands of dollars, and the tools and techniques were completely authentic.

@TheSpyCommand Thx. I’ll check it out.

@alorendorff The Red Skelton Museum has uploaded a number of episodes to YouTube.

“The only exercise I get is acting as pall bearer to friends who exercised.” Red Skelton to Johnny Carson.

@TheSpyCommand a rewatch of Montgomery Clift’s bone-shattering performance on the stand in Spencer Tracy’s ‘Judgement at Nurenburg.’ Stunning.

@Lady_FanAccount A great film.

"To Sir with Love" was written especially for the 1967 film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier. Lulu, who was just 19 years old, not only sang the song but also made her film debut as one of the rebellious students. Unimpressed with the original theme songs proposed for the film, she pushed composer Mark London to come up with something better, and he quickly wrote the melody that became the final version. The result was the best-selling single of 1967 in the United States, spending five weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Despite its huge success in America, it was never released as a single in the UK.

@TheSpyCommand Somehow, even tho at the time Batjac was planning another project, I knew this would be Wayne’s last film.

The first time I saw the movie, I was ready to cry.

@tolkienzone Bernard Hill was excellent

Théoden isn't just old here. He looks hollowed out, drained, stuck somewhere inside his own body while Wormtongue speaks through the rot he's spread across the kingdom. It's not that Rohan lost its strength. Its king has become a living symbol of paralysis. Then Gandalf walks in, and the whole thing plays like an exorcism. What makes it work is how sure he is. While Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli handle the guards, Gandalf barely breaks stride. He knows why he's there. Not to argue with Gríma. Not to negotiate with whatever Saruman planted. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth." That lands because this isn't the wandering old man from the first film. He's been through fire and death and come back with a different kind of authority. When Gríma sneers "You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey," the cloak drops and the room understands its mistake at once. He isn't Gandalf the Grey anymore. But the heart of the scene isn't the magic. It's Éowyn's face. The moment Théoden starts coming back, her expression goes from fear to disbelief to relief. Anyone who's watched someone they love come back from a long illness knows that look. She isn't watching a king recover. She's watching someone she loves become recognizable again. That's what makes Bernard Hill's transformation land. The effect holds up twenty years on, but what makes it work is the humanity under it. Théoden's face doesn't just get younger. It gets present again. The king comes back before the kingdom does. Before Helm's Deep, before Pelennor, before any of the moments people remember Rohan for, Théoden has to be pulled out of despair first. Rohan isn't saved by an army here. It's saved by one man opening his eyes.

@TheBatHome This and the Snyderverse Batmobile are my favorites

What are thoughts on the Batmobile design from the burtonverse films?

@RetroMoviesDB Duel at Diablo, Bite the Bullet, Rio Bravo, Hour of the Gun

Name any western that is not The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

@TheSpyCommand Pretty close. I make them at home.

COMING SATURDAY: On The 007 Files, David Leigh talks drinks expert David T. Smith. What did Kina Lillet really taste like and how close can you get to the Vesper that Ian Fleming described in Casino Royale?

@TheSpyCommand I’m wonder if old episodes of ABC’s ‘Hollywood Palace’ variety show are being streamed? If not, why not? Some great back-in-the-day entertainment from what I remember (not including Adam West trying his hand at being a lounge singer).

@TheCinesthetic Couldn’t agree more

Master and Commander (2003) ends by promising more adventures, and it’s still hard to believe they never came. Crowe & Bettany were perfect, and Patrick O’Brian left behind more than 20 novels that could’ve sustained one of cinema’s great franchises.

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black American to win a Pulitzer Prize. She wrote poetry that captured the beauty and struggle of Black life without apology.

@TheSpyCommand He was running from INTERTECH’s paperwork…

One of the most striking images from the Mannix main titles. How did Joe get here? Unlike most images from the titles it wasn’t from an episode

@Todd_Spence “…you got the biggest eyes in the place…”

In 1977, Richard Pryor spoofed Star Wars by playing himself as a bartender in a Cantina sketch for THE RICHARD PRYOR SHOW. He personally asked for George Lucas's blessing, and Lucas was such a big fan of Pryor's, he not only said yes but also gave Pryor various masks and costumes used in the film 😂 hilarious

@TheSpyCommand Tightrope, Buckskin, Riverboat, Rawhide, Lassie, Bearcats

Mannix, Lancer, Laredo

@TheSpyCommand Pilgrim

"...the hell I won't!"

@RealEmirHan They both work for me. They probably edited for time

Casino Royale originally had a longer black and white opening scene. • Bond is at a cricket match, discreetly stalking and observing Dryden’s contact, Fisher. • Fisher notices something suspicious and leaves the match, heading toward the locker room/bathroom area. • Bond follows him stealthily. The tension builds as Fisher realizes he’s being hunted. • This leads directly into a much longer, more brutal version of the bathroom fight. The struggle is messy, savage, and desperate, ending with Bond drowning Fisher in a sink. • The film then cuts to Dryden’s office, where Bond reveals Fisher is already dead—his first kill on the path to earning 00 status.

@TheSpyCommand I always thought the American intro was best. My parents bought me a Craig tape recorder as a kid and I constantly recorded TV audio, especially themes. I remember “Secret Agent” was the first time I’d heard a harpsichord.

Different versions of Danger Man titles (including U.S. version of Secret Agent) youtube.com/watch?v=ZZcMHW…

@TheCinesthetic May not be the best, but far better than it was originally given credit for and despite the time passing holds up remarkably well in rewatch. Casting, action, acting, writing and especially the score are all excellent. Yeah, I said acting. Lazenby wasn’t that bad.

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969) remains one of the boldest Bond films ever made. The franchise’s great tragic romance, ending on a note that still hits like a freight train. Christopher Nolan has repeatedly cited it as one of his favorite Bond films.