Before watching the movie:
On the surface, this looks like just as much fluff as State Fair, but the setup sounds rather dark. It’s a man’s one more day to get it right with his family after a fatal accident. Moreover, one summary I saw specifically calls him abusive, though that’s probably from subtext. Depressing themes in a musical? Not something one would expect before the late 60s.
But then it manifests as flowy dancing around a carnival, so it can’t be entirely bleak.
Before watching the movie:
I’m closing the month with another sci-fi B-movie. I’m not sure how I first heard about this one, but I know it only by the title. It sounds like one Mystery Science Theater 3000 would have riffed, but they haven’t (at least, a cross-reference search only points to an episode for Earth vs. The Spider). It’s one of the B-Moviest of B-movie titles out there.
Knowing nothing of the plot besides the title (which pretty much spells it all out), I can only assume that the pilots of those flying saucers are eventually shown, so this can count as a monster movie. This seems to be a safe assumption, since the poster appears to show menacing ground troops, but these are either spacesuits, mechs, or robots. Which are probably good enough.
This isn’t in 3D, but I almost feel like I should wear red-blue glasses for it.
Before watching the movie:
The title pretty much says it all. There’s a plot about high schoolers and some kind of competition, but this is basically a concert film.
The cast is full of appearances from acts who were famous in their day, but the main name I recognize now is Chuck Berry, and I think I’ve seen much more of him now than at the top of his career, so that will be interesting. When I think of Chuck Berry in the 50s, I think of Marty McFly.
Before watching the movie:
The most intriguing big name here is the writer: Ray Bradbury. Gregory Peck rarely gets mentioned outside of To Kill a Mockingbird anymore, I’m sure director John Huston has a following among deep film buffs, and of course Melville’s novel is a (somewhat sloppy) masterpiece, but Bradbury gets my attention. When I think of Bradbury, I think of his sci-fi concepts. I never think of his words, only his ideas. In a medium dominated by actors and directors, using someone else’s ideas and doubtless many of his words, I’m curious to see if I can spot any of Bradbury coming through.
Note should be made that this is once again from my late great aunt’s collection.
Yesterday's Movies 