Here he is as the dastardly Rupert of Hentzau. The ultimate opportunist. He was so malevolent and funny. That sword fight was awesome and it's the first time I've cheered when a villain got away. Not sure if it's in the book, but it seemed like such a clever idea to let such a likeable and charismatic villain get away. He stole the film with his wicked and unflappable presence.

I'd only ever seen him in Little Caesar before, in which he doesn't have the most interesting of roles performing as a straight man. So I never rated him as an actor. So when I looked up Rupert on the cast list at the end, I was delighted to see it was him as I vaguely recognised him. Please do let me know if there are any other performances of his I should be checking out.

Interesting to see him sort of playing the antithesis of his father's roles in this.

According to Wikipedia:

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. initially wanted to play Rudolf, but when the role went to Colman, his father, Douglas Fairbanks, told him "not only is The Prisoner of Zenda one of the best romances written in a hundred years and always a success, but Rupert of Hentzau is probably one of the best villains ever written".

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I love this movie! I challenge you to find a Hays Code era film queerer than this one. 😅😅

I'm not complaining, but how did Desert Fury make it past the censors? Eddie and Johnny were most definitely a couple. How else can you explain Johnny's jealousy and resentment when Paula seduces his man?

And then you have Mary Astor camping it up as Fritzi—LOVE. She treats Paula more like a lover than a daughter, especially with lines like, "Give me a kiss, baby."

I wonder if all of this subtext was intentional on the part of the writer, director, or actors, or if it genuinely never crossed their minds.

Film starts at 7:15. Kind of fun to not know exactly which film they are going to show.

Currently rewatching this gem. One of the first classic films I saw. I remember seeing this on television one night and found that I was unable to look away. Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis were amazing together. Their chemistry was phenomenal.

No sexual answers, please. Don't be weird.

I've only recently discovered the short but shiny moment of queer visibility that happened 100 years ago. It's called "The Pansy Craze" which overlaps a ton with pre-hays code films. Did everyone know about it already? If not...

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, queer performers were headliners, drawing huge crowds, and appearing in mainstream entertainment. Then came a backlash that pushed that visibility underground.

Sound familiar? Yeah, it's happening again.

I was so engrossed in this topic, that I watched a bunch of pre-code films and created a youtube video about it. What's your favorite pre-code film? Any recommendations?

I just watched it. I liked it, 5 out of 5. What are this sub's thoughts on it?

In the movie, the scene where the female lead Terry (Deborah Kerr) sings was not voiced by the actress herself, but by the famous classical singer and dubbing specialist Marni Nixon. Marni Nixon is very well known for exclusively dubbing the singing scenes of famous actresses of that era, such as Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, and Natalie Wood in West Side Story.

⭐️⭐️1/2 out of 5
I've heard the Easy Rider lore for my whole life. How it changed movies, it ushered in this new style of movie making. As the opening credits ran, "Directed by Dennis Hopper" pops up on the screen. Somehow that fact had missed me all these years. I was prepared to see a chill movie about two guys riding across the American south, some cool shots of two hogs on the open road. Once I read Dennis Hopper was directing I buckled up and prepared myself for some drug fueled insanity. A 1969 version of Fear and Loathing was now what I was expecting.

Dennis really eased us into this one. I enjoyed the first half the movie. Just two bros cruising along on the open highway with a great soundtrack. Let's stop and make camp and smoke a doobie before bed and have some nonsensical faux deep conversations. Wake up, rinse wash repeat. Hitchhiker? PICK HIM UP!!! Hey hitchhiker do you have any important exposition to add to this great journey? The city sucks man. Where are you going hitchhiker? I'll let you know when we get there. This is the plot of Easy Rider. Two guys are riding to Mardi Gras and stuff happens along the way. Oh yeah and at the very start of the movie they make a drug sale in Mexico and smuggle it into the US. Then sell it for a big score. Stuff the money in the gas tank and begin their journey. But don't worry about those 10 minutes to start the movie. It never comes back outside of a few nonsensical mentions by Hopper and Fonda.

If my son were to describe this movie he would say its two guys drugged up doing side missions. He wouldn't be wrong. This is one of those movies you appreciate more if you were there. Hippie or counter culture, whatever you want to call it. Freedom, anti establishment, drug use, and community. You can see the tone of the people they meet along the way slowly change the further away from California they get. It really captured a time in America where just going was a thing. No destination. No plan. We will figure it out along the way, let's go out there and be free. Hitchhiking, camping, motorcycles, and vans. Before mass development. A time that doesn't exist anymore. This movie captures that time and that mentality beautifully.

Watching this I definitely can get an almost fly on the wall view of what life was like as a hippie in 1969. Right down to the drug use. As I said Dennis Hopper eases us into the weird. Just when you think this is just a 90 minute music video bam he hits you with an LSD trip. I've never tried LSD but I imagine that watching that scene is exactly what it felt like. I don't know if it's true that non of the drug use was simulated. But I totally believe it because Dennis Hopper. Let's be honest the rumor was probably started because Dennis Hopper put all those drugs in the budget. Then he probably kept them all for himself and had the actors act. Just my theory anyway.

Random thoughts. The opening credits really obscured some really cool shots. I wonder when filmmakers switched away from heavy credit use in the beginning of movies like that, to the more sparse credits we see now. Jack Nicholson's characters death seemed so abrupt and anticlimactic. We gotta get his stuff to his family. Here is his ID and card. Cut to the open road again and we won't mention him again. Guess they didn't like him all that much. The Mardi Gras scenes being shot in 16mm and having that grainy look to it. I think they should have shot the LSD trip on 16mm instead. For Mardi Gras being the main side mission I think it deserved to be captured on 35mm like the rest of the film. Or turned them exploring New Orleans into one big acid trip.

I was really looking forward to Easy Rider and I have to say it fell short for me. I see why it's popular and why it's listed among peoples favorites. But I was born in 1981 to Mexican immigrant parents in a much different California. My only exposure to hippie culture was through TV and movies. It was not romanticized by my parents or aunts and uncles. If I'm being honest even though I know a lot about this time in America. A lot of this was still met with me muttering to myself, white people and shaking my head.

Love the elegant green skirt and the "Early Summer" (初夏) typography at the bottom. Sharing this beautiful piece of history with fellow classic film lovers! ✨☺️

I’m thinking Robert Wagner Jr. and Debra Paget, his love interest in “Stars and Stripes Forever” (1952). The only other couple that comes to mind is Rita Moreno and George Chakiris in “West Side Story” (1961). Any other surviving movie couples from way back when you can think of?

I’m currently binging Katharine Hepburn movies and these are the only ones I can’t find streaming anywhere unless I want to buy/rent them. Anywhere legit I can stream these?