Greg takes Richard into classic Agatha Christie territory with a French director’s Hollywood take on a British novel. After examining the British class system, they finish with a largely forgotten whodunnit film written by Psycho actor Anthony Perkins and West Side Story composer Stephen Sondheim. And if that doesn’t get you in, nothing will. What is Richard’s problem with filmic murder? And is it OK for Death to be funny?
And Then There None (1945) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-08-none
Gosford Park (2001) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-08-gosford
The Last of Sheila (1973) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-08-sheila
OTHER RESOURCES
Watch “The Ninth Guest” (1934) https://tinyurl.com/9thguest
Watch “Charlie Chan in London” (1934) https://tinyurl.com/london-chan
Read the 2021 article about “The Last of Sheila” https://tinyurl.com/sheilabyjulia
Glass Onion (2022) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-08-onion
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52:52
Episode 74: S05 E07: Millennial Shakespeare
Richard and Greg review three Shakespearean films made either side of the year 2000. Shakespeare is known for raising the Big Questions – and this episode is no exception. Which of our podcasters is the worse at trying to sound Shakespearean? Are they better or worse than American actors at this? Are podcasts like the theatre, where the Scottish Play must not be mentioned by name? And (most importantly of all) what DID Shakespeare have against Norway?
The Tempest (2010) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-07-tempest
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-07-macbeth
Hamlet (1996) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-07-hamlet
OTHER RESOURCES
James Thurber’s “The Macbeth murder mystery” https://tinyurl.com/macthurber
Gilligan Island’s musical Hamlet https://tinyurl.com/hamletisle
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58:08
Episode 73: Christmas Special 2024
We don’t know about you, but Richard is flabbered and Greg is gasted that this is our Tenth Christmas Episode! As usual, they review three Christmas films in search of that special seasonal something. Two films are liked more by one reviewer than the other – whereas the third is universally found wanting, sadly. This last outcome is likely to be a wee bit controversial. As is perhaps the source of their disagreement about one of the others.
Last Train to Christmas (2021) https://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-xmas-train
How to Make Gravy (2024) https://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-xmas-gravy
A Boy Called Christmas (2021) https://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-xmas-boy
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55:28
Episode 72: S05 E06: Sleeping with Leonard
Richard and Greg grew up admiring one US and three Australian movie reviewers. Back in 2019, US-based Leonard Maltin was asked by “The Movies That Made me” podcast to pick movies from each decade of the past century that he wished were better known. Richard and Greg dare to pick up Maltin’s mantle to review three of these “sleeper” films for themselves (with apologies to Mrs Maltin for our presumption in naming this episode…)
House of Games (1987) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-06-games
Pollyanna (1960) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-06-pollyanna
The Last Command (1928) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-06-command OTHER RESOURCES
Podcast in which Leonard Maltin picks movies more people should know about https://tinyurl.com/maltin2019
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47:17
Episode 71: S05 E05: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Richard and Greg choose a film for three modes of transport (somehow forgetting about the 1987 Steve Martin / John Candy film). Although the films are scattered across the 20th Century, our reviewers find that all stand up well to the test of time – suggesting that this episode should have been called “Transports of Delight”. But which film had “the most obnoxious movie kids ever seen”…?
Flying High! / Airplane! (1980) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-05-plane
The General (1926) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-05-train
Duel (1971) http://tinyurl.com/fmfw-05-05-auto
OTHER RESOURCES
Comparison of “Flying High!” with “Zero Hour!” https://tinyurl.com/zerocompare
Watch the 4K restoration of “The General” https://tinyurl.com/general4k
Australia