dulcinea3 wrote:
becke_davis wrote:
This one gets my vote:
I actually saw this one fairly recently!!! I did think it would be a lot better than it was. It seemed to have such potential.
I wonder if John Ireland and Joan Crawford were just fulfilling a contractual obligation. Seems like they both were too good for this movie.
Well, this is probably some kind of film viewing heresy, but some of my least favorite film mysteries were
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Or
The actresses in these films were some of the top in their profession, but I just found I didn't care to watch either film for very long. They were just too campy for my taste, but I had the feeling like maybe the plot lines hit a little too close to real life for the actresses. I got more of a feeling that Joan and Bette really hated each other rather than they were enjoying a parody of their screen personas, in the first film. Sweet Charlotte, I still haven't figured out why I can't stay awake past the first few scenes. or if I'm watching on TV, I click the remote pretty fast.
Fricka wrote:
Well, this is probably some kind of film viewing heresy, but some of my least favorite film mysteries were
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Or
The actresses in these films were some of the top in their profession, but I just found I didn't care to watch either film for very long. They were just too campy for my taste, but I had the feeling like maybe the plot lines hit a little too close to real life for the actresses. I got more of a feeling that Joan and Bette really hated each other rather than they were enjoying a parody of their screen personas, in the first film. Sweet Charlotte, I still haven't figured out why I can't stay awake past the first few scenes. or if I'm watching on TV, I click the remote pretty fast.
I agree - I couldn't stand these either. My daughter saw one of them as part of the Joan Crawford marathon that included I SAW WHAT YOU DID. I couldn't stay in the room while she was watching it.
BLASPHEMY!!! 
I have both those movies on VHS! LOL! 
Bette Davis is one of my all-time favorite actresses. Yes, they are campy, but I still enjoy them. I can't remember off-hand how Davis and Crawford got along while making that movie, although I seem to recall that they were competitive with each other. I do know that Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland were very close friends. One actress with whom Davis never got along was Miriam Hopkins; they made at least two movies together.
dulcinea3 wrote:
BLASPHEMY!!!
Bette Davis is one of my all-time favorite actresses. Yes, they are campy, but I still enjoy them. I can't remember off-hand how Davis and Crawford got along while making that movie, although I seem to recall that they were competitive with each other. I do know that Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland were very close friends. One actress with whom Davis never got along was Miriam Hopkins; they made at least two movies together.
My grandmother was a New Englander and I remember Bette Davis totally scandalized her. Which, of course, made me like her. But I never did like Joan Crawford. I always kind of liked Olivia DeHavilland:
To go the other direction, these are some old mystery movies and thrillers that I liked a LOT:
I liked this one, too, but I can't find it at B&N:
http://www.dorisday.net/midnight_lace.html
Annnd, while I'm on the topic of Alfred Hitchcock, I'm reminded of the information given by Tippi Hedren recently, who described Hitchcock in very non-flattering terms, as he apparently made unwanted advances to her and effectively blackballed her acting career after the release of The Birds. In partial revenge on part of Tippi, I'm nominating The Birds as one of the worst mystery films ever.(plus to any bona fide bird lover, it is such a travesty!)
Fricka wrote:
becke_davis wrote:
It's kind of a shame that such a great actress would take roles like these. I guess they must have paid pretty well!
Gee, I sure hope so--nothing else makes much sense to me. It sure wasn't the quality of the screenplay, that's for sure(Sorry dulcinea3!) To at least partially make amends with dulcinea3, I will say that I DID like Bette Davis in some of her earlier film roles; my favorite film of hers is still Now, Voyager.But it's a loooong way from that film to the ones she did in later life, that we are discussing here.
Just to change the topic a bit, I note that Doris Day was listed in one of the Mystery films posted in this thread. While she's more noted for her singing and her comedic acting, she also did a first rate job in an Alfred Hitchcock film with Jimmy Stewart-- I think the title is The Man Who Knew Too Much.
I LOVE that movie!
Ryan_G wrote:Another really bad one was this starring Joan Crawford. I winced throughout most of the movie. Why sh agreed to make this movie is beyone me, other than she must have needed the money.
I don't remember this one at all(thank goodness!). Maybe we should put Joan in her own category, and state that any of the films she starred in during her twilight years was a clunker(unless someone can think of a GOOD film she was in!)
Anyone else remember this one?
If you like campy films, you would probably love this one. It has Vincent Price(also known for the number of horror films he starred in during his older years), Diana Rigg, as well as a cast that looked good on paper.
I found some links to "worst mystery movie" sites:
http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Myster
http://www.filmcrave.com/profile_view_lists.php?id
A couple sites mention this as the worst movie ever:
http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grown
http://amarillo.com/entertainment/get-out-movies/2
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1068572,00.html
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/06/08/manos-the-hand
