Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

[Robot_Arm]

@K364

Murder On The Orient Express

Starring
Albert Finney
Lauren Bacall
Martin Balsam
Ingrid Bergman
Jacqueline Bisset
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Sean Connery
John Gielgud
Wendy Hiller
Anthony Perkins
Vanessa Redgrave
Rachel Roberts
Richard Widmark
Michael York

In 1974, some huge names and a whole bunch of “Actor’s actors” who were highly respected for their craft.

Murder on the Orient Express has been remade, and will be released this November. My first thought was “why do idiots always think they can remake a classic that got it so right the first time?” Then I looked it up on IMDb.
Johnny Depp
Michelle Pfeiffer
Penélope Cruz
Daisy Ridley
Willem Dafoe
Kenneth Branagh
Judi Dench
Derek Jacobi

That may not quite measure up to the original cast, but it ain’t bad. And directed by Branagh.

[Mahaloth]

@Robot_Arm

That may not quite measure up to the original cast, but it ain’t bad. And directed by Branagh.

It could be good, but Branagh is a hit-or-miss director. I’ll definitely check out this movie on DVD, but I wonder if they did a good job. I assume they kept the same ending/resolution as the book??

[DesertDog]

@beowulff

That stunt almost killed him:
The billboard that the twin-engine Beechcraft flies through was made of thin balsa wood, except for a thicker frame for support. Stunt pilot Frank Tallman had to fly the aircraft directly through the center of the billboard or the thicker frame would shear off a wing. The billboard was located in Irvine, at what is now the intersection of Interstate 405 and Hwy. 133 (Laguna Canyon), near Lion Country Safari, just east of John Wayne Airport. They had practiced with paper signs, but used balsa wood for the actual movie stunt. The wood stopped one engine and the other was sputtering enough that the plane barely made it back to John Wayne Airport.

Huh. I would have bet it was his partner, the legendary Paul Mantz.

[Tranquilis]

The Original Ocean’s Eleven (1960). Just an excuse for the Rat Pack to get together, get drunk, and have some fun. They were stumblng drunk through pretty much the whole movie.

As one reviewer puts it:

The stars aren’t acting, they’re partying down in an elaborate role-playing game and inviting you the viewer to play along with them. Join the party and for 2 hours you too can be a swinging, sophisticated member of the rat pack who can simultaneously handle a martini and cigarette in one hand and doesn’t have to pause for even a second when somebody asks “what’s your drink?”. “Ocean’s Eleven” is the “Pulp Fiction” of the Kennedy era - a movie that makes you feel hip just to watch it.

[digs]

How many messageboards would have a thread mentioning the Rat Pack and Rat Fink and Rat Race in the same discussion?

(Oh, the rat fink thing? Ummm… I was a member of the Wauwatosa Rat Fink Club back in '64… there, I mentioned it!)

And Rat Race is still one of my favorite movies… Rowan Atkinson playing off Wayne Knight, and Jon Lovitz’s daughter wanting to go to the Barbie Museum “Klaus Barbie… three-time ballroom dancing champion.”

[Elendil_s_Heir]

I’ll have a slice without so much rat in it (at 1:25 here): Monty Python, Season 3, Episode 4 - 2 - YouTube

[Idle_Thoughts]

The ever shortening list grows shorter, sadly.

Now it’s just down to Carl Reiner, Nicholas Georgiade, Barrie Chase, and John Clarke.

[K364]

Jerry’s cameo in IAMMMMW:
https://youtu.be/fXD6xZVnClk

[El_Kabong]

@eschereal

One movie with a large-ish star cast, that holds up quite well after half a century, is The яussiaиs are coming, the яussiaиs are coming!

“Emairgency! Everyone to get from street.”

Man, I love that flick.

[Ignatz]

I got a big kick out of Jimmy Durante’s last action. I’m not sure if a lot of views “got” it.