Second Viewings....

[Frederica]

As we watched the film my embarrassment grew, but I kept saying “Well, just wait for that Death Coach!” And of course, the scene finally arrived, and wasn’t nearly as scary as my 8 year-old self thought it was. I’ve never really lived it down. Ever since, when I tout a particular movie, Sandra will shoot me a look and say: “Yeah, but you liked Darby O’Gill and the Little People.”

In my defense, however, I see that in his book The Disney Films, published in the '70s, Leonard Maltin wrote: “Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not only one of Disney’s best films, but is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film.” I have to wonder when he last took another look at it.

When I was a wee vamplet, I thought Maria Montez was THE QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE. I still do, but for entirely different reasons. "Are you ensane??? Geep me dat cobra joo-ell!"

[Michael O'Regan]

My mother had the humiliation of talking up Duel in the Sun to her husband, and ended up being really embarrassed by seeing it again.

greta

In the late ‘50s the Disney studio put out a live-action comedy called Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which featured leprechauns, Sean Connery, a lot of pseudo-Irish blarney, and a Death Coach steered by a headless driver. I saw this film as a grade-schooler when it was re-released to theaters, and loved it. Many years later I was in a video store with my wife Sandra, saw it on the shelf, and insisted we rent it. “It’s great! There’s a scene with a Death Coach that’s genuinely scary!”

As we watched the film my embarrassment grew, but I kept saying “Well, just wait for that Death Coach!” And of course, the scene finally arrived, and wasn’t nearly as scary as my 8 year-old self thought it was. I’ve never really lived it down. Ever since, when I tout a particular movie, Sandra will shoot me a look and say: “Yeah, but you liked Darby O’Gill and the Little People.”

In my defense, however, I see that in his book The Disney Films, published in the '70s, Leonard Maltin wrote: “Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not only one of Disney’s best films, but is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film.” I have to wonder when he last took another look at it.

I LOVE Darby O'Gill.....
I know it's a twee film but it has so much of the Irish legends in it that I grew up with that it's so much fun to watch...the banshee, the comb, the death-coach, the three wishes...I had all of that growing up in Cork in the 60's and 70's...not to mention the great Jimmy O'Dea...I LOVE IT. One of my biggest wants is a Low fade 16mm print of this title.

[entredeuxguerres]

I find myself (with some exceptions) increasingly intolerant of fantasy/sci-fi/CGI-heavy films. I'd just as soon see a b&w one-room drama between two people talking. That's a slight exaggeration

No exaggeration whatsoever in my doddering case, should the setting be the '20s or '30s. Shocks me to recall I waited in a line a block long to see 2001 the first time, later returning, after the queues had diminished, at least twice more.

[Michael O'Regan]

What's not to like:

[Wm. Charles Morrow]

What's not to like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxC_1wuo3E" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Actually, that clip looks quite good to me now. I think the problem with our video night was that I oversold the film as some kind of masterpiece (which was how I remembered it), so the film's "twee" parts, in particular the cutesy humor, made my judgment look questionable. Sandra does not appreciate twee.

[Harold Aherne]

There are a lot of musicals that no longer grab me--I was more willing as a youngster to forgive the improbable/dull plots as long as the musical numbers were good, but neither dialogue nor music really does much for me in many cases. Musicals up to about 1938, though, I still hold in pretty high regard.

Saturday morning cartoons are always a risky area to revisit--as an adult, you notice the limited budgets, stale writing and assembly line quality a lot more than when you were 7. But even at that age, I knew that Bugs Bunny and co. were something special, and they've retained their good qualities when I revisit them. (Woody Woodpecker is a lot more hit and miss.)

-HA

[Smari1989]

The discussion of giving comedies repeated viewings is interesting. It's common (and perhaps understandable) that many viewers seem to judge the merits of a comedy on just exactly how many laughs it managed to force out of the viewer, but more than solid, surprising jokes is required to make a comedy worthy of repeated viewings....I admit THE GOLD RUSH still makes me laugh, even after some twenty-plus viewings, but if all I desired in a comedy was to laugh I'd still probably choose something else, a film I haven't watched yet, for the sake of the "surprise element"...but ultimately, what draws me back to THE GOLD RUSH is its atmosphere and Chaplin's incredible performance. Such merits are limited (I think) in films such as THE WRONG BOX (again, Sellers is wonderful, though) and a Three Stooges-short, even though the surprise element is definitely there much of the time and may make you laugh during a first go.

[Mitch Farish]

The "great favorites" of my callow youth, all those grandiose historical epics of the '60s & '70s--Cleopatra, The Alamo, 55 Days at Peking--I now find (when they appear on TCM) not merely unenjoyable, but unendurable.

I feel the same way about most talking era "epics." But it's funny, the things I loved them for when I was younger - crowd scenes, all-star casts, and turgid music - are some of the things I can't stand about them now. Then how is it that I love the silent Ben-Hur? I think it might have to do with the length. Silents were paced better, I think. And Carl Davis' score is great. Four hours of Miklos Roza is enough.

[buddhawannabe]

The problem of other people not "getting" a film that you thought was great is a whole 'nother problem, but your experience with Darby O'Gill reminded me of the time when, after seeing "Picnic at Hanging Rock" for the first time, I dragged a bunch of my friends to see it. Some of them are still reproaching me, thirty years later. But I STILL think it's a great movie though I freely admit my enjoyment of it now is more of along the lines of enjoying it as a laugh-fest. Not so different from one's appreciation of Maria Montez, perhaps.

AND, no, four hours of Miklos Rozsa is NOT enough!!

[boblipton]

Yeah, I dragged some friends to see Doug Fairbanks movies at the Film Forum, twenty years or so ago. The Black Pirate went over well, but one friend occasionally reproaches me about Robin Hood's Merrie Men and their "leaping and hopping".

Bob

[Richard M Roberts]

In the late ‘50s the Disney studio put out a live-action comedy called Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which featured leprechauns, Sean Connery, a lot of pseudo-Irish blarney, and a Death Coach steered by a headless driver. I saw this film as a grade-schooler when it was re-released to theaters, and loved it. Many years later I was in a video store with my wife Sandra, saw it on the shelf, and insisted we rent it. “It’s great! There’s a scene with a Death Coach that’s genuinely scary!”

As we watched the film my embarrassment grew, but I kept saying “Well, just wait for that Death Coach!” And of course, the scene finally arrived, and wasn’t nearly as scary as my 8 year-old self thought it was. I’ve never really lived it down. Ever since, when I tout a particular movie, Sandra will shoot me a look and say: “Yeah, but you liked Darby O’Gill and the Little People.”

In my defense, however, I see that in his book The Disney Films, published in the '70s, Leonard Maltin wrote: “Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not only one of Disney’s best films, but is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film.” I have to wonder when he last took another look at it.

I LOVE Darby O'Gill.....
I know it's a twee film but it has so much of the Irish legends in it that I grew up with that it's so much fun to watch...the banshee, the comb, the death-coach, the three wishes...I had all of that growing up in Cork in the 60's and 70's...not to mention the great Jimmy O'Dea...I LOVE IT. One of my biggest wants is a Low fade 16mm print of this title.[/quote]


Ditto on DARBY O'GILL, it's one of the best Disney live-action films, and we watched it last St Paddy's Day. Hard to believe it was shot in Burbank. Good performances, great special effects, and if one and ones Family is too tragically hip to buy into the Irish Atmophere and Characters you care about who also care about each other, that's your problem.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[gjohnson]

Somewhere in the vast recesses of Alt.Movies.Silent there's a dialogue between me and someone— forgive me if it's someone here now— over The Awful Truth. I expressed my difficulty with it because really, the characters are all self-centered jerks,

We must had watched different versions of this film.

[Jim Roots]

It took me 20 years to become a devoted fan of Harry Langdon. I'd already seen thousands of silent comedies when he turned up on Radio-Canada's Thursday afternoon silent cinema program in the 1970s. He was something completely apart from all that I had seen up to then. I wasn't sure if I actually liked his films, but they certainly made me sit up and take notice of him.

I watched more and more of his stuff, more and more often, over the years, until he had become a favourite of mine. His comedy was slow, and so was the growth of my appreciation of it. He's the very definition of an acquired taste.

Watching him for the first time was like watching nothing but Hollywood musical comedies for 20 years and then suddenly finding yourself sitting in front of The Seventh Seal.

Jim

[Smari1989]

Can't believe I left out Harry Langdon in this discussion. I liked him instantly when I discovered him in Robert Youngson's compilations WHEN COMEDY WAS KING and DAYS OF THRILLS AND LAUGHTER, but when I actually began to seek out films of his in their entirety, my feelings were more mixed. Unlike Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, who one can also enjoy even if you watch their films with a casual state of mind, I believe Langdon demands more or less constant attention. Little by little my appreciation of him grew again, and now he's one of my favorite comedians and mimics of any era. I've even come to like LONG PANTS, which I couldn't stand the first time around. I must say, though, that on a general level, Langdon's films did not do his talent full justice. It's often been remarked and discussed that Langdon may not have "understood" his own character, but I think who really failed to understand him were his colleagues at Sennett's factory. Rather than trying to create a formula that suited Langdon's character, it was all too often attempted to adapt him to a conventional, fast-paced style of comedy in which his Elf-character appeared somewhat out of place. There are exceptions, of course, and I do like a number of Langdon's films (SATURDAY AFTERNOON is hilarious), but I definitely watch his work more for the sake of his performance alone, than to witness great film-making.

[greta de groat]

I think the one who didn't understand Langdon was Capra, the films he directed with Langdon are the ones I dislike the most.

Greta

[Harlett O'Dowd]

In the late ‘50s the Disney studio put out a live-action comedy called Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which featured leprechauns, Sean Connery, a lot of pseudo-Irish blarney, and a Death Coach steered by a headless driver. I saw this film as a grade-schooler when it was re-released to theaters, and loved it. Many years later I was in a video store with my wife Sandra, saw it on the shelf, and insisted we rent it. “It’s great! There’s a scene with a Death Coach that’s genuinely scary!”

As we watched the film my embarrassment grew, but I kept saying “Well, just wait for that Death Coach!” And of course, the scene finally arrived, and wasn’t nearly as scary as my 8 year-old self thought it was. I’ve never really lived it down. Ever since, when I tout a particular movie, Sandra will shoot me a look and say: “Yeah, but you liked Darby O’Gill and the Little People.”

In my defense, however, I see that in his book The Disney Films, published in the '70s, Leonard Maltin wrote: “Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not only one of Disney’s best films, but is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film.” I have to wonder when he last took another look at it.

I LOVE Darby O'Gill.....
I know it's a twee film but it has so much of the Irish legends in it that I grew up with that it's so much fun to watch...the banshee, the comb, the death-coach, the three wishes...I had all of that growing up in Cork in the 60's and 70's...not to mention the great Jimmy O'Dea...I LOVE IT. One of my biggest wants is a Low fade 16mm print of this title.

Ditto on DARBY O'GILL, it's one of the best Disney live-action films, and we watched it last St Paddy's Day. Hard to believe it was shot in Burbank. Good performances, great special effects, and if one and ones Family is too tragically hip to buy into the Irish Atmophere and Characters you care about who also care about each other, that's your problem.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

Here here!

(although I'm not sure what's more embarrassing: Sean Connery's irish accent or his singing voice.