Blog Archives
Movie Quote of the Day – Union Station, 1950 (dir. Rudolph Maté)
Policeman: Nothin’s done right unless Tough Willy does it himself.
Lt. William Calhoun: How long you been working here?
Policeman: Four weeks tomorrow, Lieutenant.
Lt. William Calhoun: You need twenty-five years before you’re eligible for a pension. . .and you won’t make it. Not if you ever call me Willy.
Movie Quote of the Day – No Way Out, 1950 (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
Dr. Luther Brooks: Don’t cry, white boy, you’re gonna live.
Oscar Vault Monday – Born Yesterday, 1950 (dir. George Cukor)
I absolutely adore this film. Since it was recently added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, I thought it would be a great time to explore this film. It’s one that is often overlooked and I think there’s some irrational anger aimed at it because of Judy Holliday’s win over both Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. and Bette Davis in All About Eve. But I think that is a load of baloney. This is a great film and while Holliday’s performance may not have reached the iconic status of those other two performances, it is most definitely a deserved win. Billie Dawn is a remarkable character and Holliday plays her to perfection. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one: Best B&W Costume Design, Best Screenplay, Best Actress Judy Holliday (won), Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were Father of the Bride, King Solomon’s Mines, Sunset Blvd. and winner All About Eve.
Movie Quote of the Day – No Man of Her Own, 1950 (dir. Mitchell Leisen)
Helen Ferguson: He’s nice, isn’t he? I mean, giving me his place?
Patrice Harkness: Oh, he’s tolerable. He has his good points.
Movie Quote of the Day – Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1950 (dir. Otto Preminger)
Morgan Taylor: You know, I like places like this that specialize in good food instead of headwaiters.
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: It’s the worst food in town, but don’t worry. They usually serve a stomach pump with the dessert.
Martha: Who invited you to come to my restaurant, Mr. Detective? Not me!
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Martha’s the head of a ring of burglars. My presence makes her nervous.
Martha: Yeah, last night we got a whole basketful of diamonds. You wanna see?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Bring us two of your dangerous dinners, Martha.
Martha: You know how much I’ve been offered to poison this man?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Ten dollars.
Martha: That’s right. I’m holding out for fifteen. Two dinners. Do you want wine?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Bring a small bottle.
Martha: Huh! Same old cheapskate!
Morgan Taylor: [after Martha leaves] She adores you, doesn’t she?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: She ought to. I sent her husband up.
Morgan Taylor: Was he really a burglar?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Wife beater.
Movie Quote of the Day – Where Danger Lives, 1950 (dir. John Farrow)
Waiter: Here you are, sir.
Dr. Jeff Cameron: These things are like water!
Waiter: They creep up on you.
Dr. Jeff Cameron: Bring me a couple more.
Waiter: But, sir, you have four and we are only allowed two to a customer.
Dr. Jeff Cameron: Why?
Waiter: That drink makes a guy talk back to his mother-in-law.
Dr. Jeff Cameron: What about his father-in-law?
Waiter: I suppose so.
Dr. Jeff Cameron: You’ve given me an idea.
Movie Quote of the Day – House by the River, 1950 (dir. Fritz Lang)
Stephen Byrne: Don’t you realize, Marjorie, your reading the manuscript has solved everything? You know, I met Emily on the stairs. She was coming down from her bath. She’d used your perfume. She looked rather pretty and I wanted to kiss her, but she got frightened and screamed. I had to stop her screaming! I didn’t mean to kill her. I hardly touched her, but I didn’t realize how easy it would be. So very easy.
Movie Quote of the Day – Side Street, 1950 (dir. Anthony Mann)
Harriet Sinton: It was real sweet of you to buy that bottle, hun. You got real nice manners, Joe. I like nice manners. I like you, hun. I like you a lot. “My love is like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June. My love is like a melody that’s sweetly played in tune.” You like poetry, hun? That’s Robert Burns. “A Red, Red Rose.” George hated poetry. He hit me once when I recited Robert Burns. He hit me right in the eye. George was no good.
Joe Norson: George?
Harriet Sinton: My fiancé. My ex-fiancé. George had no manners at all.
Movie Quote of the Day – Panic in the Streets, 1950 (dir. Elia Kazan)
Lt. Cmdr. Clinton ‘Clint’ Reed M.D.: You know, my mother always told me if you looked deep enough in anybody… you’d always find some good, but I don’t know.
Capt. Tom Warren: With apologies to your mother, that’s the second mistake she made.
Lt. Cmdr. Clinton ‘Clint’ Reed M.D.: I should have seen that one coming.
From The Warner Archive: Born To Be Bad, 1950 (dir. Nicholas Ray)
Recently remastered and released by the Warner Archive, Born to Be Bad is an early, but important effort from landmark director Nicholas Ray. The film was released three months after Ray’s breakthrough masterpiece In A Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame. While this film seems a lesser effort in comparison, I think much of the fault lies with the studio; Born To Be Bad had five writers and it feels like it. That said, this remaster is beautifully done and the disc comes with the original theatrical trailer, as well as a newly found and restored alternate ending. More on that after the cut.
the diary of a film history fanatic 