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filmnoirfoundation · 2 years

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NOIR CITY bonus screenings have been added!

Monday 1/30: TOO LATE FOR TEARS (5:00, 8:30) and WOMAN ON THE RUN (7:00) Wednesday 2/1: WOMAN ON THE RUN (5:30, 8:45) and TOO LATE FOR TEARS (7:00) Admission will be at regular Grand Lake Theater prices: Gen Adm $13; Child/Senior $9.50; Matinee $7.50 NOIR CITY passports will be honored for all screenings. TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)

For many years, all 35mm prints of "Too Late for Tears" (1949) were believed lost, but through the determined efforts of the Film Noir Foundation, enough original material has been discovered to enable a restoration, performed under the auspices of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Based on a novel by future television titan Roy Huggins, and featuring Huggins' own brilliant screenplay, the film is a neglected masterpiece of noir, awaiting rediscovery. A suburban housewife (Lizabeth Scott) decides to keep a satchel of money accidentally tossed into her convertible, against the wishes of her husband (Arthur Kennedy). Dan Duryea plays the intended recipient of the cash and he’s not into sharing. The result? Mayhem and murder. Dir. Byron Haskin WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950)

A lost gem rediscovered! Thanks to the efforts of the Film Noir Foundation, this terrific 1950 film noir, the only American print of which was burned in a 2008 fire, has been rescued and restored to its original luster. Join the wild chase around San Francisco as a man goes into hiding after witnessing a gangland execution. Police bird-dog his wife Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), certain she’ll lead them to her husband, whose testimony against the killer could bring down a crime kingpin. But Eleanor and her hubbie are Splitsville—she never wants to see him again. When roguish newspaperman Danny Leggett (Dennis O’Keefe) charms Eleanor into helping him track down the hidden husband—there are unexpected, stunning and poignant results. This nervy, shot-on-location thriller is a witty and wise look at the travails of romance and marriage, and perhaps the best cinematic depiction ever of mid-20th century San Francisco. Dir. Norman Foster

#noir city #noir city 20 #grand lake theatre #too late for tears #lizabeth scott #dan duryea #woman on the run #ann sheridan #dennis o'keefe #film noir foundation #35mm restoration #35mm screening #film noir #film restoration

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popcornandgreenolives · 3 years

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friends forever

Saved by the Bell [1989-1993] Review (Seasons 1-4)

IMDb Summary: A close-knit group of six friends get through their teens together while attending Bayside High School in Palisades, California.

Shortly after Peacock launched the Saved by the Bell reboot, there had been an all-weekend marathon of the original Saved by the Bell series on E!, which really made me nostalgic and is ultimately what inspired me to do this full re-watch.

Since it had been so long since I’d last seen it, I had forgotten a lot of the storylines, although there were certain scenes that I do remember vividly. While most of the episodes followed the classic 'Zack schemes + scheme goes wrong + someone gets in trouble + they all learn a lesson' formula and episodes were mostly lighthearted, they also covered such serious topics as drug use, drunk driving, feminism and environmentalism as well as a Saturday morning kids show could. The storylines were cheesy and the schemes sometimes VERY (and unbelievably) elaborate but… I am also aware that it was because this is a show that started out on Saturday morning and later lived on after school on syndication - so, I take this show for what it is: a fun, campy, feel-good show for kids and teens. As a friend recently put it, aside for some jokes that didn’t age well, it’s makes me feel comfy and nostalgic because it reminds me of a simpler, more carefree time. In short, I really enjoyed revisiting the original series and it was a nice reminder of why I loved it so much and why it holds a special place in my heart <3

What I liked:

The nostalgia. Zack’s high-top Converse sneakers and brick phone, Kelly’s teased out bangs, Slater’s mullet, the Walkmans (Walkmen?), the pay phones (!!), the bright big t-shirts, the acid-washed jeans and the boxy suits (with the shoulder pads of course)… They’re all so iconic of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Oh, the good ole days.

It got better as the seasons went on. The first season was fun and ok, but I ended up liking the later seasons better, specifically seasons 2 and 3 and most of 4. The episodes outside of the school setting were my most favorite. As a child, I remember really liking the Malibu Sands episodes so much because it was fun to see them during the summer outside of the classroom, and as an adult I ended up liking the Palm Springs episodes a lot too.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris. Rewatching this show through an adult lens (and now after having seen “Zack Morris is Trash”), I can totally see how one can see Zack’s behavior as often problematic and how he was a horrible person and a terrible friend. But as a kid, I do remember thinking that he was just so cool and awesome and someone you’d totally want to hang out with. As much of a troublemaker as he was, there was always that quality about him that made him so likable - a quality that only MPG’s Zack had, which subsequent reincarnations of that Zack-like character weren’t able to recapture (his later counterparts - or any of the characters to be quite honest - on Saved by the Bell: the New Class did not have nearly as much charisma as Zack). In addition, because he often breaks the 4th wall (one of the earliest shows I had watched at the time where I can remember this occurring), it's as if he is talking directly to you, the audience member, as if he IS your pal. In the end, he always showed that he was well-meaning and deep down - sometimes (it may have taken awhile, but - ) deep deep DEEP down - had a good heart because he always ended up learning his lesson and doing the right thing. Sure, he became problematic yet again in every subsequent episode - but let’s be honest, the show would have been a lot less fun and interesting had Zack fully reformed early on.

What I didn’t like:

The lack of continuity - ie, the order in which the episodes were filmed were not necessarily in the same order as they were aired. In some cases, episodes filmed in Season 1 were aired in Season 4, which was noticeable by how suddenly-young they look again (which is quite obvious with child actors). I really feel like this sometimes messed with the progression of the storylines - and as an adult is probably one of my biggest pet peeves of the series. One example of this is the episode that was originally intended as the Pilot (entitled ‘King of the Hill’) and covers the first day of school, but ended up being aired as the 13th episode of Season 1 - which makes it confusing to the viewer as to why it’s the suddenly the first day of school after we have already seen The Gang in school for at least several months, already good friends. The most glaring example of non-continuity that I still remember confused me as a child was the introduction of the Tori character during senior year - whenever she was around, Jessie and Kelly apparently did not exist and vice versa. (Although, now as an adult I know that this actually happened because of logistical and showbiz related reasons. But I still think there were probably more graceful ways write in this transition - for example, maybe mentioning that Jessie was at another Class President Trip in DC and Kelly was at cheerleader camp).

The ‘Snow White and the Seven Dorks’ episode stands out to me as being one of my least favorite of the series. Watching it pained me a little bit - both for the cringy raps and that Zack might have thought of hooking up with his longtime childhood friend Jessie WHILE he was dating his supposedly number one love Kelly and Jessie was dating Slater. The way I felt about this storyline was the same way I felt when Rachel and Joey became an item on Friends, which was: NO! WHY?!

Other Thoughts:

Jokes and Storylines that didnt age well: Teenage Kelly and Jeff her college-aged manager at the Max hooking up, Zack discovering his possibly Native American heritage and referring to it as ‘Indian’ (and then dressing up in cultural attire to give a presentation on it), the substitute teacher that all the female students daydreamed about marrying (not taking into account age of consent and that polygamy is illegal), Slater’s constant comments that women’s place should be in the kitchen - all very cringy and would probably not have made it as plot points in the same way - or even at all - had this show been made today. I can’t say I hated it at the time, because it was a different time. It’s so easy to look through a modern day lens and pick apart things from 30 years ago but the reality is that the intentions behind these storylines or portrayals were not meant to be offensive or malicious. Hindsight is 20/20 so let’s just all agree to learn from the past and move on.

Mario Lopez looks the exact same now as he did as a teenager. I swear this guy doesn't age. What is his skincare routine? I need to know.

Kelly (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen). Before there were Ross & Rachel and Cory & Topanga, there was Kelly & Zack. My childhood memories of the show were always of Zack and Kelly as being *the* couple. I didn't realize until this rewatch that Kelly actually often didn't seem as into Zack as he was into her - she first almost rejected his friendship ring, cheated on him with her manager, and "just wanted to be friends" in Palm Springs (Oh Kelly =\ ). On a different note, in a recent Zack to the Future podcast episode, Tiffani mentioned that the producers wanted to make her "popular girl" character different than other similar characters at the time who stereotypically were bitchy. Conversely, they wanted to make her character to be popular-but-a-sweetheart - and that indeed, she was.

Screech (Dustin Diamond - RIP). I don't know how believable it would have been for him to be Zack's best friend, or even a part of this friend group. Additionally I felt as the seasons went on, he became more and more cartoonish. The only moments that stand out to me of him being more like actual human being were when he was going to fight Zack over Lisa, and when he told Belding (Dennis Haskins) to give the Valedictorian award to Jessie because he knew that it was her dream, and therefore wanted her to have it. In retrospect, I wish that they had given the Screech character more human moments like these instead of constantly only having him as the comic relief.

Lisa (Lark Voorhies). She was so pretty, rich, popular, fashionable and fun. We probably take it for granted now, but I think it was more unheard of for a character like her to have existed on TV back then.

Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley). Another character that was ahead of her time. I loved her longtime friendship with Zack and their 'climbing through the window' moments - such a fun and heartwarming ’90’s trope. My childhood memories of Jessie are as of her being the intelligent, over-achieving school president and Valedictorian. I didn't realize till now that she actually didn't initially win the election and that she also didn't initially earn the Valedictorian honor!

Tori (Leanna Creel). She came out of no where and and left without any explanation. On top of that, don’t really know how believable it was that she and Zack would have been an item. I remember seeing an Office meme that read something to the effect of: “realizing Karen did nothing wrong but I’ve just hated her because she wasn’t Pam”, and that’s how I felt about Tori. She never did anything wrong (and I actually didn’t hate her), but she just wasn’t Kelly.

My top 5 favorite moments:

➤ When Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills. Looking back on it, it is definitely comical that her abuse problem was with caffeine pills of all things, but fun fact: the original script actually had Jessie hooked on speed! But of course that was too racy for Saturday morning, so the writers toned it down for the kids. While a caffeine pill addiction seems silly today, there are other more serious and relatable aspects of this episode that make it iconic - if not one of the most well known of the series - such as dealing with substance abuse in general, the effects of dealing with pressures of living up to certain expectations, acknowledging mental health and anxiety, and being there for a friend in trouble. (Side note: MPG’s podcast recapping this episode was fantastic.)

➤ When Zack suddenly became an environmentalist because an oil spill killed his favorite duck Becky, and he tried to convince an oil company to stop drilling at Bayside by violently spraying oil onto the model of the high school - AND the oil company executive - to demonstrate the dangers of another oil drilling catastrophe.

➤ When The Gang made that anti-drug PSA. Another ‘serious’ (ie, cheesy) episode dealing with substance abuse - but the beginning of that commercial just cracks me up everytime.

➤ When Zack attempts to sing a song that he wrote to enter the school song competition. The lesson here is: don’t try to fuck your friends over, because they WILL get you back by giving you a swig of pure lemon extract, which apparently makes you sing like you’re having a stroke.