November 2019 – What's in the Basket

09. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982): A Real Goddamn Movie

On this week’s episode of What’s in the Basket, we’re putting on our black dresses and shaving our tongues as we get into trubil wrapping up our Noirvember series with Carl Reiner’s film noir pastiche Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982). We discuss the ways the movie triumphs as an adoring tribute to its subject matter, its skillful use of archive footage, our love of Steve Martin, and some hot takes regarding the Academy, comedy, and film fandom in the social media age.

08. The Big Combo (1955): Two Bros Chillin’ in a Twin Bed No Feet Apart Cuz They Are Gay

On this week’s episode of What’s in the Basket, we continue our Noirvember series with a discussion of The Big Combo (1955). We cover the ways it functions as an unexpected subversion of the genre, consider Cornel Wilde’s status as one of film noir’s strangest leading men, examine Fante and Mingo’s relationship and the extent to which its ambiguities–or lack thereof–were intentional on the part of the filmmakers, and wonder just what the hell happened to poor Brian Donlevy.

07. The Night of the Hunter (1955): Charles Laughton’s Gonna Fight a Baby Behind the Bike Racks After School

https://www.spreaker.com/user/11560790/07-the-night-of-the-hunter-1955-charles-

On this week’s episode of What’s in the Basket, we’re kicking off our Noirvember 2019 series with a discussion of The Night of the Hunter (1955). Talking points include the film’s masterful use of allegory and stylistic visuals to depict the real-life horrors of the Great Depression, Robert Mitchum’s innate coolness, Candice’s pitch for The Pride of the Yankees 2, and the utter tragedy of Charles Laughton’s regrettably brief directing career.

Bonus 04. Three Ann Sothern-Gene Raymond Rom-Coms: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Nelson Eddy

https://www.spreaker.com/user/11560790/bonus-04-three-ann-sothern-gene-raymond-

On this week’s bonus episode of What’s in the Basket, we’re turning our attentions to the original primble in our research-free discussion of three RKO romantic comedies starring Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond: Walking on Air (1936), Smartest Girl in Town (1936), and She’s Got Everything (1937). First we address the absurdity of the films themselves and the utter desperation that emanates from the Sothern-Raymond pairing, then we descend into a flurry of confusion that touches upon half-remembered nudists, the baffling Gene Raymond-Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy interpersonal dynamic, and a surprising (or unsurprising?) amount of completely unrelated Lew Ayres discourse.