What have you been watching?

Still have a few episodes of The Rat Patrol to watch. After that (when my order comes in) will be: Seasons 4-5 and 6 of Hogan's Heroes, Season 2 of Daniel Boone, and the following movies:

Fixed Bayonets w/ Richard Basehart, Gene Evans and Skip Homeier. Great movie about the Korean War.

Unconquered w/ Gary Cooper, Ward Bond and a very young Lloyd Bridges. Great movie about the pre-Revolutionary War-American Frontier war movie. The Amis and Brits against the French and Indians.

Hell and High Water w/ Richard Widmark. Cold War Scientific drama--most excellent!

 

Just bought Stalingrad (the English version) on DVD for $25.00 USD. I had the VHS copy but haven't had a working VCR in years. Oh yeah, also bought Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time in the West.

 

Right now I'm working on Hogan's Heroes Season 5. I think tonight maybe I'll pop in The Thin Red Line. Still haven't seen that one. I stopped in Wally World today and they had a John Wayne Double Feature, Sands of Iwo Jima/The Flying Tigers, for 10 bucks. I should have picked that up. Next time.

Carl, that site you told me about a while back, Deep Discount, has Hogan's Heroes cheap. $21.06 a season plus free shipping. I'm going to order 3 and 4 right now. Season 6 came out a week or two ago. I'm waiting for Walmart to lower the price from 30 to 20 then I'll pick that one up to finish off my collection.

 

Have you seen "The Winter War"? Thats kind of along the same lines as Stalingrad, but depicts the war between Russia and Finland. Have you seen "Downfall"? That was really good. I also have "Indigènes" on my Netflix list, Ive been waiting for that one!!

 

Hi Col, a member at Dukewayne told me that he got an even better discount at DDDvD--and I think he got his Hogan's Heroes seasons for I think about $17.00 each. I just ordered seasons 4-5 and 6 and season 2 of Daniel Boone-last Friday so-I think mine should be in be July 7th--but hopefully sooner. ;-))

Don't hold your breath on Wally-World (aka) Wal-Mart, to lower prices anytime soon. I talked with the manager at one of the super stores they have here in town--and they told me the prices are not changing anytime soon. If your store does lower prices--then they are doing so on a store-to-store basis.

I have a LOT to watch, and I want to get started. Once I get these said and done-i'm going to order the complete COMBAT series--which I think is about $200.00.

You gotta admit--DDDvD is a great place to buy these things from--the best site on the net that I know of.

 

It's "Enemy At Gates" night. Not one great movie, but the initial crossing of the Volga seuence is sheer hell.

 

Carl, Deep Discount just had a 20% off sale. That's probably why he got them so cheap. I'm ticked off that I just missed it. I don't think they'll be having another sale until November. But you can't beat their prices. They have Stalag 17 (William Holden) for $13.79, Hell is for Heroes (Steve McQueen) for $6.08, and To Hell and Back (Audie Murphy) for $9.49. Three of my favorite movies that I've been after for a while. My next order from DDDvD will be those three and Black Hawk Down for $7.48. And I love it how shipping is free. Usually the sites with lower prices kill you on shipping.

As for Wally World, I pretty sure that Hogan's Heroes will go down to 20 in a few weeks. They did it with the last season. If not, I'll just get it from Deep Discount.

 

"Pearl Harbor in color"........a documentary.

"Top Tens"...............they show the top 10 tanks/warships/etc. of all times.

 

Hi Col. Yep, I ordered from that sale. That order was for Hogan's Heroes Seasons 4-5 and 6, Daniel Boone season 2, and three gereat movies that you also might be interested in: Unconquered w/ Gary Cooper and Ward Bond, Fixed Bayonets w/ Richard Basehart and Gene Evans (also is a movie made by Sam Fuller of The Steel Helmet, The Big Red One, and many others) fame; and Hell and High Water w/ Richard Widmark.

Im going to be placing another large order soon for more Daniel Boone, Errol Flynn Signature Collection 2 (which includes Dawn Patrol, Charge of the Light Brigade etc) and one I have waited so long for--The Fighting 69th w/ James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Alan Hale Sr.

Too bad I already have: Stalag 17, Black Hawk Down, Hell is For Heroes and To Hell and Back. I would have saved about $25.00. In Hell is for heroes, watch out for Fess Parker--makes a great Platoon Sergeant. L.Q.Jones also has a very small part--as the Supply Sergeant-trying to help get "Homer" (Nick Adams) parts of a uniform to wear.

 

Carl, I think I've seen Fixed Bayonets but I'm not too sure. What I remember is that the platoon is ambushed and the LT is killed along with a good part of the platoon. A black guy takes over what's left of the platoon and holds a key ridge against the Chinese/North Korean onslaught until reinforcements arrive. Is that the same movie?

The IMDB says that Hell and High Water is a Sci-Fi flick but it doesn't sound like one from the plot summary on the page: A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer (Widmark) to conduct an Alaskan submarine expedition in order to prevent a Red Chinese anti-American plot that may lead to World War III. Mixes deviously plotted schoolboy fiction with submarine spectacle and cold war heroics. Can't say I'm really into science fiction.

Unconquered sounds interesting. Gary Cooper was one of the best. I loved Pride of the Yankees.

 

Hi Col. Fixed Bayonets is how you describe it. But I don't recall a black guy taking over the remnants of the platoon--I think it was Richard Basehart that did--since he was the only NCO (Corporal) still living. Its been about 20 years since I last saw this too--so I can't be positive on who took over the platoon for sure. It is a good movie though and worth the investment.

Hell and High Water is a classic Cold War movie. The IMDB's info is not exactly correct. I made a lengthy posting there a few years ago to see that an accurate description of the movie was there but it sounds like to me that the IMDB did not update their info on the movie. It definately is not a Sci-Fi movie--I will guarentee you that ;-))

The movie is somewhat like what the plto summary said> Two leading Atomic Scientists did hire (Widmark) as Captain of a WWII Japanese Submarine-that their foundation bought. The submarine was supposed to be one used for scientific fact-finding missions. All of the subs crew were WWII vets from many navies. The two scientists who are leading the mission--turn out to be Father and Daughter--but that fact is kept secret till the ending of the movie.

Anyway, this sub, is to head for Chinese waters, and in particular--a certain island. Once there, the scientists and several men, go ashore and find out why the Chinese were keeping this area under such tight security-and very secret. On landing on the island, Widmark finds out that the Chinese somehow had acquired an American Bomber--still with US markings and numbers.

The scientific mission was something to do with finding out if the Chinese were building the "A" bomb-and how far along they were. Finding that American bomber--changed the mission (in Widmark's thinking) and Widmark sets out to somehow stop the Chinese form using that bomber.

What the Chinese had planned, was to use an American bomber-to carry one of their "A" bombs, and to have it well seen flying over Russian airspace--to drop the bomb on probably Moscow--so that the Russians would blame the USA for starting WWIII--which would cause both nations to destroy each other and then the Chinese could take over the world.

Hope this description was good enough to get you to see what the movie is actually about. ;-)) You will recognize many faces making up the crew such as Cameron Mitchell; for one.

 

Just finished watching 'The Good German'. The book was great but the movie really s****d. It starred George Clooney. The whole plot was changed. Why am I so surprised. The only thing I did like was the it was filmed in B/W and with the added real footage, it did give it an air of realism. Read the book, forget the movie

 

Carl, you might be right about Basehart taking over the platoon. My memory of the film is a bit sketchy. I guess I ought to pick up the DVD and find out for myself.

You know Fixed Bayonets is one of the few Korean War films out there. The only other one I can remember watching is Pork Chop Hill (Gregory Peck). There was a South Korean film made a few years ago about the war, The Brotherhood of War. I heard it was like the South Korean Saving Private Ryan because of the special effects and such. I might have to check that one out.

Hell and High Water sounds really good. This is another one I shall keep an eye out for.

Tonight or tomorrow, I think I'll watch Gettysburg in preparation for my upcomming trip to the battlefield. A movie that's almost as long as the actual battle.

 

Hi Col, you will not regret spending the money for a copy of Fixed Bayonets. In fact, my copy finally came in today (along with the other 2 movies and 4 seasons worth of TV shows) and i'll be deciding on which to start watching tonight.

Pork Chop Hill is one of my all-time favorite K.W. movies. Gregory Peck and cast all did one hell of a great job in this movie. I never have heard of the other title you mentioned but, will give it a try if I can ever think about it.

This morning, on oldie but goodie, Korean War movies was shown on TCM. They showed Prisoner of War w/ Ronald Reagan and Steve Forest among others. This is a Korean War PoW escape movie--and is excellent. I wish this would be released on dvd. Another one not on dvd but was an excellent Korean War movie-that I highly recommend is: Target Zero w/ Charles Bronson, L.Q. Jones and Chuck Connors (among several other recognizable actors) This one i sfull of action and is simply a brillient film. If you want to know about it too --just ask me. And I can think of two other Korean War movies that are great. Both are made in late 50's or early 60's and are excellent. Time Limt w/ Richard Widmark and Richard Basehart--is a movie that takes place in a PoW camp ran by the Chinese (in flashbacks as well) but is also a Courtroom drama much like, The Caine Mutiny, was. And the last one-im sure you have seen and heard about which is: The Glory Brigade w/ Lee Marvin and Victor Mature.

You will only regret it if you do not watch Hell and High Water.

Watching Gettysburg, is a good way to get "in-the-mood" for touring the battlefield. ;-))

 

"The Dirty Dozen...Fatal mission." Truly some of the baddest acting I've seen. Telly Savalas looks like he's 60 yrs old.

"El Alamein". Rates right under the above movie in the acting dept. M113 [vietnam era] personal carriers in the desert? WWII??

"Tobruk" w/ Rock Hudson. One of my favs as a kid but watching it now, I wonder why.

 

Too bad I missed that one, Prisoner of War. I'm a big fan of POW movies. TCM shows some excellent movies. All uncut and commercial free which is why I would rather watch TCM than AMC. But I think it's really hit or miss with TCM. They show some real lousy ones. Still not as bad as AMC though. I can't say I've heard of Target Zero or Time Limt before. Although I have heard of The Glory Brigade, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen it.

 

Dang it, my first attempt at telling you about Target Zero failed.

Anyway, it has an all-star cast including Charles Bronson as Sgt Vince Gaspari, Richard Conte as Lt Flagler, Chuck Connors as Pvt Moose, and several others.

Movie starts out w/ American platoon cought behind Chinese lines after a massive attack. Thay are to trying t o make their way back to Easy Company and run into a British tank crew. Together that fight the Chinese (and themselves) back to East Coc positions--only to find that the company was destroyed. The Chinese launch another massive attack on Easy Company Hill and they are forced to call in Navy Artillery, to help them deal with the attack.

The so-called: "film critic" leonard maltin, did not car for the film. I have never agreed with him on any film, and he is in error in his assessment of this fine film.

 

Hate to make more than one posting but, I got kicked out of the site last time, logged back in and my post dissappeared.

On Time Limit:

Col Edwards: Richard Widmark.
Maj Cargill: Richard Basehart.
Gen Connors: Carl-Benton Reid.
Sgt Baker: Martin Balsam.
Lt. Miller: Rip Torn.


This movie can be classified as a Korean War PoW movie/Courtroom Drama--though it never really gets into a courtroom.

Starts out with a bunch of Americans in a Chinese POW camp and certain things happen there that sometime after the war, happen that causes Maj Cargill to be brought up for Courts Martial.

Really is an excellent film. Im afraid to make a more informative post for fear of it not posting.

 

Thank you for both reviews Carl. Sounds like two great movies. I'll have to keep an eye out and see if they're released on DVD.

I'd listen to you before I'd listen to any film critic. I can't stand them. What makes their opinion better than any one else's?

 

Thanks Col ;-)) I greatly appreciate your compliments. Yep, I cant stand those film critics either.

And if they ever get released on DvD, ill be glad to let you know. I think I still have both on VHS--will have to check to make sure.

Watched: Hell and High Water, last night and started watching season 2 episodes of Daniel Boone; this morning.