tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post6824138208719317343..comments2024-02-10T04:53:42.121-05:00Comments on Tales of the Easily Distracted: Across the Pacific: Pan-ama-demonium!DorianTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-90151653478204892542013-03-18T12:46:36.933-04:002013-03-18T12:46:36.933-04:00Jessica, thanks so much for your rave review of AC...Jessica, thanks so much for your rave review of ACROSS THE PACIFIC! It's definitely worth keeping an eye out on TCM (or that great big fabulous Humphrey Bogart collection, if you're a big spender! :-) It looks like some of us in our upcoming Mary Astor Blogathon will be blogging about ACROSS THE PACIFIC, too - so glad that you and others will be able to see and enjoy it, too!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-48653912302350142422013-03-17T21:19:00.807-04:002013-03-17T21:19:00.807-04:00I can't believe I've yet to see this one. ...I can't believe I've yet to see this one. <br />This sounds great. Love the gif of Mary Astor.<br />I'll be watching for it next time TCM shows it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-76258277845456370212013-02-26T13:39:59.447-05:002013-02-26T13:39:59.447-05:00Becky, it's never too late to have you join th...Becky, it's never too late to have you join the ACROSS THE PACIFIC fun and frolic here at TotED! I'm happy to hear you're a fan of AtP, too, though I'm certainly not surprised, with your swell taste in movies. Beaucoup thanks for your enthusiastic praise, dear pal, as always! :-D DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-50555667184434241092013-02-26T12:08:27.412-05:002013-02-26T12:08:27.412-05:00Dorian, I'm late but just as appreciative of g...Dorian, I'm late but just as appreciative of good work. You've done a wonderful job with Across the Pacific. It's been quite a while since I've seen it, but you reminded me of it's charm, and I'd love to see it again. You are so right about the repartee, and I think my favorite that you spotlighted is "Alberta: “I can do without money.” Rick: “Stick with me and you’ll get plenty of practice.”<br /><br />Wonderful job, as always!<br />ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-32403701352103460442013-02-25T16:32:48.024-05:002013-02-25T16:32:48.024-05:00Hey, gang, our pal, fellow classic film blogger, a...Hey, gang, our pal, fellow classic film blogger, and Mary Astor fan R.A. Kerr of Silver Screenings will soon begin working on our Mary Astor Blogathon in May! We'll let you all in on the details very soon!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-28951758566955747162013-02-25T11:19:41.399-05:002013-02-25T11:19:41.399-05:00Yvette, I'm a big fan of HOPSCOTCH, too! Walte...Yvette, I'm a big fan of HOPSCOTCH, too! Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson were a wonderful team here, and in HOUSE CALLS, too! I can hardly wait to read your post on Tuesday! :-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-64839817357475065502013-02-24T20:06:13.657-05:002013-02-24T20:06:13.657-05:00Definitely Kismet, Delightful Dorian. :) By the wa...Definitely Kismet, Delightful Dorian. :) By the way, I noticed that THE AFRICAN QUEEN was available for streaming on Netflix and I think that's coming up for me this week. Haven't seen it in ages and suddenly got the urge. Maybe it was just reading about Bogart in your post...<br /><br />Right now, in between tending to my blogging chores, I'm watching my 'Tuesday forgotten' movie of the week: HOPSCOTCH with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson. And what that has to do with anything I just don't know. But I felt like mentioning it.<br /><br />ACROSS THE PACIFIC, unfortunately, is only on 'save' right now at Netflix. But maybe it will be available sometime sooner rather than later. You never know...Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-65091590080134464482013-02-23T13:32:11.801-05:002013-02-23T13:32:11.801-05:00Peggy, thanks for joining the ACROSS THE PACIFIC c...Peggy, thanks for joining the ACROSS THE PACIFIC conversation here! How cool that you're about to publish a magazine article about the real AtP, so to speak! I'll have to look for The New Quarterly! (My husband happens to be a native Canadian, by the way.)<br /><br />True, the film kinda goes a little crazy at the end, but I've always found that kind of endearing, as if everyone involved just went all nuts about our heroes saving the day!<br /><br />By the way, Peggy, the folks at the TCM Web site had a witty anecdote about director John Huston having to leave the rest of the film to Vincent Sherman once war broke out. According to Bret Wood: "As a parting prank on Sherman, Bogart and Warner Bros. before leaving for his stint in the Signal Corps, Huston concocted a sequence in which Rick (Bogart) is tied to a chair, surrounded by armed Japanese guards, in a house surrounded by even more soldiers. 'There was no way in God's green world that Bogart could logically escape,' said Huston.' <br /><br />'I shot the scene, then called Jack Warner and said, 'Jack, I'm on my way, I'm in the Army. Bogie will know out to get out.'" Poor Sherman couldn't figure out a logical way for Bogart to escape, so that whole sequence had to be reshot so our hero was held captive under more lax security to save the day. As I've said before, those Warners were scamps, bless them! :-) Glad you dropped by TotED, Peggy!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-68026249317685260472013-02-23T12:07:38.689-05:002013-02-23T12:07:38.689-05:00P.S.: Enjoy Mary's bio! :-DP.S.: Enjoy Mary's bio! :-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-71204016862021483792013-02-23T12:06:40.508-05:002013-02-23T12:06:40.508-05:00Gilby, you're a gal after my own heart - I'...Gilby, you're a gal after my own heart - I've been keeping my eyes peeled for Mary Astor's bio, too! If I do a Mary Astor Blogathon one of these days, you'll be the first to know. Heck, even if others beat us to it, we can still participate and wow fellow bloggers with our respective Mary Astor lore! :-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-36350402471528575152013-02-23T09:15:07.156-05:002013-02-23T09:15:07.156-05:00Let me know if you ever decide upon a Mary Astor b...Let me know if you ever decide upon a Mary Astor blogathon -- I found a vintage copy of her autobiography recently and forgot how fascinating a woman she was!Gilby37https://www.blogger.com/profile/12559239743969365425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-88217818091896975282013-02-23T00:26:58.660-05:002013-02-23T00:26:58.660-05:00Hi Dorian,
I enjoyed this. I've loved this mo...Hi Dorian,<br /><br />I enjoyed this. I've loved this movie for years and am an unreservedly unabashed fan of Mary Astor. I'm about to publish an essay on freighter travel and other matters in the spring 2013 issue of The New Quarterly (a literary mag, appropriately Canadian) and I took the title from this movie, the consummate freighter travel film (at least before it all falls apart in the end. The movie, not my essay.) I love how you can see in the film where John Huston stopped directing it - he left to join the war. Peggy McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07799876038531108656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-65650496501052873602013-02-22T19:20:38.565-05:002013-02-22T19:20:38.565-05:00Gilby, I'm delighted that you're a fan of ...Gilby, I'm delighted that you're a fan of ACROSS THE PACIFIC, too, as well as another fellow Mary Astor fan! She was so versatile, with her wonder range from drama to comedy, from innocent ingenues to femme fatales to memorable character parts - what a gal! <br />Hmm, maybe a Mary Astor Blogathon wouldn't be a bad idea at that, one of these days! :-D <br /><br />I also applaud Victor Sen Yung's versatility in his role here as well as THE LETTER; I agree that there was more to him than Jimmy Chan! Furthermore, Gilby, you really hit the nail on the head when you pointed out how AtP did such a great job of bringing together the MALTESE FALCON cast without rehashing its plot. BRAVA to you on your sage comments, and thanks for joining the AtP conversation; You're always welcome to join the fun here at TotED anytime!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-30200823459223359652013-02-22T17:57:08.599-05:002013-02-22T17:57:08.599-05:00Love this pick! The first time I saw this film I w...Love this pick! The first time I saw this film I was amazed at how little attention it gets. The cast is amazing and the pacing is great. I particularly love Victor Sen Yung in this flick. He proved in this movie(and "The Letter") that he could do more than just be Jimmy Chan. I am also a Mary Astor fan, she was truly one of the greats of the era. She could be likable or evil -- serious or funny. Most of all I love "Across the Pacific" because it brought together the "Maltese Falcon" cast without trying to rehash the previous film's plot.Gilby37https://www.blogger.com/profile/12559239743969365425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-70173687834217138532013-02-21T12:26:30.567-05:002013-02-21T12:26:30.567-05:00Java, glad you dropped by to talk ACROSS THE PACIF...Java, glad you dropped by to talk ACROSS THE PACIFIC! Keep an eye out for ACROSS THE PACIFIC; I'd love to hear what you think of it! Heck, next time they're on and/or you find it on TCM or the like, this might be a swell opportunity for you to have a double-feature at home with AtP and MALTESE FALCON, light and dark, so to speak.<br /><br />Speaking of having classic movies ruined for you, I've always managed been able to re-enjoy my favorite classic movies as if I'm seeing them anew, though we do our best not to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. My hubby is amazed I can keep enjoying the same movies yet still manage to see it through (reasonably) fresh eyes. I'm zany, I know! :-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-90830037908842689342013-02-21T12:05:06.765-05:002013-02-21T12:05:06.765-05:00You've given me a new movie to watch; I'd ...You've given me a new movie to watch; I'd never heard of Across the Pacific. <br /><br />I haven't really seen the Maltese Falcon all the way through either; movie retrospectives have ruined any surprise for me. Don't you just hate that? JavaBeanRushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05653117187583244224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-60180786213367079402013-02-21T11:21:56.308-05:002013-02-21T11:21:56.308-05:00Kristina, I for one am always pleased to start a c...Kristina, I for one am always pleased to start a conversation with "I love this movie," especially with a favorite like ACROSS THE PACIFIC! :-D For that matter, I love that you did doing a DIY double-bill of AtP and ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, another swell film I've blogged about here at TotED! (Loved your quip about "that CASABLANCA thingy"!) I'm also delighted that you're a fan of the versatile Mary Astor, too. As we're discussing Medicine Hat and other places that sound fictional but actually exist, I wonder if anyone has ever done a movie Blogathon about movie locations, be they real or fictional - but I'd better save that for another time, I'm swamped as it is! ;-D Beaucoup thanks for your positive feedback, my friend!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-29750024246102845952013-02-21T11:07:08.130-05:002013-02-21T11:07:08.130-05:00Lady Eve, glad to have you joining the AtP convers...Lady Eve, glad to have you joining the AtP conversation! While AtP is one of my favorites, sometimes I've wondered if AtP isn't quite as well known as its predecessor because some poor misguided folks might assume it's simply MALTESE FALCON Lite, but I assure you it's a whole new story, one well worth watching and enjoying! <br /><br />You also make a good point that even with the stars of THE MALTESE FALCON on board ship, even the most avid movie mavens only have so much time in the day, what with all of us having lives and all. Luckily, more of the films we love are increasingly available from TCM and Warner Archive and such, not to mention TiVo! :-) Thanks a million for your kind praise; drop by the chat here at TotED any time!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-71202690050216108112013-02-20T19:02:53.424-05:002013-02-20T19:02:53.424-05:00I love this movie. I seem to be starting a lot of ...I love this movie. I seem to be starting a lot of comments lately with those words, but I do! Before I had the luxury of TCM I rented this one on tape along with All Through the Night, made myself a double bill, and like I said once before about the latter movie, I felt like I'd discovered some kind of secret treasure, while everyone else was busy talking about that Casablanca thingy. these movies are just so cool, and so much fun, and now I really need to revisit them, especially after reading your enthusiastic review that reminds of everything I liked. Certainly a Must-see. I totally agree about Mary Astor being so good at sharp, cool comedy and making a great pair with Bogart, who might not have thought much of these movies but proved he could be great fun in this kind of breezy B style setup. I'm going to use that line “ even if I live I'll never be the same again” next time I review a bad/boring movie. <br /><br />And indeed yes there is a Medicine Hat!! Just like there's a Flin Flon and a Punkeydoodles Corners. but as you put it, that's a story for another time. Thanks! Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11659951781597698530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-87854851913083014882013-02-20T15:50:55.374-05:002013-02-20T15:50:55.374-05:00Dorian, I've got to take another look at "...Dorian, I've got to take another look at "Across the Pacific," it's one of those films I've not spent much time with. What with Huston, Bogart, Astor & co., I'm not sure why that is. So many movies, so little time probably has something to do with it. Thanks for an entertaining post and providing the inspiration to watch this film again.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-27363548472334857492013-02-20T14:40:02.904-05:002013-02-20T14:40:02.904-05:00See, Yvette, it's Kismet that your brother hap...See, Yvette, it's Kismet that your brother happened to see ACROSS THE PACIFIC at this time! :-D I quite agree that it's a shame that AtP was full of Japanese stereotyping - ironic, since it also had some interesting things to say about Japanese culture, despite the unfortunate stereotypes. As a friend of mine used to say, you can't fault people for NOT being ahead of their time. Of course, as you sagely noted, with war on the horizon, it wasn't totally unexpected. In any case, Yvette, thanks a million for your positive feedback; you're the cat's tuxedo! :-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-75342002816951317532013-02-19T20:45:47.329-05:002013-02-19T20:45:47.329-05:00Coincidence: My brother saw this a while back and ...Coincidence: My brother saw this a while back and recommended it highly to me in case I hadn't seen it. Of course I had, but also of course, I'd forgotten all about it.<br /><br />But I've been meaning to watch it again and now here you are, Dorian, making the movie sound like a 'must-see'. I will definitely be watching it sooner rather than later.<br /><br />Another terrific post, Dorian, m'dear. <br /><br />Isn't it too bad about the Japanese stereotyping, I'm reading a book now in which the same thing occurs. It's really hard to take looking back from 2013. Ugly stuff.<br /><br />But with war on the horizon it's not totally unexpected.<br /><br />Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-41210918075049482402013-02-19T11:20:52.037-05:002013-02-19T11:20:52.037-05:00Eve, thanks for your charming and witty comments, ...Eve, thanks for your charming and witty comments, as always! Glad you enjoyed my daft little blog post! For for the record, there's no way I'd take a cruise after all the agita my friends have had on their cruises. I'll settle for admiring their travel pictures instead! :-)<br /><br />P.S.: My husband Vinnie has a yummy recipe for French Toast Bread Pudding. Too bad Mary Astor didn't have that on the ACROSS THE PACIFIC menu! ;-DDorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-19647064002053444342013-02-19T11:08:44.046-05:002013-02-19T11:08:44.046-05:00I'm sure the bread pudding was better than on ...I'm sure the bread pudding was better than on Carnival Cruise Lines. Great post and it sounds like a good one. Intangible Heartshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05047040538015079182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509497574816685109.post-53169306258871323442013-02-19T08:20:36.093-05:002013-02-19T08:20:36.093-05:00Ruth, I'm thrilled that you not only enjoyed m...Ruth, I'm thrilled that you not only enjoyed my ACROSS THE PACIFIC post, but also that my little AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER gag had you nearly spewing your tea - no property damage, I hope! Knowing you got a laugh out of it has made my day - beaucoup thanks, my friend! :-D DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.com