News You Can Bruise for 2005 July 4 (entry 1)

(7) Mon Jul 04 2005 21:09 PST: Today we saw two similar movies, Double Indemnity and The Lavender Hill Mob. Double Indemnity was an amazing movie: original, strong theme, good acting from everybody. One thing I noticed is that Fred MacMurray is basically a more versatile version of Will Ferrell. Try it out sometime and you'll see that every one of Fred MacMurray's roles is one that Will Ferrell would like to have, and you'd think it would be great, but he'd probably mess it up somehow. I'm not a big Will Ferrell fan but watching Fred MacMurray actually makes me feel better about watching Will Ferrell.

The Lavender Hill Mob was okay but definitely the low point of the Alec Guinness comedies from Ealing. I believe we've seen them all now so I can say that. It started losing my interest after the caper was pulled off, and the ending was an interminable Laurel and Hardy-type chase sequence which made me not like the movie. But if I ignore that part it was definitely enjoyable. I was hoping there'd be more of a mob.

Comments:

Posted by Camilla Whitney at Tue Jul 05 2005 02:57

Double Indemnity is one of my favorite films. ^_^ woot.

Posted by Ian Bicking at Tue Jul 05 2005 16:48

Tivo recorded Lavender Hill Mob for me because it was listed as having Audrey Hepburn in it, and she's just dreamy. I was disappointed to find she was only in it for about 10 seconds. I don't know why she was listed; to make the movie more appealing, because (presumably) she became more famous after the movie was made? Even then, you think decency would keep them from misleading people so. But it wasn't so bad, even though it needed more pretty girls.

Posted by Leonard at Tue Jul 05 2005 19:16

The back of the DVD box (which we never read until afterwards) said that the movie "co-starred" Audrey Hepburn.

Posted by Sean Neakums at Wed Jul 06 2005 04:46

Two Ns in Guinness.

No, I have nothing better to do.

Posted by Leonard at Wed Jul 06 2005 13:42

I suppose next you'll go back to the previous entry and say I misspelled "satellite".

Posted by Sumana at Wed Jul 06 2005 15:08

Approx. five minutes into "The Lavender Hill Mob": I freeze-frame and say, "THAT'S AUDREY HEPBURN!!!"

Leonard gives explanations as to why it can't possibly be her. I admit that it could be one of her relatives.

End of movie: credits include Audrey Hepburn as "Chiquita."

Afterwards - we look on the box and online see all the hype written twenty years after the movie, where advertisers try to pump up the ten-second, one-line appearance as "a co-starring role." Ha!

Posted by Sean Neakums at Thu Jul 07 2005 04:03

I did spot it, but I figure there's such a thing as "enough" and then there is such another thing as "too much".

Also just then the dinner bell rang and suddenly my keyboard looked like someone had been playing Scrabble with my conscience.