settima

crime

Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1959/1960)

Jul

21

Private Property (1959 – 1960)

Duke (Corey Allen) and Boots (Warren Oates) “watching TV”. Ann Carlyle (Kate Manx) stripping for her husband is on. DP: Ted D. McCord.

Date watched, not the date in the movie. The quote was too good to leave it off this blog.

– He's got a calendar in there. – What day is it? – It's a broad in a cowboy hat. – Scooby doo bi doo ba ba.

The Sniper (Edward Dmytryk, 1952)

Jul

21

chow mein

The Sniper (1952)

Dr. James G. Kent (Richard Kiley) discussing the case during lunch at a Chinese restaurant. After scratching his temple with his chopsticks, he attempts to eat his noodles with the utensils' grip. DP: Burnett Guffey.

“You know how much coffee I've had today? 17 cups. The Brazilians ought to give me a medal.”

– ER doctor

Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1960)

Jul

20

lemonade

Private Property (1960)

A blonde lady (Kate Manx) holds a wicker ray with a pitcher of lemonade and several glasses. Her anxious look contrast with the carefree promise of summer sky and cool drinks. DP: Ted D. McCord.

“I'm looking for the Hitchcock residence.”

– Duke

La piscine [The Swimming Pool] (Jacques Deray, 1969)

Jul

13

“Chinese food”

La piscine (1969)

The two couples (Delon and Schneider, and Ronet and Birkin) awkwardly sharing dinner. There's wine in red glasses and the food, plated on rustic French dinnerware, is handled with chopsticks. DP: Jean-Jacques Tarbès.

“Change your dreams, not the world.”

– Harry

Plunder Road [The Violent Road] (Hubert Cornfield, 1957)

Jul

10

sandwiches

Plunder Road (1957)

At a diner, a dark-haired waitress holds up a carafe with fresh coffee and a take-away cup. A man in the background appears to keep an eye on her. DP: Ernest Haller.

“Stop to eat every 8 hours. Just sandwiches.”

Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961)

Jul

9

white bread

Whistle Down the Wind (1961)

A child grabs a thick slice of white bread while the cutlery on her plate indicates she's finished eating. DP: Arthur Ibbetson.

“It isn't Jesus. It's just a fella.”

– Charlie Bostock

Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961)

Jul

9

Barn Day

Whistle Down the Wind (1961)

The man (Alan Bates) in the barn surrounded by little children. The older girl in the light coat, Kathy, is played by Hayley Mills, author Mary Hayley Bell's daughter. DP: Arthur Ibbetson.

In the barn of a remote Lancashire farmhouse, three children stumble upon a stranger. Confused, they conclude that the fellow must be the Second Coming of Christ. In the world of the adults, a man is wanted by the police.

“Good night, Gentle Jesus. Sleep well.”

– Charlie Bostock

491 (Vilgot Sjöman, 1964)

Jul

7

Global Forgiveness Day

491 (1964)

One of the juvenile delinquents carving a simple arithmetical calculation into a desk during the Reverend's lecture about forgiveness. DP: Gunnar Fischer.

Early 60s, Sweden. A social experiment. Six hopelessly criminal juveniles are packed in a guesthouse – cynically named Objectivity – and loosely supervised by social workers and a reverend. The public servants speak of a new lease on life, God's servant of how Jesus forgives; all speak on their own behalf. We follow the young men closely and sense their need to break out, to be young, to be out of that house. We learn that their world, in or out, is eternally equally irrelevant.

“Jesus Christ has promised to forgive you 490 times, whatever you have done… because those were his words. But about the 491st time… He has given no words. None at all.”

– Reverend Mild

Vilgot Sjöman's 491 is an extremely, bleak, aggressive, and hopeless depiction of youth in postwar Sweden. Forgiveness is a tool of power, a method of control. And as empty as a repetitive lecture.

Lo straniero [The Stranger] (Luchino Visconti, 1967)

Jul

3

soup

Lo straniero (1967)

Arthur Meursault (Mastroianni) eating from a cracked bowl. DP: Giuseppe Rotunno.

O Bandido da Luz Vermelha [The Red Light Bandit] (Rogério Sganzerla, 1968)

Jul

1

prairie oyster

O Bandido da Luz Vermelha (1968)

The bandit (Paulo Villaça) cracks a raw egg over his liquid breakfast while one of his female victims (Sonia Braga) is on the phone beside him. Her cigarette smokes itself and the kitchen table is packed with drugstore items. DPs: Peter Overbeck & Carlos Ebert.