And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
True. It was just another 50-day wonder, shot entirely at Warnes Bros.' Burbank lot, except the airport scene, shot at the Van Nuys airport. They were all contract players, cranking out "just another flick".
Time and audiences knew better than that, but no one on the film nor at the studio had any notion they were capturing lightning in a bottle.
The story is told when the Japanese were working out the deal to buy Columbia Pictures, they asked the management about what they did. They were told the studio made 50-100 films a year, but that only 5-10 were hits, and only 10-20% even turned a profit.
The obviously clueless Japanese businessmen, with flawless (to them) logic asked, "Why don't you just make hits?"
The late William Goldman, screenwriter and script doctor to 100 blockbusters, the guy who himself wrote another absolutely perfect movie The Princess Bride, encapsulated the entire Hollywood production machine from 1900-ever thusly, and for all time in the opening line of his book, Adventures In The Screen Trade: "Nobody Knows Anything".
Not the moguls, not the directors, not the actors, not the writers, not the critics, not anybody. It's 20,000 people throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. Sometimes, with an enormous amount of luck, everything clicks, the heavens open, and magic happens.
Last line was "Louis---this could be the start of a beautiful friendship-----" Yer quote (a Great one) was earlier; when the Captain was trying to impress the krautheads about his self-styled importance.
I recently watched a film (Neil Simon story) that was Casablanca and Maltese Falcon combined into one pretty fine subtle comedy called The Cheap Detective with Peter Falk and Ann Margaret among others - 1978 I watched it on the 'Archive' but has since been taken down. It is still there however but is not downloadable Link: https://archive.org/details/the-coca-cola-kid-1985_202409 scroll down to # 1470
For sale or rent on YouTube. Peter Falk reprises the Sam Diamond persona he created in Murder By Death (also Neil Simon), this time as a solo act named Lou Peckinpaugh, with a rotating menagerie of female characters from Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon rolled into one send-up of classic film noir.
Star cast for the time. It was on Turner a few days ago and caught the last half hour.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that none of the cast thought that they were making anything but an ordinary movie. Time has told a different story.
ReplyDeleteTrue.
DeleteIt was just another 50-day wonder, shot entirely at Warnes Bros.' Burbank lot, except the airport scene, shot at the Van Nuys airport.
They were all contract players, cranking out "just another flick".
Time and audiences knew better than that, but no one on the film nor at the studio had any notion they were capturing lightning in a bottle.
The story is told when the Japanese were working out the deal to buy Columbia Pictures, they asked the management about what they did.
They were told the studio made 50-100 films a year, but that only 5-10 were hits, and only 10-20% even turned a profit.
The obviously clueless Japanese businessmen, with flawless (to them) logic asked, "Why don't you just make hits?"
The late William Goldman, screenwriter and script doctor to 100 blockbusters, the guy who himself wrote another absolutely perfect movie The Princess Bride, encapsulated the entire Hollywood production machine from 1900-ever thusly, and for all time in the opening line of his book, Adventures In The Screen Trade:
"Nobody Knows Anything".
Not the moguls, not the directors, not the actors, not the writers, not the critics, not anybody.
It's 20,000 people throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks.
Sometimes, with an enormous amount of luck, everything clicks, the heavens open, and magic happens.
Sometimes.
That was a good movie...
ReplyDeleteThe line, "Round up the usual suspects" at the end always gives me a smile.
Last line was "Louis---this could be the start of a beautiful friendship-----" Yer quote (a Great one) was earlier; when the Captain was trying to impress the krautheads about his self-styled importance.
DeleteI'm shocked, shocked, to find gambling going on in here. Here are your winnings, sir.
ReplyDeleteThat movie convinced me Ingrid Bergman is right up there as one of the most beautiful women ever.
ReplyDeleteI recently watched a film (Neil Simon story) that was Casablanca and Maltese Falcon combined into one pretty fine subtle comedy called The Cheap Detective with Peter Falk and Ann Margaret among others - 1978 I watched it on the 'Archive' but has since been taken down. It is still there however but is not downloadable Link: https://archive.org/details/the-coca-cola-kid-1985_202409
ReplyDeletescroll down to # 1470
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOVzXsgP4Wc
DeleteFor sale or rent on YouTube.
Peter Falk reprises the Sam Diamond persona he created in Murder By Death (also Neil Simon), this time as a solo act named Lou Peckinpaugh, with a rotating menagerie of female characters from Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon rolled into one send-up of classic film noir.
★★★ rating.
They offered it to Ronald Reagan and another female lead first.
ReplyDelete