the saint and the falcon

While I was hunkered down during Hurricane Sandy, I spent a fair amount of time flipping back and forth between storm coverage and fun things like (the original) Hawaii Five-O reruns, Looney Tunes cartoons, and even an Adam West Batman cliffhanger with Joker, Penguin, AND Catwoman!

Monday morning, I also stumbled across a few gems on TCM.  George Sanders (well before his time as the bad guy on In Search of the Castaways, or providing the voice for Shere Kahn) was the dashing, devil-may care Simon Templar (The Saint) and Gay Lawrence (The Falcon).  The Falcon movies were fun, but I have to say I loved The Saint movies best. 

Now I've got to see if I can find them on DVD...

thunderbird 6

the year: 1968

the plot: The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the world. Against backdrops including the Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx, Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin fight the hijackers from on-board, while the rest of the team tries to stop the airship crashing into a missile silo.

don't miss: the Wistle Stop Inn.  Miniatures with miniatures.  Boy, it must have been fun working on this movie!

did you know: the "Ball Room" set on Sky Ship 1 included over 600 painted ping pong balls. The set caught fire under the hot studio lights and had to be completely rebuilt.

listen for: "Now, let's have a rundown on the International Rescue craft. So far, there are five. Thunderbird 1: sleek, first and fast. Thunderbird 2: giant transporter. Carries all the rescue gear to the danger zone. Thunderbird 3: designed for space rescue. Thunderbird 4: capable of withstanding the pressure of the depths. Thunderbird 5: space monitor. Capable of receiving or intercepting distress calls from any part of the world. And I'm telling you, Brains, in no uncertain terms, that we now need a Thunderbird 6.

extra bonus points: if you know why it's funny when Virgil says, "I've got a tiger in my tank."

I stumbled across this one Saturday morning in the not too distant past, and it was so strangely bizarre...well, I just couldn't turn away.  By the time it was over, I was a fan.  How have I missed this?!?   I guess there was a tv show and at least one other full-length movie.  Miss Penelope's pink car is pretty impressive. 

man on a ledge

the year: 2012

the genre: suspense

the cast: Sam Worthington (Nick Cassidy); Elizabeth Banks (Lydia Mercer); Ed Harris (David Englander); Jamie Bell (Joey Cassidy); Edward Burns (Jack Dougherty)

the plot: As a police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion...

don't miss: Jack Dougherty - I think he's my favorite character.

did you know: All of the wide shots of the actors on the ledge were real. Restraining cables were either hidden from camera view or edited out in post.

 

listen for: Yes. Mr. Walker. Room 2105, South Tower. Great view. We also have a larger unit available on the east side, I can offer you at the same price.
No, I think I'll stick with the view.

also listen for: First, cut the red wire.
Red wire? They're all red wires!
Babe, pick the reddest one.

extra bonus points: if you know how Nick stops Englander from getting away.

the omega/london connection

the year: 1979
the genre: suspense...er, comedy
the cast: Jeffrey Byron (Luther Starling); Larry Cedar (Roger Pike); Frank Windsor (McGuffin)

the plot: An exciting adventure begins for a young American government agent when he witnesses the kidnapping of a noted European scientist in London. The only item left behind is a gold ring, inscribed with an address, that leads the agent into a massive conspiracy of international proportions. A baffling series of clues and a high-speed boat chase in the Port Of London add up to a superlative Disney mystery thriller!

Laney can probably vouch for the fact that this movie is a little corny...I mean, it's a DISNEY spy movie. Regardless, this was one of our favorites growing up - and always on the summer afternoon/green bean snapping list. This is definitely a hard-to-find gem...as evidenced by the fact that I could only find one - yes, one - pic related to this movie on the internet. But don't let that fool you. This is good clean fun...



count: how many vehicles the Scotland Yard detectives lose.

listen for: "I once had a cat named Luther!"

don't miss: the great ball bearing escape. And the cross-dressing escape.

also don't miss: the hot air balloon, the motorboat, the motorcycle with sidecar, the oceanliner, the tank...

Here's the opening scene - tell me this isn't the grooviest 70s spy movie music you've ever heard:

the sting

the year: 1973

the genre: dramedy


the cast: Paul Newman (Henry Gondorff); Robert Redford (Johnny Hooker); Robert Shaw (Doyle Lonnegan); Charles Dunning (Lt. Snyder); Ray Walston (J.J. Singleton); Eileen Crennan (Billie); Harold Gould (Kid Twist); Dana Elcar (FBI Agent Polk)


the plot: Johnny Hooker, a small time grifter, unknowingly steals from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when he pulls a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After his partner, Luther, is killed, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther's contacts, who is a master of the long con.



listen for: "What was I supposed to do - call him for cheating better than me, in front of the others?"


don't miss: the sting.




did you know: Robert Shaw injured his ankle and incorporated the resulting limp into his performance.



extra bonus points: if you know when Robert Redford finally saw this movie.


also listen for: "Sit down and shut up, will ya? Try not to live up to all my expectations."



did you also know: if you listen when Lonnegan (Shaw) first walks into "The Operation", you can hear over the P.A. that one of the horses running is called Steve McQueen.

entrapment

the year: 1999

the genre: suspense


the cast: Sean Connery (Robert "Mac" MacDougal); Catherine Zeta-Jones (Virginia Baker); Ving Rhames (Aaron Thibadeaux); Will Patton (Hector Cruz)


the plot: Following the theft of a highly-secured piece of artwork, an insurance agent convinces her employers to allow her to pretend to be an art theif in order to entrap an aging but active master thief. Mac takes her on suspiciously and demands rigorous training before their first job together--stealing a highly-valued mask. Their deepening attraction and distrust could tear apart their partnership but the promise of a bigger prize (some eight billion odd dollars) keeps the game interesting. Only, who's playing with whom?


did you know: the film came in $2 million below its budget. Co-producer Rhonda Tollefson credits this to Producer Sean Connery's thrifty Scottish ways. Connery drove his own car instead of hiring a driver and flew on commercial planes instead of using private ones so that all the money would show up onscreen.


listen for: "It's impossible. But doable."


extra bonus points: if you can name one piece of information found in Mac's file.


also listen for: "I don't like surprises." "Trust me, there won't be any." "Trust me, there always are surprises."

darby o'gill and the little people

the year: 1959

the genre: fantasy


the cast: Albert Sharpe (Darby O'Gill); Janet Munro (Katie O'Gill); Sean Connery (Michael McBride); Jimmy O'Dea (King Brian)


the plot: Darby O'Gill seems to be as full of blarney as any old codger in Ireland, but the stories of leprechauns he tells at the pub are true. In fact, he and the tiny King Brian, ruler of the little people, are friendly adversaries, continually out-foxing each other. Darby needs a bit of magical help from the wily king when Lord Fitzpatrick replaces him as caretaker with the handsome, strapping young Michael from Dublin. Michael falls in love with Darby's beautiful daughter, Katie, which is all right with Darby; but the lad has a rival in a local ruffian, the son of a devious widow who wants her boy to be the caretaker. King Brian's supernatural assistance is necessary to make everything come out all right, but the sneaky leprechaun won't play matchmaker without a fight. Real trouble comes in the form of the Banshee, and Darby will need all his quick wits to save his daughter from the wicked spirit.


don't miss: Sean Connery singing! "My Pretty Irish Girl" sung by Sean Connery and Janet Munro was released as a single about the same time as the debut of the movie. Sean Connery said the singing was the one aspect of the role he wasn't too fond of.


listen for: "Agh! And him a Dublin man!"


did you know: the lighting used to make sure the actors were kept in proper perspective without seeming false used up so much electricity it blew out a substation in Burbank when the lights were turned on without warning.


extra bonus points: if you know why this film was important to Sean Connery's film career.


did you also know: the leprechaun effects look very high tech and complicated, but most of them were achieved very simply by placing the "normal sized" actors closer to the camera than the "tiny" ones, and lining them up on the same horizontal plane through the lens so the distance between them could not be detected.


also listen for: "What ails him?" "Oh nothin' at all, but he retired about five years ago and didn't tell me about it."

trilogy: the bourne movies

Another of my favorite trilogies is the Bourne movies.

The Bourne Identity (2002)


On a stormy night, a young man is pulled out of the sea by the crew of a fishing boat. He has two bullets in his back and a miniature laser device in his hip, which contains a Swiss bank account number. After recovering, and traveling to bank in Zurich, the young man finds a stack of passports, all with his picture, and a huge pile of cash. Armed with the contents of his bank box, and with his new friend Marie by his side, he scours Paris for clues about his identity and past life... and finds himself in the middle of two assassination plots masterminded by the CIA.

Watch the trailer here.



The Bourne Supremacy (2004)


Jason Bourne and his girlfriend Marie begin a new life, living under assumed names. But when an assassination attempt on Bourne goes horribly wrong, he must re-enter the life he wanted to leave behind, in order to find out why he's still being chased.

Watch the trailer here.


The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)


Bourne is once again brought out of hiding, this time inadvertently by London-based reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar--an upgrade to Project Treadstone--in a series of newspaper columns. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally, ultimately, uncover his dark past whilst dodging the CIA's best efforts in trying to eradicate him.

Watch the trailer here.