The Olden Thymes

Guest Post by The Zman

I was watching this episode of the Mark Steyn Show on Sunday and they made mention of Casablanca. It occurred to me that it had been so long since I watched these old movies, I no longer remember much about them. My generation was probably the last to grow up seeing these old films on television. They would turn up on the UHF channels at night or on weekends. In the 70’s, black and white movies looked almost as good as the color television shows, so the old films seemed to hold up OK, at least to a ten year old.

-----------------------------------------------------
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal

-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)

I decided to fire up the Kodi and watch Casablanca, while I was catching up on some office work. I was a bit surprised at how well it holds up today. Being in black and white probably makes it work by tricking my brain into viewing it through the eyes of my youth, rather than as a jaded old man. The acting is the part that does not work as well today, as the old films were acted like stage plays, which required the audience to use their imaginations. Modern technology lets the audience drop into a coma while watching a film.

Anyway, Casablanca is a classic film for a reason. The story is well done and even 70 years on, the stars are still stars. Maybe it was how they made the movies back then, but Bogart fills the screen in his scenes. Of course, Ingrid Bergman was a stunningly gorgeous women, but even the lesser stars seemed to have a presence. Peter Lorre has a small role early in the film, but you remember it. It’s probably due to how they made movies back then, but the stars don’t have the same screen presence today.

The funny thing about this movie is the plot is very simple and the imagery is a bit heavy handed. In fact, everything about it is simple and rough-hewn, but there’s a moving depth to it. Watching it, I could easily imagine a 1940’s audience, sitting in the dark theater as the movie ends. The women would be teary eyes, maybe squeezing their man’s arm a little harder than normal. The men would be sitting stiff-backed and stony-faced, enjoying their date getting close, while imagining themselves as the honorable Rick Blaine.

Of course, Hollywood in that age made movies that celebrated the higher values of their intended audience. There were some commie writers trying to work their message into films, but by and large the industry liked its customers and sought to appeal to their better natures by celebrating America and American values. The point of movie making in those days was to get people to the theater. That meant making movies that appealed to the majority population, which meant the native stock. No one bothered with virtue signaling.

There was also a degree of respect for the audience. It was assumed that the people in the theater could use their imagination. They did not need a 20-minute sex scene to know that Bogart and Bergman were having a physical relationship. The audience was treated like adults, rather than teenagers. Hollywood often relied on high-brow culture in their films, even though their audience was mostly working class. People read more and they were expected to know about classic stories and characters from Western culture.

Today, the people making movies largely despise the native stock of the country and they really hate the white men. A remake of Casablanca would most likely have the story set at Ellen’s Place, rather than Rick’s Café Américain. The proprietor would have to be a gender fluid lesbian of color, hounded by white males trying to oppress her. The whole thing would be a carnival of degeneracy intended to rub the nose of viewers in a steaming pile of cultural Marxism, as a reminder of who is in charge now.

The world view of the people in charge of movie making is different too. When they made Casablanca, they knew those honkies taking their dates to see Bogie were going to be relied upon to save Western civilization from itself. The people running Hollywood today are convinced they would be better off if the honkies would hurry up and die off. It’s not just that foreign audiences are so important either. There’s a real visceral hatred that screams through the product pumped out by Hollywood today. They hate us a lot.

What I’m always struck by in the old movies is the maturity of the male leads. Bogart was in his 40’s when he made Casablanca and he looked like it. His character was supposed to be middle-aged. He was an adult. Today, the male leads are cartoons, often literally cartoons. The real flesh and blood male leads are steroidal freaks, who look like float decorations at a gay pride parade. More important, they lack maturity. Instead of playing characters that anchor society, they are emotional wrecks who need saving.

I hate this age.

16
Leave a Reply

avatar
  Subscribe  
Notify of
TJF
TJF

Agree with what you wrote, but you forgot to include a “get off my lawn” line somewhere in the article.

Ed
Ed

Another good example of the difference between movies then and now is “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. Instead of the alien character being an emissary who comes to tell earthlings that their warmaking and their newly discovered nuclear weapons are a universal threat that will not be tolerated, he’s a green weenie who has come to cleanse Earth of humanity because Climate Change.

BSHJ
BSHJ

It is all just digital ‘effects’ now in movies……they think that ‘good’ means louder, brighter, faster and more graphic (and replace whites with blacks in remakes)

Iska Waran
Iska Waran

It probably all started with Allen Ginsberg.

MrLiberty
MrLiberty

Turner Classic Movies Channel is a great home to all these old, great films.

travis
travis

The only reason to watch tv. Love the old stuff. Even the silents. Now its flash bang no story.

Vic
Vic

That’s the only thing I miss about not watching TV, the old movies. Love them. Can’t stand today’s movies or TV shows. Can even think of the last time I went to see a movie, except a couple of kid movies with my son when he was a lot younger.

Huevos Azules

Indeed. Great movie. Another character actor with a small part: Inspector Renault, Claude Rains I think, with the classic line after the Germans raided the gambling hall: “Round up the usual suspects.”

Uncle Max
Uncle Max

I’ve watched Casablanca several times. I’m near the same age as Zman. Casablanca and many of the films of this era are so much more watchable now as a adult than they were when I was younger. And they are so stark in their lack of social messaging , they hold up well compared to modern stuff.
My favorite character is Claude Rains. His “round up” scene busts me up every time.

BB

I to have recently discovered Turner Movie Classic channel.Alot of great old Movies.I watched a …Cat on a Hot Tin Roof…with Paul Newman a few days ago. Hadn’t seen that movie in 30 years .Had my full attention .

CCRider
CCRider

Think of the staying power. How many times have you heard someone feign surprise by being “shocked, shocked” to learn___? Or as said above, used “the usual subjects” in conversation or who doesn’t know what “Play it again, Sam” denotes? Who can’t hum “As Time Goes By”?

I heard they shot 2 endings, the other one being where Ilsa stays with Rick and debated which one to use. I think that choice made the film a classic. It had to be a sad story glorifying sacrifice in the midst of a war where the outcome was very much in doubt.

Damn us white folks are good!

Axel
Axel

There are a few up and coming young actors that I see may have some gravitas. For example, I watched “The Sand Castle”, a new Netflix movie about the early days of the Iraq war. It featured a few British actors playing Americans (amazing how many Aussies and Brits can play Americans with aplomb), including a young man named Nicholas Hoult. Did a fine job. Still hope for those of European descent out there.

rhs jr
rhs jr

I love to see the old cars. This poor boy spent many hours working on cheap junkers but I could always fix them. New cars are like beautiful girls until they turn into nightmares; I’m rich now but it’s awfully expensive to fix either.

rhs jr
rhs jr

What do new cars and beautiful women have in common?
Very High Maintenance

overthecliff
overthecliff

rhs jr, you can’t fix a woman.

Norman Franklin

I certainly miss the old westerns of the late 60s early 70s. You can rarely find something these days where the white man is not getting kicked in the nuts, and the white women is not a drug addled harpy.

My wife really got me into old movies as she is a few years older than me (55) and showed me how much grace and class used to be portrayed as compared with today. Still one of my favorite ways to spend a rainy day, her and I curled up on the couch binge watching turner classics.

Discover more from The Burning Platform

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading