Haiku # 6: "From here to eternity"

I wanted to try a funny haiku today (although, for Deborah, it wasn't fun to shoot)...Oh, don't forget to check who's who in The Scarlett O'Hara War...

From here to eternity (1953)

"Wait, dear, I'm drowning
and the sand is all over;
let's kiss on a bench"

This is an entry for the Best For Film Hollywood Haikus blogging competition. Enter now.

"The flame & the arrow" or another reason to love Burt Lancaster

Remember when I recommended The crimson pirate because Burt Lancaster was awesomely acrobatic in it? Well, guess what, I found another movie in which you can appreciate his terrific physical skills. It's so cool to see a guy his size having such control and harmony with his body. Oh, wait, yes, the movie has a plot by the way and more actors. It's really entertaining.

In The flame and the arrow (1950; Jacques Torneur) Burt plays a guy named Dardo living in the forest in medieval Lombardy. He's an outlaw with a kid to look after...alone, because his...wife? girlfriend? left him several years ago and ran off with a noble man. The people in the town near the forest want him to fight to free Lombardy and he's only convinced to fight when his kid is taken away, etc. It's very Robin Hood-ish.

Super anecdote: Burt had an amazingly acrobatic partner, Nick Cravat, with whom he worked in nine films (The crimson pirate was one of them). They used to work together in the circus as "Lang & Cravat". According to Imdb, in the two movies I'm mentioning ad-nauseam Cravat's characters were mute because he had a strong Brooklyn accent he couldn't hide. LOL. The interesting thing is that Burt and Nick died the same year, 1994. Partners till the end, uh?

So yeah, this film is really awesome to watch because it has Burt and Nick in it. And they jump, run, ride really fast in horses, jump backwards, climb, walk over a joist, jump forward, etc etc.

Oh, just this week I started noticing Viriginia Mayo. I had seen her in The best years of our life, but on Monday I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and she was really effective and fun in it (oh, bad news, Ben Stiller is making a remake of that film). In The Flame and the Arrow she plays a noble woman, Burt's prisoner and love interest. My favorite scene from her is when she tries to seduce Nick Cravat and then another guy so they can free her, but they don't pay attention to her.

One of the few things I didn't like, is the fact that they chained the prisoner (made me remember the case of Ingrid Betancourt). The problem is, IMO, the decision to make the scene in a festive mood. I'd prefer they used a tense music in the background in the first scene she's chained, denoting that this was like the dark side of the outlaws, that this wasn't a cool thing to do. A similar situation occurs in The black swan, when Tyrone Power beats Maureen O'Hara at the beginning, and directionally speaking, they don't seem to care. I don't know if details like this distract you too.

Oh, because my reviews are oh-so-serious, I want to end with a praise for Technicolor. I loved Virginia Mayo's red riding hood, it looked gorgeous.

The end. LOL. Thanks for reading!

Youtube Alert! : This movie is available to watch online, in one file.

The ten most handsome men from Classic Movies

...according to moi, of course. OK, here's the thing: some stars like Marlon Brando and James Dean are beautiful, obviously, but there's something about them that doesn't appeal to me. Maybe is the "rebel label", I don't know. To me, Robert Mitchum is more handsome because I feel that he attitude is more natural and real, not staged. I also tried to add some lesser known actors, just because they looked drop dead gorgeous in the one film I saw from them. Oh, I had to leave out people like Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier, sorry.

 Well, enjoy:

10. Robert Mitchum. He was just neat.

9. Gregory Peck.  A kind man.

8. John Justin. Looked gorgeous in The Thief of Bagdad. 

7. Burt Lancaster.  Great acting and physical skills.

6. William Holden. Beautiful man, great actor.

5. Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers). Just saw him in 1 movie, never forgot him.

4. Cary Grant. A combination of looks and attitude.

3. Errol Flynn. The most beautiful rascal ever.

2. Paul Newman. For those who think he was mostly eyes.

1. Gary Cooper. Could he be more gorgeous?

What do you think? Oh, do you want more beautiful pics? Check Gary Cooper: Mercy or Good Genes.

 More lists :

Top 25 favorite classic actors
10 types of annoying people to watch a movie with
My Top 10 Billy Wilder movies
12 favorite things from It's a wonderful life including the board game

The Crimson Pirate (52): watch Burt showing off his acrobatic skills!

It feels like ages since I posted last (it has been just 4 days). On Saturday, a 37-year-old tree fell down in my street causing an instant power cut and commotion in the corner (my town is so small and boring). So I decided to go to the church (something I never do) to listen a police chorus singing Christmas carols (?). On Sunday I went to the country with my dad and practiced my (really lame) driving, hoping that someday I'll get my license (I'm so uncoordinated: when I have to press the clutch + move the stick shift to switch the gear I forget about the wheel and the jeep goes wherever it wants). Why I'm telling you this? I don't know.

[Pirate Talk mode on] Do ya want to see a great, grand adventure movie? Just go on the account with Burt Lancaster n his mateys, that's me advice. Ass rye, he needs to find a lass (Eva Bartok) n her revolutionary ol man...and then get some good ol doubloons by selling them to the King's army, yo-ho-ho! But avast! What happens if Burt falls in love with the lass? ARRR! Shiver me timbers! More adventure! He will need to defeat the enemy and his own, mutineer hearties (the lubbers!) or he will be sent to the Davy Jones's Locker, ass rye! Watch him fightin with energy along with his mute matey Ojo, climbin ladders, jumpin from roofs, detonatin monkeys, comically runnin from the scurvy bilge rat army, teachin the captive town people how to defeat the enemy, driving a hot air balloon and even disguising himself as a wench! So show a leg and follow me advice me hearties, this is a great, grand, entertaining adventure movie with Lancaster's athletic skills at his best! And ye may lay to that! [/Pirate Talk mode off]

 More adventure films posts: 

• The thief of Bagdad (1940): an entertaining adventure
  Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) 
• Adventure movies or what I'll be watching in the next few days 
  

 Pirate Talk Sources: 
thepiratesrealm.com
yarr.org.uk
wikihow.com

Burt & Ava: "In the mood"

Burt Lancaster & Ava Gardner
Song: "In the mood" by Glenn Miller.
Pics Credits: 1: likeadoll || 2: frdirector

[Today is his birthday ] :)

More Photo[graphs] + Music:

• Marlene Dietrich: "It's here for you"
• Gregory Peck: "Can't help lovin' that man"
• Coolest.pic.ever: Errol Fever
• Clark & Carole: "Tea for two"
• Cary Grant: "When or where"
• Desilu: "That Sunday, that Summer"
• Errol & Olivia: "Magic Moments"
• Paul & Joanne: "Twist and Shout"
• Gary Cooper: "Mercy"

Top 25 actores clásicos favoritos (parte 1)

25. Melvyn Douglas 
(Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg)

Papel favorito:  el del atento caballero que le enseña a reír a la Garbo en "Ninotchka".

24. Christopher Plummer 
(Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer)

Papel favorito: el estricto Capitán Von Trapp en "The sound of music".

23. Marlon Brando 
(Marlon Brando, Jr.)

Papeles favoritos:  quien pudo haber sido un contendiente en "On the Waterfront" & el polaco abusivo de " A Streetcar Named Desire"

 22. Laurence Olivier 
(Laurence Kerr Olivier)

Papeles favoritos: Heathcliff de "Wuthering Heights", el marido que esconde un secreto a la inocente Joan Fontaine de "Rebecca", Hamlet de "Hamlet" & el del escritor dado a juegos mentales en "Sleuth".

21. Rex Harrison 
(Reginald Carey Harrison a.k.a. 'Sexy Rexy')

Papeles favoritos: el del fantasma de un marinero en "The ghost and Mrs. Muir" & el de Henry Higgins en "My fair lady".

20. Richard Burton 
(Richard Walter Jenkins)

Papeles favoritos:  el del apasionado ex religioso y guía turístico en "The night of the iguana", el chalado (ya, en verdad estas personas no estaban bien) marido de Liz Taylor en "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", el del ángel de la muerte en "Boom" (yo debo ser una de las pocas personas a la que le interesó esta película) & Marco Antonio en "Cleopatra".

19. Albert Finney

Papeles favoritos:  el del esposo a punto de divorciarse de Audrey Hepburn en "Two for the road" & el del detective en "Murder on the Orient Express".

18. Burt Lancaster 
(Burton Stephen Lancaster)

Papeles favoritos: el del estafador con suerte en "The Rainmaker" & el del "familiar" texano de Audrey Hepburn-de-origen-indio en "The Unforgiven".

17. Jack Lemmon 
(John Uhler Lemmon III)

Papeles favoritos: el del noble empleado enamorado en "The apartment", el del empresario que se enamora en medio de un funeral en "Avanti!" & el del noble policía enamorado de una prostituta en "Irma La Douce".

16. William Holden 

(William Franklin Beedle, Jr.)

Papeles favoritos: el del joven acompañante de una antigua estrella en "Sunset Boulevard", el del soldado sospechoso de ser infiltrado en "Stalag 17", el del aventurero que llega a revolucionar un vecindario en "Picnic" & el del guionista cabreado de la vida en "Paris when it sizzles".

15. Fred MacMurray
(Fredrick Martin MacMurray)
Papeles favoritos: el de pretendiente comprensivo en "Alice Adams", el del abogado compasivo con la Stanwyck en "Remember the night", el de enamorado de la Lombard manicurista en "Hands across the table", el de secretario de Rosalind Russell en "Take a letter darling", el de pediatra que se casa con la Dietrich en "The lady is willing", el de vendedor de seguros con plan malévolo junto a la Stanwyck en "Double indemnity".

 14. James Stewart 

(James Maitland Stewart)

Papeles favoritos:  el del fotógrafo copuchento de "Rear window", el del buen hombre al borde del suicidio en "It's a wonderful life", el del empleado abnegado en "The shop around the corner", el del joven de familia conservadora que se casa con una bailarina en "Vivacious lady", el del padre que busca a su hijo raptado en "The Man Who Knew Too Much" &  el buen hombre que tiene un amigo conejo gigante invisible en "Harvey".

(continúa aquí)