This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This week's theme is another broad one, "Outlaws". Normally, outlaws are thought of, at least in movie terms, as being bad guys in westerns. So I decided to set myself a challenge and see if I could come up with three movies not set in the old American west. Now, that does mean there's a gratuitous image I had in mind that I can't really use, but since it's gratuitous, why not use it after all:
Jane Russell in The Outlaw
OK, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to my real three selections:
The Outlaw and His Wife (1918). Set in 18th century Iceland, Victor Sjöström plays Karl, who shows up on widow Halla's farm looking for work. He may be Ejvind, the famous outlaw, and the local law enforcement man, Björn (Nils Arehn), who is also pursing Halla as she's his sister-in-law, tries to discover the truth. But Karl falls in love with Halla to, and when the truth comes out, he and Halla escape into the Icelandic highlands.
M (1931). Somebody's killing children in Weimar Berlin, and the police are baffled. Their dragnet cuts seriously into the regular underworld's business, so they declare the serial killer an outlaw and pursue him themselves. That somebody is Peter Lorre, whom the underworld finds before the cops do and put him on trial outside the law.
Robin and Marian (1976). After the events in The Adventures of Robin Hood, Robin goes off to fight in Europe with King Richard. 20 years later, he returns (played by Sean Connery), finding a land laid waste by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw) and King John (Ian Holm). He goes looking for Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn) who, not having seen Robin for ages, took vows and became a nun who is being pursued by the Sheriff. Robin tries to protect her, but he's an outlaw and even more wanted than Marian.
6 comments:
The Outlaw and His Wife was fascinating in and of itself but even more so as a document that is over 100 years old.
M isn't a pleasant film and Peter Lorre's character a detestable one but he plays him brilliantly.
Robin and Marian is a little too laid back for its own good but a decent film and a worthy vehicle for Audrey to return to the screen after over a decade's absence.
I also thought of Westerns first off and the Outlaw specifically but that's a terrible movie no matter how beautiful Jane Russell is in it but decided to go in a different direction.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)-Pussycat Club go-go dancers Varla (Tura Satana), Rosie (Haji) and Billie (Lori Williams) head out to the desert to drag race and raise some hell. When they meet a young hot-rodding couple they dispatch the guy, take the girl hostage and head to the hills on the hunt for rumored hidden fortune guarded by a disabled old letch (Stuart Lancaster) and The Vegetable (Dennis Busch) his hulking infantile son. They blaze in figuring an easy score, but the men have plans of their own. Pure exploitation is one big wild ride.
Deadlier Than the Male (1967)-Glamorous paid assassins Irma (Elke Sommer) and Penelope (Sylva Koscina) entice prominent businessmen with their wiles then off them for big bucks until insurance investigator "Bulldog" Drummond (Richard Johnson) and his mod nephew, Robert (Steve Carlson) jump on their trail. The twosome circles the globe hopping from one exotic locale to the next to bring the lethal lovelies to justice!
The Getaway (1972)-When career criminal Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) is refused parole he convinces his wife Carol (Ali MacGraw) to strike a bargain with corrupt businessman Jack Benyon (Ben Johnson). Benyon agrees to get him sprung on the condition Doc pulls a bank heist with his gang. All goes as planned but double crosses and betrayals abound. The result-Doc and Carol try to flee to Mexico with both the money and their lives crossing Texas as both cops and outlaws pursue them, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. McQueen and MacGraw fell in love during the filming, left their respective spouses and embarked on a high profile tempestuously short-lived marriage.
M is such a great pick! I never would have thought of it :-D
Hey I've finally seen one of your picks! I've seen M and enjoyed it.
I've heard of the last film but not seen it. What are your views on it?
I think I used the word "elegiac" to describe Robin and Marian when I blogged about it; come to think of it, it would also describe another 1976 release, The Shootist, which would make a good double feature. (I was just thinking of that because I've got another late John Wayne movie coming up soon.) It's definitely more deliberate and the action is slower than the Flynn Robin Hood, but that's the point.
Much more for the adults than the children.
Who isn’t into showing that Russell pick. To be honest it is the first image that came into my head. I would love to see that silent film which sounds quite good. M is an excellent film that is timeless even for today. I really like dRobin and Marian but need to see it again. I liked the softness of it and that not everything was a nice and neat package.
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