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The Walking Dead (Michael Curtiz, 1936)
Nov
16
John Ellman (Karloff), dead man walking. DP: Hal Mohr.
“You take away my life and offer me a favor in return. That's what I call a 'bargain'.”
– John Ellman
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The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955)
Nov
15
1946
A man's hand holds up a photo negative of a black-and-white picture, showing two men and a woman, and the date 11-15-46 underneath. DP: John Alton.
“I'm trying to run an impersonal business. Killing is very personal. Once it gets started, it's hard to stop.”
– Mr. Brown
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Requiem for a Village (David Gladwell, 1975)
Nov
14
The wedding's party revellers sing. DP: Bruce Parsons.
“Early one morning, just as the sun was rising,
I heard a maid sing in the valley below;
‘O don’t deceive me, O never leave me!
How could you use a poor maiden so?”
– Early one morning, via
A sort of Wicker Man visits Mon oncle, this painting of an old England is. Painter filmmaker David Gladwell's impressionist work takes us to a small Suffolk community that, like all other communities, is both frozen in time and unable to escape its progression. The churchyard's caretaker, amongst the living and the dead, watches, works, and knows.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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E tanta paura [Plot of Fear] (Paolo Cavara, 1976)
Nov
14
1975
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Two newspaper clippings in a scrapbook, one of them with the date November 14. DP: Franco Di Giacomo.
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하녀 [Hanyeo / The Housemaid] (Kim Ki-young, 1960)
Nov
13
Adding one more ingredient. DP: Deok-jin Kim.
A memorable kitchen or cooking scene*
“Look at us. We're almost totally dependent on our maid. She cooks and washes for us, and is the first person to greet me when I come home from work. She is entirely at our service.”
– Dong-sik Kim
A housemaid works her way into a middle-class household and takes over the wife's tasks – cleaning, cooking, child rearing.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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Götter der Pest [Gods of the Plague] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1970)
Nov
12
1943
Pornography peddler Carla Aulaulu's (Carla Egerer) criminal record. She's born on November 12, 1943 in Kronstadt. DP: Dietrich Lohmann.
During one scene a perpetual calendar is visible. It's a 26th.
– Why do they call you The Gorilla?
– Because I'm big and strong… and everyone has to have a name.
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Bröllopsbesvär [Wedding: Swedish Style] (Åke Falck, 1964)
Nov
11
Bride and groom, and resentfulness at front. DP: Rune Ericson.
A dysfunctional family*
On a wedding day, and night, a family's dirty secrets are laid bare.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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The Mystery of the Mary Celeste [Phantom Ship] (Denison Clift, 1935)
Nov
11
Anton Lorenzen (Bela Lugosi). DPs: Eric Cross & Geoffrey Faithfull.
“No, I never left the wheel; not for a moment.”
– Anton Lorenzen
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Polyester (John Waters, 1981)
Nov
10
“Purr Francine! Purr, purr Francine!”
– Cuddles Kovinsky
