tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post3559671577366016853..comments2024-03-28T18:49:48.571-04:00Comments on Joe Torcivia's The Issue At Hand Blog: DVD Review: Three Strangers (1946)Joe Torciviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-2326889243220962762013-06-24T14:59:47.803-04:002013-06-24T14:59:47.803-04:00Joe,
Making matters worse, the Felix head was 3-D...Joe,<br /><br />Making matters worse, the Felix head was 3-D CGI, whereas the rest of the movie was conventional flat 2-D! Yes, it looks as bizarre as it sounds!<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-20271434198709138302013-06-24T11:29:45.492-04:002013-06-24T11:29:45.492-04:00Yes indeed, Chris. And my bad for omitting John H...Yes indeed, Chris. And my bad for omitting John Huston, considering how I’ve lauded him in past reviews. <br /><br />Egad! Felix would have been even spookier in Greenstreet’s “trailer framing”, because only the whites of his eyes and muzzle would show! <br /><br />“Come closer! There’s something in my magic bag I want you to see!” <br /><br />At this point, I’d start running!Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-78650996796363080442013-06-24T11:08:45.254-04:002013-06-24T11:08:45.254-04:00Joe,
John Huston was one of the writers on this, ...Joe,<br /><br />John Huston was one of the writers on this, and it definitely sounds like something up his (dark) alley.<br /><br />Whenever I hear of disembodied heads introducing movies, I always think of ... shudder... FELIX THE CAT: THE MOVIE.<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-23192797608716425752013-06-24T10:24:49.990-04:002013-06-24T10:24:49.990-04:00Abe:
I would tend to think, given “Three Stranger...Abe:<br /><br />I would tend to think, given “Three Strangers” was the middle film of three Lorre and Greenstreet lead pairings, that it probably held its own at the box office. And, for all my nit-picking at the notion out here in the 21st Century, it probably helped to have it framed as the next “Maltese Falcon”. <br /><br />One thing’s for sure, Lorre and Greenstreet are a great pairing, with or without Bogart, and it’s interesting to note that someone at Warner Bros. decided they could carry pictures on their own. <br /><br />It’s also interesting to see that neither Lorre, nor Greenstreet, nor Geraldine Fitzgerald emerges as the true “star” (or “lead”) of the film – but, as the “Three Strangers” title indicates, the three carry the picture together, and separately, in pretty much equal proportion. <br /><br />Digression: Just looking at Lorre and Greenstreet in the purest physical sense, I sometimes wonder why WB never attempted to pair them up as a nominal “comedy team”. Honestly, I probably would not have cared for the idea because it would have diluted their great noir and intrigue roles, to the point where we wouldn’t have “taken them seriously” anymore. Sorta in the same way we don’t take Leslie Nielsen seriously anymore, even when we see him in things like “The Poseidon Adventure”. (…We instinctively read “comedy” into that role – even if it was not Irwin Allen’s intention – to the point that it was even satirized on WB’s animated Freakazoid!) I’d hate to see that sort of “typing” diminish “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca”, so I’m glad it never happened. <br /><br />Finally, I’d have never heard of “Three Strangers” if not for the e-mail marketing of The Warner Archive Collection. And, with my fondness for Lorre and Greenstreet, it was just a matter of waiting for the right holiday promotion (Memorial Day) to pick it up. Needless to say, I’m glad I did – and am glad Warner Archives makes such “lesser” films available, increasing our overall awareness of them. <br /><br />I’ve since observed that Greenstreet is tapped for the same “trailer narration technique” in “The Mask of Dimitrios”. “The Verdict”, alas, does not come with an actual trailer – but offers an early clip from the film “masquerading” as a trailer – so we’ll never know if he narrated that one as well.Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-13850850747539932322013-06-24T08:45:35.572-04:002013-06-24T08:45:35.572-04:00An interesting crew of actors here. Sydney Greenst...An interesting crew of actors here. Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre make their way into a good deal of well-known movies, and some together, but they typically don't serve starring roles together. (I believe the Mask of Dimitrios is one prominent exception to this, but I haven't watched it yet). To be fair, they both often play important characters that have huge effects on the plot development of whatever movie it may be, but not the type that would normally serve as a protagonist. Greenstreet primarily takes on the character of the either sinister, rich, or both fat man. From this review, he seems to maintain a somewhat similar role, which makes the trio of characters all the more interesting. On the other hand, Peter Lorre is typically not a sinister character, but sometimes caught up in shady dealings. And of course, the Hungarian actor always plays some race he isn't, being German in Arsenic and Old Lace, Japanese in Around the World in Eighty Days, and so on. But like Greenstreet, his role is often important but rarely at the forefront.<br /><br />Then, throw into the mix Geraldine Fiztgerald (who I don't believe I've ever seen act before) as the mysterious woman, and we have a crew strange enough yet balanced enough to draw crowds into the theatres.<br /><br />Unless, of course, it was a box office flop. It better not have been. I don't want to have to retract any statements. :)Abraham Lincolnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07425248645312090658noreply@blogger.com