#Reginald Beckwith

[lobbycards]

A Shot in the Dark, Italian lobby card (Fotobusta), Italian theatrical release 1965

[esonetwork]

Burn, Witch, Burn | Episode 411

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Burn, Witch, Burn | Episode 411

Jim reflects on a classic tale of witchcraft based on Fritz Leiber Jr;s novel “Conjuring Wife” – 1962’s “Burn, Witch, Burn,” starring Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston, Anthony Nicholls, Colin Gordon and Reginald Beckwith. With a screenplay written by Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont and directed by Sydney Hayers, the film centers around the wife of a young college professor who uses spells and incantations to protect her husband from jealous co-workers. Find out more on this episode of MONSTER ATTACK!, The Podcast Dedicated To Old Monster Movies.

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) Charles Crichton

March 18th 2024

[retropopcult]

"Hounds of Love" is a song written and performed by English singer Kate Bush. It is the title track and the third single from her hit album by the same name.  It was released on 24 February 1986 and reached a peak of No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart on 2 May.

The song is about being afraid to fall in love; the lyrics compare this feeling to being chased by a pack of hounds, with no control over the situation. The versions worldwide differ slightly: the US single mix included an additional chorus just after the second chorus. The words "it's in the trees, it's coming!" heard at the beginning of the track are sampled from the British 1957 horror film Night of the Demon and are mouthed by an actor from the film, Reginald Beckwith.

The music video for the song was created and directed by Bush herself.  It was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's thriller film The 39 Steps (1935) and a Hitchcock lookalike also features in the video (a nod to the director's famous cameo appearances in his movies).

[byneddiedingo]

Edward Judd in The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Val Guest, 1961)

Cast: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden, Reginald Beckwith, Gene Anderson, Renée Asherson, Arthur Christiansen. Screenplay: Wolf Mankowitz, Val Guest. Cinematography: Harry Waxman. Art direction: Anthony Masters. Film editing: Bill Lenny. Music: Stanley Black. 

Screenwriters Wolf Mankowitz and Val Guest (who also directed) find a way to send a message about nuclear disarmament and government secrecy in The Day the Earth Caught Fire. They let the newspapers (remember them?) do it. Much of the movie was actually filmed in the old Daily Express building on Fleet Street in London, and the real editor of the Express, Arthur Christiansen, played the fictional editor in the film. The result is that a lot of the exposition is carried by the actors playing the reporters for the newspaper as they try to figure out what the hell is going on with the planet. It seems it was knocked off its axis by two simultaneous nuclear test explosions at the poles, one by the United States, the other by the Soviet Union. The immediate result is disastrous climate change, but the greater threat comes when scientists realize that the Earth's orbit has changed so that the planet is reeling closer to a fiery death by crashing into the sun. The protagonist, Peter Stenning (Edward Judd), is a hard-drinking newspaper columnist who uses some unethical methods to disclose the coverup. There's a romantic subplot, of course, involving Stenning's liaison with Jeannie Craig (Janet Munro), a pretty clerk in one of the government offices. And much of the swift, quippy dialogue is between Stenning and his editor, Bill Maguire (Leo McKern). These players make the most of their stereotypical characters, keeping the film lively as the tension builds over whether the world is really catching fire, and whether the proposed fix for the crisis -- a tremendous blast of nukes in Siberia to right the planet on its axis -- is going to work. The movie feels less dated than it once did, because the scenes of climate disaster evoke our current concerns about the Earth and the fear that governments are too secretive and inept to save us. It's a well-made movie whose budgetary inadequacies show but are mostly overcome by the use of camera tricks and stock news footage. The ending is ambiguous, though tilted in the direction of hope by the sound of church bells, which are said to have been introduced by the American distributor, Universal, which wanted a less somber ending. 

[patroachilleant]

ITS IN THE TREES, ITS COMING!!!

No clássico cult de terror "A Noite do Demônio" (Jacques Tourneur, 1957) um cético psicólogo nova iorquino viaja para Londres com a intenção de pesquisar sobre uma suposta onda de acontecimentos paranormais.

Em determinado momento, um médium interpretado por Reginald Beckwith encarna um homem desesperado (dublado por Maurice Denham) e profere a emblemática frase "It's in the trees! It's coming! The demon it's coming!!!" que pode ser traduzida como "Está nas árvores! Ele está vindo! O demônio está vindo!!!"

Eu começo o texto com este trecho pois ele é o mais famoso do filme, já que em setembro de 1985 a cantora e compositora inglesa Kate Bush utiliza essa parte como sample na música "Hounds of Love", a segunda faixa do álbum homônimo.

Neste disco Bush, que sempre foi conhecida pela sua habilidade de falar sobre o amor de forma extremamente sensível, divide o sentimento como um feixe de luz atravessado por um prisma, observando a forma que algo tão intrínseco à vivência humana se manifesta nas nossas interações.

O álbum é separado entre o lado A, que fala sobre experiências universais de forma muito mais clara, e o lado B, que utiliza da alegoria de uma sobrevivente de um naufrágio delirando enquanto tenta sobreviver a uma longa e fria noite no mar para falar sobre como nós nos sentimos perdidos quando estamos apaixonados (e obviamente esse é o lado mais experimental do álbum).

Bem, por mais incrível que pareça na minha descrição capenga, o álbum foi um sucesso. A sua primeira faixa, "Running Up That Hill", é um marco na cultura pop e é utilizada até hoje (sim, Stranger Things, eu estou olhando pra você) para falar sobre amores inalcançáveis, já que Bush canta sobre um casal que faria de tudo para trocar de lugar e, finalmente, se entenderem melhor.

Mas voltando para a faixa-título, em "Hounds of Love" Bush transforma, de forma brilhante, o sentimento no vilão da sua história. O título significa "Os Cães de Caça do Amor", e a música começa justamente com o sample, e logo após Kate segue falando que desde criança ela tem medo do amor.

A cada vez que percebe que está se apaixonando, é como se os cães de caça do dito cujo estivessem lhe perseguindo. E eu acho que nunca fui tão bem representado.

Crescer como uma criança do interior não é ruim. Crescer como uma criança negra e queer no interior é outra história. Veja bem, não é como se tivesse me faltado amor familiar, pois felizmente minha família, mesmo que do jeitinho dela, sempre esteve de braços abertos para mim.

Mas ao mesmo tempo, a expectativa de viver um romance adolescente que é criado dentro de nós desde a infância, algo tocante e avassalador, que nunca foi possível.

Eu sempre fui viado demais para as garotas e feio demais para os garotos. Também nunca fui uma pessoa interessante, e sempre me coloquei no lugar de amigo. Eu serei seu eterno companheiro, aquele que escuta suas alegrias e seca as suas lágrimas, mas nunca, nunquinha, serei ao menos cogitado para ser o seu amor.

E quando algo é tão distante, tão descolado da sua realidade, não é de se surpreender que você se feche quando isto é posto na sua frente. Então acabei crescendo assim, sem coragem nem mesmo para tentar experimentar o amor.

Sou covarde, confesso. Eu enfrentaria todo o batalhão espartano, substituiria Sísifo em seu castigo eterno e trocaria minha alma com o diabo para fugir de um sentimento tão dilacerante como o amor.

Eu preferia tomar todo o veneno de Romeu e Julieta e morrer sozinho, virar uma estátua de sal como a mulher de Ló, ser crucificado quantas vezes necessárias para que, nem mesmo em pesadelo, eu cruze novamente com uma flecha do cúpido.

Mas a vida não é tão fácil assim, só eu e Afrodite sabemos o quanto eu rezei para cair não nessa armadilha novamente. Seguindo os passos de Kate, eu joguei meus dois sapatos no lago torcendo para que o meu cheiro fosse despistado, e ainda sim os cães de caça do amor me encontraram novamente.

E, como tantas vezes fui antes, estou encarcerado dentro do papel de amigo. Como tantas vezes fui antes, serei calmo e compreensivo, o eterno companheiro de suas alegria e lágrimas. Mas nunca, nunquinha, poderei ser seu amante.

Está nas árvores. Ele está vindo.

[project1939]

Day 55- Film: Penny Princess 

Release date: August 25th, 1952. 

Studio: Conquest Productions 

Genre: Come 

Director: Val Guest 

Producer: Earl St. John, Frank Godwin 

Actors: Dirk Bogarde, Yolande Donlan, Reginald Beckwith 

Plot Summary: The European microstate Lampidorra, situated between France, Switzerland, and Italy, is about to go broke. A wealthy American businessman offers to buy the whole country, but just when all the papers are signed, he drops dead. After a long search for any of his heirs, they settle upon Lindy Smith, a Macy's shop-girl who sells potato peelers. Now she must fly to Lampidorra to save the country.  

My Rating (out of five stars): ***½- **** 

For pure enjoyment, this film is worthy of four stars for me. I realize that might be a little generous, though. But I honestly loved this film- it’s just a simple absurdist comedy, and at that it is very successful. I giggled the whole way through. 

The Good: 

Yolande Donlan as Lindy Smith. I liked her- she was really the perfect lead for this kind of film. She’s definitely pretty, but her voice and delivery make her a great comic lead. She’d probably just be the funny side-kick in most films. 

Dick Bogarde as Tony Craig. He was also perfectly cast for me- he's adorable and charming. 

All the townsfolk. They were colorfully silly, and there was a lot of hilarious dry delivery in them. They had a lot of little asides and throwaway lines that cracked me up. 

The whole ridiculous concept of the film.  

Every time I thought things were already at peak silliness, something else would come along that made me laugh even more. There were a lot of running jokes that I got a kick out of. Even minor things like “two thousand true and solid citizens,” etc. 

The way we find out that Lampidorra’s entire economy is smuggling. These sweet-seeming people are so firm and matter-of-fact about it, even that made me laugh. 

The schneeze. When that element was introduced into the plot, it killed me. It’s an example of another one of those moments of “Can this movie get any more ridiculous? YES. Yes, it can.” (But in a good way!) 

The way the romance between Lindy and Tony was handled. If they tried to get too traditionally romantic, it wouldn’t have worked inside such a crazy little film. I thought they found a good happy medium, so we saw how much they cared about each other, but it wasn't overly expressed.

Some of the location shooting. I guess some of this was shot in Catalonia, and you definitely got a rural European vibe from it. It generally did not look like it was shot on a backlot. 

The Technicolor. This film would not have worked nearly as well if it was in black and white. It needed the vivid candy-box color of Technicolor to add to the fairytale aspect of it all. 

This was exactly the kind of movie I needed today. I’ve been basically sick in bed half the day, so this kind of gentle goofy humor was medicine. 

The Bad: 

I don’t know that I felt totally satisfied with the ending. (Spoilers!) I was kind of sad that Lindy and Tony just rushed off away from Lampidorra at the end. 

Who designed that movie poster? It doesn't capture the feeling of the film at all. It's so bland, and it tries to make Donlan into a cheesecake girl.

[dare-g]

Gonks Go Beat (1965)

[mariocki]

The Saint: The High Fence (2.23, ITC, 1964)

"Why should I co-operate? Give me one good reason."

"Withholding information is a serious offence!"

"Then arrest me. Go ahead. Put me in jail, hound me the way you did Johnny! Six arrests..."

"Johnny was a confirmed criminal -"

"He was sick and he was frightened, he needed help! All he got was persecution."

[clemsfilmdiary]

Night of the Demon (1957, Jacques Tourneur)

Also known as: Curse of the Demon

8/10/21

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have A Shot in the Dark 1964

[jingle-bones]

THE MEN OF SHERWOOD FOREST (Dir: Val Guest, 1954).

An early production from Hammer Films, The Men of Sherwood Forest is a low budget but spirited romp with Don Taylor as the legendary Robin Hood.

The simple plot involves Robin attempting to thwart an ambush attack on Richard the Lionheart on his return from the Crusades.

More famous for their Horror movies, Hammer also did a nice line in swashbucklers; the studio produced four Robin Hood movies, of which this was the first.

Although clearly working with a meagre budget, director Val Guest makes decent use of outdoor locales and the movie feels less studio bound than might be expected. It also benefits from being shot in colour and whilst the action is not as well staged as in a more lavish production, Guest generally elicits decent performances from his actors, not all of whom are perfectly cast.

Don Taylor makes for a slightly bland leading man. There is nothing essentially wrong with his performance and with an athletic build he certainly looks the part of Robin. However with an accent that is more Hollywood than Sherwood, Taylor lacks both the authenticity and charisma of earlier Robin Hoods such as Errol Flynn or Richard Todd. Likewise, Leonard Sachs is not ideally cast as The Sheriff of Nottingham, lacking both the authoritative air and any real sense of menace to make a truly memorable villain.

The best performances are to be found in the supporting cast. Maid Marian is inexplicably missing from The Men of Sherwood Forest; her replacement here is Lady Alys in a nice performance by Eileen Moore. A loyal ally to Robin, she holds her own with the best of the Merrie Men, but there is no romance between the two. Robin’s most significant relationship here is with Friar Tuck. As the wily man of the cloth cum con artist Reginald Beckwith gives a marvellous comic performance which is arguably the movie's highlight.

While The Men of Sherwood Forest is no masterpiece, as an example of the sort of boys own adventure that once filled matinees, it is invaluable. Cheap and cheerful maybe, but also engagingly innocent, old fashioned fun.

To read a longer, more in-depth review of THE MEN OF SHERWOOD FOREST visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Another Man’s Poison (1951) Irving Rapper

August 13th 2022

[scenesandscreens]

Thunderball (1965)

Director - Terence Young, Cinematography - Ted Moore

"Try to be a little less than your frivolous self, 007."

[richardhenrysellers]

Up the Creek (1958)

Bumbling navy officer Lieutenant Humphrey Fairweather (David Tomlinson) is transferred to HMS Berkeley, an old World War II destroyer, to keep him out of harm's way. But together with Chief Petty Officer Doherty (Peter Sellers), Fairweather gets into more trouble than might be thought possible, with events coming to a riotous conclusion when the Admiralty turn up for an inspection of the ship.

[ozu-teapot]

Night of the Demon | Jacques Tourneur | 1957

Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Rosamund Greenwood, Reginald Beckwith, Athene Seyler