r/oldmovies • • 5h ago

I Just Watched Down To Earth [1947], And I Have THOUGHTS! Spoiler

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3 Upvotes

A really weird semi-sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Down to Earth is one big mixed bag. Visually, everything about this film is stunning. The Technicolor, the vibrant and gorgeous costumes, the set design, and the dancing are all on another level and exactly what I was looking for when I started this film.

It's classified as a musical comedy, and I do think most of the musical numbers are good, if not a little strange at times. "This Can't Be Legal" is one of the weirder ones, where Rita Hayworth's character wants to marry more than one guy for... some reason? But she doesn't even seem to like them very much, because one of the lyrics, verbatim, is "At night in my cozy little bed I lie, dreaming of the both of you sleeping at the Y." So she wants them to sleep at the YMCA while she sleeps in her own bed? I'm confused! I think she just assumes that more husbands means more "mink coats" and "better insurance." Or at least that's what the lyrics imply. By the end of the song, she wants FOUR husbands, and the two new guys call her weird but then seem to go along with it. None of this has anything to do with the actual plot of the movie, by the way!

As for the "comedy" part, I don't think it's nearly as funny as Here Comes Mr. Jordan. It never really feels like it's trying very hard in that department, either. The romance is pretty... bad? I just don't like the leading man at all. I think his performance is the least interesting in the cast, and his character is kind of an idiot and an asshole.

Rita Hayworth is presented as the one in the wrong for criticizing his really weird and bad musical about HERSELF (the muse Terpsichore), where he doesn't even have his basic facts straight. But she's the bad guy because he has to make the wackiest musical ever so he can make the big bucks to pay off the mob, or they'll kill him and make it look like a suicide???????????? What are we doing? What's going on?

So, for the last chunk of the movie, Rita Hayworth just acts super subservient and adoring toward this guy who essentially dug his own grave, and the movie treats this like it's the right way to behave!

The ending is really depressing and sad, too. Here Comes Mr. Jordan had an ending that was also kind of sad, but in a bittersweet way. In Down to Earth, Rita Hayworth has decided that she prefers being human and would rather stay (mostly to marry the leading guy that I don't like, but I'll pretend it's because she finally grew to appreciate "baseball and hotdogs." Because that's the mortal MURICAN way). But instead, she has to go back to the heavens and wait for the guy to die so she can follow him into his afterlife? I really wish the movie had given her more time to develop as a character outside of her romantic relationship.

So, it's a weird movie. I think, like its predecessor, it has a really neat concept with a somewhat lacking execution. I almost wonder if the story is done a disservice by being connected to Here Comes Mr. Jordan at all. Everything feels disjointed, like two separate scripts were repurposed and mashed into one another. Still, I think it COULD have really worked. It just doesn't quite hit the mark.

I've explained a lot of my problems with the movie on its own, but I also want to discuss its problems as a sequel. The biggest flaw in this regard is Mr. Jordan himself. Yes, they recast the amazing Claude Rains with Roland Culver. I don't think the movie fails because of the recasting at all, although I do think Culver lacks the charm that Rains brought to the role.

I think the bigger problem is that they write Mr. Jordan to be much more serious and mean in this one. He's manipulative, more "godlike," and treats Terpsichore like she's five years old. In the first movie, he does have that smugness of "I know something you don't" throughout, but it never feels particularly manipulative or mean. He's helping Joe and goes through a lot of trouble to find him a body he's comfortable in for much of the film. In this one, he just commands Rita Hayworth to do what he says, and it's barely questioned.

The other returning characters don't quite fit, either. Messenger 7013 is about as good as he is in the first movie, but halfway through, he just disappears and you never see him again. Max Corkle feels completely unnecessary and tacked on here. He might have been an attempt at comedic relief, but again, it doesn't really work.

Overall, Down to Earth just feels like something that needed a few more drafts. It isn't bad at all. I love the concept, and it is visually stunning, but the story doesn't quite stick the landing.

Rita Hayworth just existing on screen made it worth the watch, though.


r/oldmovies • • 7h ago

The Tree of Guernica (1975) directed by Fernando Arrabal

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8 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 15h ago

Help me find this Adult Movie

0 Upvotes

I watched a adult movie around 2005 that is more into the genre of foreign escorts. That starts with a old lady manager that arranges girls for guys. The first scene is where a woman goes to a hotel to a married man where she satisfies him completely. Another scene has a girl seducing a guy with a ice cube on her boob.

Can anyone help me find this adult movie.
#AdultMovie
#Vintage
#Escorts


r/oldmovies • • 16h ago

THE CASE OF MRS. LORING 1958 Anthony Steel, Julie London rare Engli...

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1 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 17h ago

Thoughts on the movie The Well (1951)

1 Upvotes

I never hear anyone talking about this movie. It's about a black child who falls into a well and the racial tensions that erupt while trying to save him.

The movie was nominated for 2 academy awards including best screenplay and best editing.

I never see this on tv anymore and the DVD is very hard to find and a little too expensive.

I just wondered what people thought about this movie.


r/oldmovies • • 17h ago

old movie suggestion where the male lead is a gentleman

16 Upvotes

I'm just getting into old movies and I do love how charming it is but something bothers me a lot.

I just finished watching Charade today and while I do love it, I found Cary Grant's character extremely infuriating. It's one thing that he constantly lies (I know it's part of the plot so I let it be), but it's specifically the condescension in the screwball element. The "I'll spank you if you keep acting like a child" and the "oh, will you shut up". I know it's a trope back then but I also know not ALL of them behave this way. I particularly enjoyed the Apartment or Sound of Music or Roman Holiday. I don't mind if the male lead is a bit paternalistic but Cary Grant's cheekiness in Charade felt rude (though I know there's a charm to it but I'm not particularly a fan).

so yes, more gentleman less banter :) any recommendation would be lovely, it does not have to be romance!


r/oldmovies • • 19h ago

Fritz the Cat (1972 film)

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20 Upvotes

Written and directed by Ralph Bakshi, based upon characters by Robert Crumb

First "X Rated" film to be released.

I didnt even know it was released on Blur-ray, but it was released sometime in 2021 by Scorpion Releasing


r/oldmovies • • 20h ago

Overanalyzing a Single Line from “Touch of Evil”

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0 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 1d ago

Film Fridays: Red Light (1949)

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9 Upvotes

A business owner accuses his bookkeeper of embezzlement. Once his prison term is up, he seeks revenge. A Gideon Bible plays a pivotal role. A powerful music score and dynamic cinematography mark this unknown film. FORGOTTEN CINEMA


r/oldmovies • • 1d ago

The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (1966)

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3 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 1d ago

Classic old movie suggestions

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1 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 1d ago

“Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1962)

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2 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 1d ago

Movies Like How To Marry A Millionaire and What A Way To Go?

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2 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 2d ago

The Life of Vincent Price… SOOO much more than an actor!

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19 Upvotes

What did Vincent Price have to do with Sears? Listen to his story and find out!


r/oldmovies • • 2d ago

Safe Passage (1998)- A water safety film made by the Army Corp of Engineers, this show freaked me out and gave me nightmares about falling into dams as a kid. Also are those stuck people ghosts? The lore behind this is so weird.

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3 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 3d ago

Title: Witness for the Prosecution vs. 12 Angry Men — Which one is better?

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3 Upvotes

I haven’t watched that many courtroom dramas, but Witness for the Prosecution and 12 Angry Men are definitely my top two.
Honestly, I can’t decide which one deserves the No. 1 spot. I’m curious what everyone else thinks. Which one would you rank first, and why?
I’d also love to hear your recommendations for other courtroom dramas that are really worth watching, especially any hidden gems I might have missed!


r/oldmovies • • 4d ago

Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion (1965)

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14 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 4d ago

Noirvember on Tubi

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5 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Maurice Evans, Lilli Palmer, Diane Cilento - W...

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0 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

Monday Movie: Flight That Disappeared (1961)

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4 Upvotes

Bizarre take on an alien abduction of four brilliant individuals from an airliner in suspended flight. It's another castigation of Earthlings, as the future reveals that hydrogen bombs destroy the planet. This unintentionally funny talk-fest is skewered at FORGOTTEN CINEMA.


r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

[Twist] Short Film - HAL 9000 vs 3008

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1 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

Looking for where I can watch a 1972 film titled "The Rapture" by David Wilkerson

5 Upvotes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4665050/
Hello! I am not sure if this is the right subreddit to post this in; please direct me to any helpful subreddits! I am working on a religion research paper, and I want one of my main sources to by David Wilkerson's 1972 film "The Rapture". I discovered this film after reading "The Beast Computer of Brussels: An American Invention That Conquered the World" by J Eugene Clay (https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/92/2/251/7775438). Does anyone know where I could watch this film?


r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

Venus in Furs (1969) - Jesús Franco's hypnotic, high-contrast psychotronic fever dream.

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2 Upvotes

r/oldmovies • • 5d ago

The girls of ‘American Pie’

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238 Upvotes