Claire is...: sherif

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Sunday, 8 February 2015

FILM 1287: FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

TRIVIA: Sergio Leone broke many 1960s Hollywood rules with this film, although he did not know any of them at the time. Among them: showing the shooter and the victim in the same shot, a horse being gunned down, marijuana use, and a rape scene.

The Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood) calls himself Monco in this film. "Manco" is Spanish for "lame of one hand", "one handed" or "one armed", which is pretty appropriate considering his habit of fighting, drinking, etc with his left hand only. His right hand always remains on his gun underneath his trademark poncho.

Cameo: Sergio Leone: The whistling heard in the background before the opening credits.

Sunday, 17 August 2014

FILM 1195: HIGH NOON

TRIVIA: Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly had an affair that lasted for the duration of filming.

Its loss in the Best Picture category to the much-derided The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), by Cecil B. DeMille, is usually cited as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Academy Awards. This loss is often seen as an effort to satisfy Senator Joseph McCarthy, as DeMille was one of his biggest supporters.

Director Fred Zinnemann said that the black smoke billowing from the train is a sign that the brakes were failing. He and the cameraman didn't know it at the time, and barely got out of the way. The camera tripod snagged itself on the track and fell over, smashing the camera, but the film survived and is in the movie.

This film was intended as an allegory in Hollywood for the failure of Hollywood people to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Sen. Joseph McCarthy Red-baiting era.