Woman Doctor
1939
Her career prospers, her marriage suffers.
It Lives Again
1978
Three mutant killer babies are protected by a scientist from a cop determined to kill them.
La Femme du Boulanger
1938
Villagers put a stop to the infidelity of the baker’s wife because her husband no longer has the heart to make good bread.
The Deadly Bees
1967
A pop singer goes on holiday to a remote farm and is menaced by killer bees.
Confessions of a Sex Maniac
1974
An architect searches for the perfect breast so that he can use it as the design for a new building.
Everything’s Ducky
1961
Two naval ratings adopt a talking duck.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Six films from Halliwell's Film Guide which, for various reasons, I am fairly sure I will never see.
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9 comments:
I definitely think the bakery one could be fun. In fact, I might make that the plot of my next riveting short story of Kilburn life
The French slant on a story about sex and bread would possibly differ from the English one, so I'd like to see Mr. Hudson's story.
My contribution to compelling story precis:
Why Grow Fat Hogs? (1955)
A film showing the advantages of raising lean bacon-type market pigs.
Perhaps this is the place to ask a question that's I've had for months.
---begin quote--
Concerning the 1968 true-crime drama The Boston Strangler: "20th Century Fox originally hired English playwright Terence Rattigan [The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version] to write the screenplay based on Gerold Frank's book, but he wrote it as a comedy and was replaced by Edward Anhalt. In Rattigan's version, the killer was revealed, by a computer, to be [20th Century Fox head] 'Daryl F. Zanuck'
--end quote--
That tidbit is at IMDB and scattered around in "trivia" sections at various other movie sites, including Turner Classic Movies site. I checked a Rattigan biography and it seems improbable considering the circumstances.
Could that truly have happened?
I agree, though frankly I'd be even keener to see Mr. Hudson write a short story about a couple of naval ratings who adopt a talking duck.
Anyone who can't wait for that, however, can hear him read his first short story- about which nothing has been revealed other than that it is not about a sexy mermaid- by going to this, tomorrow: http://bit.ly/5vIVli
As for Rattigan, I really really hope so, but have no information to help you in your investigations. A swift Google (I bet you never thought of Googling) reveals it in a book called History in the Media, but without any source given, and with an exclamation mark, neither of which engender confidence.
Pigs, my dear riffle, is the next thing I will do. Or the next but one. Or the one after that. Pigs are on the radar, certainly. And I will think about ducks. There must be some naval ratings round here somewhere, and oh! Actually I have thought of a story with pigs and ducks even if the naval ratings will have to be slightly shoehorned in (nice work if you can get it).
My fave reviews from Leslie Halliwell's website are:
Fire Maidens from Outer Space (1956)
‘Strong contender for the title of worst movie ever made, with diaphanously clad English gals striking embarrassed poses against cardboard sets. Must be seen to be believed.’
and
Bedevilled (1955)
‘Absurd high-flown bosh, unsuitably cinemascoped in ugly colour, and surprisingly badly handled by old professionals.’
Mustn't miss those! Even if you didn't know who he was couldn't you tell that Leslie Halliwell was from up north! Such a sharp tongue!
Now for another plotline... a talking duck, some bread, sex and a sharp tongued Lancashire fellow with a liking for films, beards and big glasses, and a couple of naval ratings too with card board sets and diaphanous costumes. Oh no! This is turning into a totally different kind of story.
Shall I get my coat now?
La Femme du Boulanger was made into a relatively successful Broadway and West End musical in the 80s/90s.
It really was.
You see, this is what's wrong with musical theatre nowadays. They put 'La Femme du Boulanger' on stage, and yet still we wait in vain for 'The Deadly Bees - the Musical' For heaven's sake, the lead character is a pop singer - the thing writes itself.
In my early teens I found myself stranded with a bus tour in a small country town in New South Wales where the only entertainment available was the local cinema, screening "Deadly Bees". I can confirm that you are TOTALLY justified in your decision to never watch it.....
John,
"La femme du boulanger" was directed by Marcel Pagnol, co-written by Jean Giono, and has Raimu playing the main role (that of the boulanger, as should be obvious from the summary if not from the title). I realize they do not have to be as famous worldwide as they are in France, but each of them has an English language wikipedia page.
La Femme du Boulanger is a perfectly good movie with a silly summary. In fact, it is better for having a silly summary, in the same way that Calvin and Hobbes is a comic about a boy with a stuffed tiger for an imaginary friend (have you heard of it?).
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