THE DANMAN CAN

With its brisk pace, biting humor, and plenty of bullets spat,  Scarface   (1932) remains a landmark gangster flick. Despite an amusing studio-mandated prologue denouncing its protagonist (played with force by  Paul Muni  and loosely based on  Al Capone ),  Howard Hawks ' classic features a taut script by legend  Ben Hecht  and is filled with iconic imagery (including its  X motif ). While the lack of a score can be a bit jarring, the underutilization of  George Raft  (who makes the perfect mostly-mute coin-tossing sidekick) is a shame, and  Michelle Pfeiffer  made a more memorable impression as the love interest in  Brian De Palma 's  1983 remake  ( review ) than  Karen Morley  does in the 1932 one (though she is still good), there is much to appreciate. There's Muni's ruthless rampage,  Ann Dvorak 's electric performance (simmering with sexuality, pre- Hays Code ), bold cinematogra...

Howard Hawks ' Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) is an homage to his earlier  screwball classic  Bringing Up Baby   (1938) (even recycling one of its gags), for which the director unsuccessfully attempted to get actors  Katharine Hepburn  and  Cary Grant  to reprise their roles. While it doesn't hold a candle to BUB , MFS? is frequently very funny, Paula Prentiss is irresistible (and sexy as hell), and I find the obvious studio backdrop (subbing for the great outdoors) endearing. Rock Hudson , while charming as always, doesn't completely work for the role, and there is a brownface Native American character that unfortunately hampers every scene he's in (what was with big studio films in the '60s and this trend?—I'm looking at you  Breakfast At Tiffany's   (1961) and  The Party   (1968) ( review )). A cute, mostly inconsequential picture, but quite entertaining. Howard Hawks Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

I've seen Howard Hawks ' Rio Bravo (1959) at least a half dozen times in the past quarter century. I've always loved the film but, for whatever reason, I enjoyed it the most I have yet on this viewing. It could have something to do with watching the film on 4K UHD and it looking the best I've ever seen (having owned and watched it on three different home video formats now). John Wayne  (and his stilted delivery) is not generally my cup of tea, even when he's in excellent films, but he's perfect in the role as Sheriff John T. Chance. I think this is because Hawks knew how to surround him with an impeccable cast and because the director wasn't out to make just a straight western. No, there is so much going on with the characters and their interplay ( Dean Martin , Ricky Nelson , Angie Dickinson , and Walter Brennan are all delightful). In addition to that, everything is perfectly lit (so much of the film takes place at night and/or indoors), and the tone is ...

With its brisk pace, biting humor, and plenty of bullets spat,  Scarface   (1932) remains a landmark gangster flick. Despite an amusing studio-mandated prologue denouncing its protagonist (played with force by  Paul Muni  and loosely based on  Al Capone ),  Howard Hawks ' classic features a taut script by legend  Ben Hecht  and is filled with iconic imagery (including its X motif ). While the lack of a score can be a bit jarring, the underutilization of  George Raft  (who makes the perfect mostly-mute coin-tossing sidekick) is a shame, and  Michelle Pfeiffer  made a more memorable impression as the love interest in Brian De Palma 's  1983 remake  ( review ) than  Karen Morley  does in the 1932 one (though she is still good), there is much to appreciate. There's Muni's ruthless rampage,  Ann Dvorak 's electric performance (simmering with sexuality, pre- Hays Code ), bold cinematography, and the...

With its brisk pace, biting humor, and plenty of bullets spat,  Scarface   (1932) remains a landmark gangster flick. Despite an amusing studio-mandated prologue denouncing its protagonist (played with force by  Paul Muni  and loosely based on  Al Capone ),  Howard Hawks ' classic features a taut script by legend  Ben Hecht  and is filled with iconic imagery (including its  X motif ). While the lack of a score can be a bit jarring, the underutilization of  George Raft  (who makes the perfect mostly-mute coin-tossing sidekick) is a shame, and  Michelle Pfeiffer  made a more memorable impression as the love interest in  Brian De Palma 's  1983 remake  ( review ) than  Karen Morley  does in the 1932 one (though she is still good), there is much to appreciate. There's Muni's ruthless rampage,  Ann Dvorak 's electric performance (simmering with sexuality, pre- Hays Code ), bold cinematogra...

This was the third or fourth time I'd seen The Thing From Another World (1951) and the first time in almost 15 years. It didn't quite hold up as well as I remembered—some of the dialogue and performances left me cold (bad pun)—but it's still a solid Hawks ian thriller featuring his trademark rapid-fire overlapping dialogue delivered by a mostly good cast, assured direction, an eerie theremin-imbued score by Dimitri Tiomkin and some impressive action scenes for the time. While I do greatly prefer John Carpenter's bleak  1982 version of John W. Campbell Jr. 's story, there is no denying The Thing  '51's rightful place in sci-fi/horror film history.

Focus On Film   Annual Episode 5  is up! ​It is with heavy hearts that we lay the Focus On Film Podcast to rest. We want to thank you for your support over 5 years and 65 episodes (60 monthly, 5 annual). The episodes will live here on thedanmancan.blogspot.com for at least roughly the remainder of the year, so filter by the “Focus On Film” label on the left or below and download those eps! We hope you enjoy our final episode! Download the MP3  HERE In this episode: Criterion Collection  New Year's Drawing Top 5 Criterion Releases of 2017 "Second Run" (Runners-up) Criterion Releases of 2017 Best non-Criterion Release of 2017