Cam Bert

Episode 100 was Junior which doesn't seem that big but it was the original poster art for the show.

That would make far more sense but then Stargrove would be dead from his gut stabbing at the end. Also welcome to the forums!

Never seen this! I am curious. (Set It Up is very cute indeed)

I know we've already talked about the Road Warrior inspired punk baddies of the film, but the other 80s film this was reminding me of was Dragnet. Specifically how the punk bad guys seem to party down in an abandoned amphitheater. Then I looked it up and Dragnet came out the following year, so was Dragnet ripping off this movie?

So Ragnar's big weapon that all his cronies love is "the finger" which is basically a razor sharp finger nail. However "the finger" is only like an inch long if that. Do you know how deep into your body your internal organs are? Hint, it is more than an inch. So what's the threat of "the finger"? In theory you could use it to sever major arteries and cause them to bleed out but in most cases in the movie when Ragnar uses it he goes right for the chest area. You are doing nothing there. Yes it'll cut you and hurt, but at that length there is no way it could kill you right away. Also at that short length Ragnar really would have to get in super close in a fight to make it work, and because of its location there is no way he could make a fist and fight effectively hand to hand.

I was out for Korean BBQ last night with a group of friends of which three are 6 months to 3 months pregnant and before we ordered there was a long conversation over what they can and can not eat and how well the meat they eat should be cooked. It just gave me horrible flashbacks of this movie.

I off hand joked about it in my letterboxd review but I'll expand upon it here. To me one of the things that sold this movie to me was how similar in formula and story it was to Columbo but rather than Peter Falk as the frumpy detective we get Edward G Robinson as the the little man with hunches. To me growing up one of the things I loved about Columbo is that you start off with the murder. You see it every step of the way, and you know the bad guy is going to get it in the end so your job as the viewer is not so much who did it or how did they did it but where did they go wrong. When Columbo suspects the murder he never confronts him directly with it, rather he needles him with little things, just shows up and waxes on, slowly unnerving and making the murderer sweat and start to double guess themselves. In the end this leads the murderer going back to recover something or over explaining crucial details or something like that. To me in a way Edward G Robinson was that part. From the moment the little man in his stomach told him something was wrong he suspected Neff, but he couldn't prove it. Later on when Neff over hears him talking about his suspensions over Neff being erased, at that point he never acted prior like he suspected Neff. It made me question whether Neff over hearing him was intentional or not. True this movie did lack a PI but an insurance claim investigator is close enough right? If anybody has ever seen the pilot for Columbo Peter Falk is more clean cut and wearing a nice suit. In addition he is a bit more quicker in speech and more direct. This pilot version of the character is similar enough to Keyes that is makes me wondering if that was the inspiration. When Columbo was ordered to series the character become more unkempt and unassuming, but I'm willing to bet that this movie was a major influence on the show.

Slight spoiler warning: Double Indemnity has a slight less jarring but still not so great rear projection scene at the Hollywood Bowl.

The rear projection is probably the worst thing in the movie. My original thought was they filmed it in LA and wanted to have a real theater in New Haven in the background.

I'm not going to multi-quote you all on this but I think the thing that is brilliant about the film is that as pointed out we never see Eve or Margo act on stage but we do see them act. They both in different ways and and different times are acting with each other or others. As pointed out Eve is "acting" with her fake story and shy innocent persona. It's a fully crafted character and there are only a few rare moments before the climax that we see her as her true self and out of character. Meanwhile we have Margo, who is overall I think more genuine, but she has an image to maintain and to maintain that she acts a certain way. Think of the scene mentioned on the podcast in which nobody is looking she runs down the stairs, before and after that moment when she's with people she is acting. She's also playing the character of "Margo" instead of just being Margo. That's why I think it's a great twist to the film at the end of it Margo grows to the point that she doesn't need to act anymore and can just be Margo and is happier than she ever was. Meanwhile Eve is now stuck playing this character and she's not too happy and while getting accolades and awards she's unhappy at being stuck into this persona she crafted for herself.

If I recall correctly in her origin story she tells in the beginning she does mention doing community theater, but then again we later find out that large elements of that story such as her husband and San Francisco were lies. So it's a bit of a tough call whether or not the acting bit is true or just another made up detail to help sell her story.

Maybe...

I'm curious, as someone who is more on the Eve side of things, not that there is anything wrong with that, at what point do you think Eve came up with her plan to be the new Margo? Was it before they met? After she started working for her and got to know her more?

Two thoughts I had about that phone call. 1. After he says he'll be right over Karen gives him a look. Now it could be just "Why are you rushing off like that" but for a second I had the thought "Why does he know where she lives." I guess both readings would be accurate. 2. Her false claims about not feeling well. Again, maybe reading into the affair angle a bit much, but is it suppose to subtly imply she might be pregnant? I guess pregnancy would be more morning sickness not middle of the night, but her not feeling well doesn't seem to be that hasty of a reason to rush right over. Proudly just over thinking it all.

Ah, that could be. I thought she was getting her hooks into him because of how Bill and Lloyd were fighting during the rehearsals. Bill, who knows about her attempt to come on to him and what she was doing to Margo, reluctantly accepts the directing position. His contempt can not be fully contained so he is extremely harsh with Eve during production, yet Lloyd was seemingly fighting for her choices. To me that was the sign that she was working her magic on him. Granted you could argue that he was just passionate about his play and trying to get it the best it could be and didn't want Bill's feelings for Eve to get in the way. That said the way he talked about what a spirit Eve brought to the part and comments to effect combined with Karen's observation that she'd never seen Bill and Lloyd fight so much before. This to me implied that he was somewhat bewitched. How far down that road I'm not sure, but he was on it for sure even if for a short while.

Do you guys think the only reason Oliver was not chosen over his brothers and sisters was because he's ginger?

YES! That's why I thought Eve's blackmail plan was a little half baked at first because I was sure that if Karen came clean to Margo about it all she would forgive her. Margo at that point seems to be the kind of person that would hold a grudge no matter the intention. But in the restaurant she does seem changed as a person, a little more open and forgiving as she's worked through her demons. I think this change in attitude combined with her deep love for Karen would make forgiveness a little easier on her part. I am more wondering why Karen would stick by her Lloyd after everything. I mean he put her through the ringer, and while it might be easy to chalk things up to "oh Eve was manipulating him" considering he was going to run away with her and they were having some sort of affair, Karen sticking by him and Margo and Bill sticking by him is more questionable to me. I guess if they can forgive Lloyd then Margo can forgive Karen.

True. By the time Dodge shows up the backgrounds get a little more consistent to the style.

Also at first I did not realize that Dodger was Billy Joel and thought it was Michael J Fox trying to do his best New York accent for like the first 20 minutes or so.

Personally I thought a the animation for the was inconsistent. The matte backgrounds at the start of the film were in such a different style as the animation it just looked odd to have them together. It got better as it went along and sequences like Rita's song everything was clicking together but there were just bits here and there were elements were at odds. Another scene when the butler was driving in the car there is a very harsh line between his face and the animated background behind it. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky considering that The Little Mermaid came next and this was at the same time as Roger Rabbit so I was expecting a bit more.

I assumed Birdie was just an old actress from the vaudevillian days and when her career came to an end she ended up working for Margo who was already a star at that point. A sort of motherly bond between them formed and she stuck around all these years. I don't think she was there at the end because the awards show was probably for only people in the industry and as she was either backstage help or aide to Margo, didn't qualify for an invite.

At least we now know who the real "star" is

I miss Stan already...

I think that's another great thing about the writing. Eve is the villain but she's not the mustache twirling type. Rather she is so subtle that there are only hints of it throughout the movie that are only clear on reflection or second viewing. We, like Margo, are not to suspect her of any wrong doings or evilness right away but much like the characters we slowly learn this over the course of the film until it is too late. Take for example her looking at herself in Margo's dress for the play. At first it is an innocent act of a fan wishing to emulate her favourite star, but once we know the full story that moment has a slight darker overtone to it. To me the first major sign that she truly is "evil" or "bad" is when she comes on to Bill. Yes, stealing a lover away does happen but it is more her reaction to it. This is the first time in the movie something doesn't really go her way so what does she do? She goes into a fit of rage and tries to tear the wig apart and smashing things. That to me was a big "Whoa" moment. Then in the end when we're confronted with the truth about Eve is to me where the big separation comes in between "wanting to be successful" and just "villain" come in. We learn from her story that she is a liar, manipulator, and con person. She was a small town girl who worked in a beer factory. She wanted to be rich and somebody so she tried to get with the owner of the factory who was married. They had an affair and when the heat was on she stole $500 and fled to New York. To me that paints the picture of who she really is. She might want fame and success but that isn't really what drives her. If she was a mid-western girl who came out to New York and then does this all, I could see her more as just climbing the ladder by any means. However, from that story it is clear she just covets what others have. She wants to better her life by taking those that can give her the best life possible. In her town the owner of the brewery was her ticket, when that didn't work she ran away to New York where she saw Margo's play and thought "That's what I want."