Well, let’s see. I mentioned Theremins a couple of posts back, had a post about film composer Bernard Herrmann some months back, and I recently made reference to the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still, for which Herrmann wrote the score with lots of Theremin sounds.
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This sequence from The Day The Earth Stood Still came from a 20-year-old LaserDisc played on an equally old Pioneer LD-838, as did the Spellbound clip. Even in this reduced and compressed format I think the virtues of LD compared to VHS are apparent.
Gosh, gee, I wish Molly talked like that! “Gosh, Mom, I think doing chores is swell!”
Yeah, I’ve thought about that. A single, working mother whose husband was killed in WW2, providing as best she can for her son, living in a couple of rooms at a boarding house. Presumably she wants more children, yet she doesn’t rush into marriage for the sake of financial security, and to have her own home.
The whole setup at the boarding house, with the interplay between the oddball collection of residents, is interesting. An aspect of it that Eric has pointed out is how breezy the kid seems to be about everything. “Gosh, yeah… Gee whiz, Golly gee,” etc. It seemed to be a bit of a holdover from movie kids of the 30’s and 40’s.
One of the best scenes! I love how Patricia Neal portrayed such a non-typical, strong female role (rather like our mother!) in the early 50s. Note how she only screams once, and quickly regains her composure. When Gort picks her up, she does not struggle, and does not FAINT, as did chick after chick in subsequent B-movie sci-fi thrillers when carried off by minions of grisly beasts!
I loved this movie when I was a kid, but Robert Wise has never been a favorite director of mine. Like all of his films, this thing moves so slowly! It’s reserved almost to a fault.