Desert Double Feature hosted by The Cinemated Man
In this episode The Cinemated Man proudly presents...
THE DESERT DOUBLE FEATURE!
King Solomon's Mines (1937)
The Legacy of a King Awaits Them!
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Music by Mischa Spoliansky
Total Running time: 1hr 27minDon't go anywhere!
The Second half of our
The Second half of our
Desert Double Feature is ...
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
1750 to 1! Always outnumbered! Never out-fought!
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Music by Herman Hand
Total Running time: 1hr 48min
posted by Robbie in Tokyo @ 11:10 PM
2 Comments:
Now you're getting down to truly obscure films. I had never seen either of these before. Thanks!
Regarding your comments about Paul Robeson and Sidney Poitier, I think the distinction is that Robeson, although he broke through many important and formidible barriers in his time, never became a "Hollywood" leading man, like Poitier did in the mid-1960's. I think it was a matter of timing, and also that Robeson's film career was brought to an early end by his politics.
Now you're getting down to truly obscure films. I had never seen either of these before. Thanks!
Hey, My pleasure. Yeah, trying to show the hidden classics, those films that folks may not have caught before, or the kind that plays on what used to be known as the Late Late Late Show (before talk shows took that name)
Regarding your comments about Paul Robeson and Sidney Poitier, I think the distinction is that Robeson, although he broke through many important and formidible barriers in his time, never became a "Hollywood" leading man, like Poitier did in the mid-1960's. I think it was a matter of timing, and also that Robeson's film career was brought to an early end by his politics.
Well, like I said, with all due respect to Sidney, Paul gets no credit for paving the way for other black actors in showbiz. When Sydney got his lifetime achievement award, everyone, including him, said he was the first to face the harshness of racism, etc. in showbiz, and the first to pave the way for others. That's not true at all. Paul faced much harsher conditions, and got thru them to be a big star, paving the way for people like Sydney. And he was a leading man, too. He was a huge star at the time. Just as big as Poitier was in the 60s, because he was on the screen and the stage, and the stage was much more mainstream than it is now. With the exception of Mel Brooks' latest and Lloyd Webber's productions, most folks don't know what's on the stage at any given day. Back in the 30s, 40s, it was quite another thing. The actors, playwrites, etc. were celebrities just as big as Hollywood stars of the day.
Plus, remember, Paul was a hugely successful singer as well. That's two fields he had to break into. Add to that, his athletic prowess, his ability with 20 languages, his education in law, and you've got a formidable talent. Not to mention he attended Columbia Law School after Rutgers phi beta kappa. But yes, it was his communist 'bund' activities in the NJ countryside and winning the Stalin prize that didn't do him any good. That's for sure. He had high ideals, though. But most of the communist gang in those days were worse than those who were chasing them. It just took those who fell for it longer to figure out. Elia Kazan was one such person. A good man who had no choice. He realized the reds were full of it pretty quickly. But, of course, ratting on even your enemies never plays well.
But that's another story (to borrow from the end of Neverending Story. ;)
Btw, there's also a very good version of King Solomon's Mines with Stewart Granger and Debb Carr. But that's well known and quite easily available around the net.
Enjoy.
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