It's some 55 years since Brian De Palma made his first feature film, "Murder ala Mod". On Friday, August 18, we're featuring it in The Screening Room over on YouTube. You'll eventually see a review of the film here, but if you have the time, we encourage you to join other film fans to talk about the picture as it debuts on our channel.
In the meantime, though, here are some stills and publicity photos from "Murder ala Mod", by way of a preview.
Suds (1920) Starring: Mary Pickford, Harold Goodwin, Albert Austin, and Rose Dione Director: John Francis Dillon Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A London laundress (Pickford) spins a fantasy that she is a disherited noblewoman who is just waiting to be rescued by her banished lover (Austin). As she tries to make her fantasy a reality, she pushes away and disregards a man who truly loves her (Goodwin).
"Suds" is one of those rare films where there's no antagonist whatsoever; the main character is the source of every obstacle to her success and happiness. It's also a film where every cast-member has a degree of presence and likeability that makes the film extremely watchable. Between the talented cast and some excellent photography, the film moves easily from comedy to drama and back to comedy again. Similarly, the subplot involving an aging horse might not have seemed as impactful and relevant as it did.
The leader of this excellent cast is, in every way, Mary Pickford. In the film's real world, her character is at times comedic, at times uncouth bordering on revolting, at times so pitiful it makes the viewer want to cry for her. On the other hand, in the world of her character's imagination, she is poised, elegant, devoted to her lover beyond concern for even her own life. Where the real character is scattered and clumsy, she imagines herself as focused and graceful. It is in this form that we get to see the Mary Pickford we can recognize from other films.
Perhaps the most tragic thing about Pickford's character in "Suds" is that she is actually the noble character she imagines herself to be, at least in personality. The aforementioned subplot with the draft horse sees her go above and beyond to save it shows her kind and noble character very clearly. She doesn't have the self-esteem and social grace to apply it properly.
If you have enjoyed Mary Pickford in other films, I think you're going to enjoy her here, too. She gets to play a character very different from what you have seen her do before, but she also provides some examples of her "standard" performance styles.
Click below to watch "Suds" in its entirety. The version featured has a modern score that works in some places and doesn't in others. For all I know, it might be a random piece of instrumental music that is just repeated over and over... and any of the times when it matches perfectly with the action on the screen is purely luck.
Mila Kunis, one of the few who began acting as a child and managed to maintain a thriving career into adulthood, turns 40 years old today. We celebrate by bringing out photos of her through the years!
This Tom Jones is still very much alive (and only in his 80s). I should have realized I was making a mistake when I thought "I had no idea he was that old")
And here's the LIVING Tom Jones and his mighty voice, in an unusual video of him from the 1960s, performing his most iconic song, "It's Not Unusual".
Crossroads: God's Healing (1956) Starring: Vincent Price, Marcia Henderson, Frieda Inescort, and Adam Kennedy
Director: Nathan Juran
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
While counseling an elderly woman with a failing heart (Inescort), the pastor of a healing ministry (Price) attempts to rebuild her broken family and restore her relationship with her daughter (Henderson).
"Crossroads" was a dramatic anthology show that began the ABC Network and moved onto syndication. Every week, it presented a tale of a clergyman overcoming challenges, righting lives, and saving souls while being a sterling example of what a truly good man should be, regardless of his religious affiliation.
The episode "God's Healing" is well written and populated by believable characters portrayed by good actors. The way the story unfolds and way the characters interact with each other actually manages to make what could have been boring and predictable into a story where the outcome remains in doubt almost until the very end.
It's also a nice reminder that Vincent Price could actually play likeable characters and didn't always go over the top in his performances. The gentle, compassionate demeanor he presents in this role shows that he had a far greater range as an actor than one gets from just watching his work from the mid-1960s onward where he was almost all-camp and comedic all the time.
Whether you're a Vincent Price fan, or interested in some light, uplifting entertainment, I think you'll find "God's Healing" to be worth half an hour of your time. Click below to check it out.
On this Monday, we present a song in honor of those being celebrated on August 10, International Prisoner Remembrance Day. Maybe if some of them found in jails and prisons here in the U.S. felt sentiments along the lines of those expressed by Brenda Lee in this week's offering, there would be fewer of them locked up and less repeat offenders.
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