Mia is one of a few people who really knows w-t-h she's talking about in classic movies, reads up on it, doesn't second guess anything yet watches without knowing what's going to happen unless it's a rewatch. Mia and those of us who know film history and it's true cullural value... the rest? "meh..." or: "Mehtro Godlfish Mayonese" 😂
Basil Rathbone was an excellent swordsman from his time in the British Military(WWI time). Worked with director Curtis on Captain Blood and Adventures Of Robin Hood. Also starred in swashbucklers Mark Of Zoro and The Court Jester. Even though he was by far the superior swordsman he always lost the fight in film.
~ Bothered Basil Rathbone that although he was literally a master swordsman, the accolades for his on screen sword fights would go to his “good guy” stars, who only looked good due to Rathbone’s skills in making them appear so, while in real life none of them would have lasted 2 minutes in a contest with him ~
I had the honor of meeting Peter Ustinov in the mid 70s. He was making a Disney movie in a small town near our home. He was nice and gracious. And he liked to make the people on the set chuckle a little.
I love watching and listening to Peter Ustinov: and in this movie, one of my favorite bits is Ustinov advising Bogie on how to tell Rathbone about Adolf. In our family, we've adopted that deadpan "tell him".
About pronunciation.... [Peet▪︎r YOU▪︎stan▪︎off] is an excellent, excellent, wonderful actor/thespian. I would recommend many of his films. Blackbeard's Ghost was a favorite as a child.
Movies With Mia , The name Peter Ustinov is not pronounced, ( Uwe-Stinov ). It's pronounced, ( You-stin-off ). He's one of the greatest unsung actors of all time. But thank you so much for giving more details to your reactions than anyone else on any format.
I saw this movie when I was a kid and have loved it ever since (I'm 71). Thank you for reacting to it, as it is rarely shown these days. I love your unique channel and I absolutely love your love for classic films! Merry Christmas, Mia.
When I tell people We're No Angels is my favorite Christmas film, I often get strange looks. I've never understood why this movie wasn't a bigger success. Thank you for your reaction.
FINALLY SOME LOVE FOR THIS PERFECT FILM!!! I love seeing John Smith in this. I used to watch Laramie when I was a teenager and he was on it. There's so much dark humor in this. Haha. Thank you for this! 💜💙 I love the research you do. I'm a young person who also loves the classics, and while I do my own research on them, you always manage to find some facts I didn't come across! Edit. Did you notice the little halo over case at the end for Adolf the Snake?
Even Adolf the snake got a halo at the end. Priceless : ) Aldo Ray was hot, Peter Ustinov was adorable and Bogart was lovable and a surprisingly good comic actor.
That superior, commanding air of Basil Rathbone's that you noticed was so fitting for Sherlock Holmes was also what made him so successful as a movie villain. Outside of playing Holmes, he almost always played bad guys, the truly nasty types you wanted to see get it in the end.
Hello Mia! If you love Cary Grant, I recommend for you to see The Bishop's Wife (1947) with Loretta Young and David Niven along with Karolyn Grimes played as Debbie Brougham was the same child actress who played ZuZu from Its A Wonderful Life.
~ With all due respect, that’s hardly one of Grant’s best, as he just walked though his performance. Not his fault, as the writing for his character was dull/without challenge….. just an opinion from a huge Cary Grant fan ~
Mia, if you want to see another great Michael Curtiz directed film, I highly recommend The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). It stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains. It is considered the definitive Robin Hood movie. It was also shot in glorious Technicolor.
I watch this every Christmas. Absolutely adorable movie. A lesser known Bogart comedy you might like is It All Came True. He plays his pre top star gangster persona, but he has to deal with Zasu Pitts. Very fun movie and a lovable Ann Sheridan performance.
One of my favorites. The original was the best. I love the fact that you give behind the scenes facts. If anyone wants to see it, it is now on Pluto. Thanks for the reaction. Oh, Have you reacted to "The Man Who Came to Dinner" starring Monty Woolley and Bette Davis? If you have, I have to find your reaction so that I can see what you thought about it. If you haven't, you should. It's another great Christmas movie.
I'm a old fart and grew up in the 60's, watching old Basil Rathbone movies, from the 30's and 40's. Back then, everyone used the English pronunciation of Basil, with a short "A", instead of the "Bay-sil" form as you used. Basil was Sherlock Holmes, Bay-sil was an herb.
Thank you for this wonderful reaction video of "We're No Angels". I'm a Basil Rathbone fan, and he gives one of my favorite performances in this movie. I also love his performance in the WW1 drama, "Dawn Patrol" (1938), which also stars Errol Flynn and David Niven. If you're looking for title suggestions, I think this film would make a great reaction video. Another film you might like which stars Peter Ustinov is "Billy Bud" (1962).
I also like Rathbone. Always great in any role he plays. I especially like him in "Rhythm on the River." 1940. Bing is also a favorite. Rathbone plays a cad in that film.
Mia, you misidentified Leo G. Carroll as Basil Rathbone. Leo G. Carroll starred in the TV series “Topper” in the early 1950s and was Mr. Waverley in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” I the 1970s. Basil Rathbone was the villain Sir Guy of Guisbourne in the 1938 “Robin Hood” and Sherlock Holmes in movies all through the 1940s.
Oh no, it only seems that way, I was referring to the picture that was shown before the camera shifts to Leo G Carroll and Joan Bennett. I knew at the least that Basil was to play Andre and so confirmed it once Joan said his character’s name. Ahh sorry for the confusion there 😅
Mia, Mia..."Bay zil" is an herb. "Baa Zil" is a man's name. (Basil Rathbone was a very famous actor, btw... he played Sherlock Holmes in many films of the 40s.)
I know Mia already mentioned it in the video but yeah it just adds to the greatness of Humprey Bogart, the fact he can play the cool dude who is the hero and that has that charisma about himself, but he also can do a 180 and become a villain in another film. I really did enjoy this cast because movies like this that have a crew working so sync together makes the film perfect in my opinion because no one truly outshines anyone but I do see why sometimes that does occur in some movies which is fine to be honest with you. but yeah, not sure if Mia did a reaction to the film A Streetcar Named Desire yet but I would definitely love to her reaction to that great film which I have in my list of greatest films of all time listed number. 2.
Oh thank's for watching this version everyone does the remake, but for me this is the best. If you like a comedy, check out a Peter Falk movie called The Cheap Detective. It is a retelling of Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon in a style only Mr Falkcan do. It's on RU-vid
Sadly although I love everyone in this, I just don't like the movie. I always found it a bit listless, and the joke don't bite. As a Brit I appreciate droll understatement, but it's a bit too much. Shame really, as I was very eager to see this giving the billing. I've always loved Bogie, and I have great affection for Ustinov. It was nice to hear from you that Ustinov and Bogart hit it off. I've always liked Ustinov though his films are very varible. His first film 'One of Our Aircraft is Missing' is a great fun wartime adventure by the great Powell & Pressburger. He plays a Dutch Catholic priest in that. He's also defnitely my second favourite Poirot, after Suchet - and it's a close second. However my favourite film featuring Ustinov is actually 'The Way Ahead' featuring David Niven, Stanley Holloway, Trevor Howard among others - Ustinov wrote it while in the army at a remarkably young age, with with pretty much no movie experience before hand. You can find it free on RU-vid and I strongly recommend it.
I have been a fan of Leo G. Carroll ever since I first saw him in his 1950’s series “Topper.” Gloria Talbott (the daughter here) was a 1950s regular in such films as “I Married a Monster from Outer Space.”
AH! Another of my favorite films! Such a great, fun film! I appreciate how you speak of Aldo Rey giving love and life advice to the young girl, but I think it's less about relaxing stereotypes about convicts and more to do with enlightened 'French' views of life. You get the same thing from contemporary films like "An American in Paris" (1951), "Funny Face" (1957), and especially "Gigi" (1958). Even the original "Sabrina" (1954) played off the romance and sophisticated world view of Paris and the French over the parochialism and puritanism of middle America. The late 1940s into the 1950s produced films that reflected the mind-blowing difference of world view of not just France, but all of the non-Americanized world for Americans abroad. Until WWII, America considered themselves the center of the universe. As they were stationed overseas, they experienced a very different since of how reality works. France, Italy, and England had suffered bombings and invasions worse than Pearl Harbor. Life was chancy; God seemed absent, justice was MIA. The children surviving those times developed a different world view that departed from church teachings and were grounded in harsh realities. America was all 'Hollywood' and 'Disneyland', while Europe was not only very different, but had always been different. I remember the late 1950s and how much my hillbilly mother (now living in an urban environment) was so enamored with French culture, as was all America at that time. She wanted to see Broadway plays, listen to neo-classical music, learn french, and take art classes. She bobbed my hair and dressed me like a modern day GiGi while playing stereo soundtracks from these movie musicals based in France. It was America seduced by the French world view and a very different take on 'morality'.
You are one of my favorite reactors because of your love of, and dedication to, classic films, as well as your appreciation for the character actors. I’m 69, and I grew up on these films because black-and-white TV used to fill their time with loads of old movies. However, although I’ve seen nearly all of Bogart’s movies, I didn’t see this one until just a few years ago. It’s a fine wacky comedy that grows on one and a testament of Bogart’s acting skills. Aldo Ray was a star in the 1950s, and his best-known movie was "Battle Cry." He was also excellent in another wacky comedy-drama, “God’s Little Acre” (which I recommend), starring Robert Ryan in his best role. Leo G. Caroll’s successful TV comedy series, “Topper,” was a great favorite of mine when I was a kid watching it in reruns in the early 1960s. You probably remember him as the FBI chief in “North By Northwest.” He also had a great role in Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” (highly recommended). He appeared in many other major movies in the 30s and 40s, including “A Christmas Carol” (1938), where he played Marley’s ghost.
one year we were trying to find a Christmas movie to watch and my dad recommended this movie. Took a while to find a place to rent it but it was worth. Great reaction to this hidden gem.
Thank you Mia its been decades since i last watched this classic film. I love it when an old film pops up from the past and i get another look at it ✌️🎅 Also, Aldo Ray, I know him mostly from one of the many Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy films called Pat & Mike where Aldo plays a Boxer managed by Spencer Tracy (Mike) I'm sure hes in other films but this is the one i remember him mostly by 🙂
Hi Mia, glad you enjoyed the film, I came across it myself about 15 yrs ago. Peter Ustinov was a very funny man, if you get the chance checkout his (Parkinson Interviews) with Michael Parkinson, BBC chat show host. Merry Xmas to you, your family & your other commentators & viewers. I hope you are keeping well. :)
Aldo Ray's best line(regarding the naval doctor), '...he looks like a glass of milk!' P.S. if you are wanting to do a sci-fi B-movie(but good) show I recommend 'I Married a Monster from Outer Space'. It stars Gloria Talbot, the daughter from this film.
Mia speaking French?! (be still my fluttering heart 😊) Once again you come up with the goods - a great undervalued movie. I'm a big fan of Peter Ustinov and my fave performances of his are as Batiatus in Spartacus and as Arthur Simon Simpson (for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor) in Topkapi - (did you already review this? can't see it here) a great comic heist caper. By the way - I heard you say you'd not seen a Basil Rathbone movie before - you know he was THE cinematic Sherlock Holmes right? In my opinion the best - until of course Jeremy Brett took up the role on TV. He was also Guy of Gisborne in Michael Curtiz's Adventures of Robin Hood (best swordfight ever).
I have seen Topkapi with my Patrons as a Live Watch! Fantastic film! And YES! I have to see Basil Rathbone as Sherlock! I have heard he’s does a fantastic job of conveying the character!
Such a fun movie and a fun reaction! When I saw this film I recognized the strong stage influence in it, especially the overall lack of a score, which seemed a tad peculiar. It’s a charming story, though, and once Basil (rhymes with “razzle dazzle”) Rathbone shows up, the zingers really start to fly! I loved the Peter Griffin clip tossed in towards the end! That was perfect! And your bloopers remain endlessly hilarious and fun to watch! Great video, Mia!
Thank You for giving my Christmas present early. I have been waiting for so long for you you-tubers to discover this movie. Your insights agree with mine but you have one misconception. , where most of the prisoners were was not truely "Devil's Island". There was only one prisoner on the true "Devil's Island" and that was "Alfred Dreyfus" (Yes, he's a relative of Richard Dreyfus) Where the rest of the prisoners were, were at "French Guiana" a patch of cleared land cut out of the jungle which contained deadly: diseases, animals, natives, and everything else. so it might as well be an island. One of the strange things was what was worse then being a prisoner was being a freed prisoner. When your sentence was up they just tapped you onthe shoulder and told you. At that point you lost your access to a place to sleep, your access to free meals you were just free. with no resources.
7:28 Just think in 68 years the roll of tar paper Aldo Ray is lugging hasn't changed. I have a roll in my garage. A fresh roll will have the paper to keep it from unraveling. Tar paper is used as an underlayment.
A lot of the comedy around Aldo Ray’s character ages poorly these days. Still love this movie, but it makes it awkward trying to show it to anyone who hasn’t seen it or grown up with movies from this era. Glad you liked it and were able to appreciate it!
Wonderful reaction and analysis. Humphry, Aldo, and Peter were great actors that I've always enjoyed watching in their movies. Great job om the comments, too.
This must be the first legitimate, actual reaction on YT to this flick. Ah yes, it's perhaps my fave for the holidays (@ least it's the one I'll watch faithfully around this time period...been doing so for about fifty yrs now). There are so many great quotable lines in this that (just maybe) it's only beaten out by "Casablanca". And here I have to admit some bias due to the fact that my Auntie Gloria (who was a film/TV actress) portrayed the role of the daughter, Isabelle. (This was the film of hers that she liked most, too.) Truthfully, though, I'd probably be viewing this despite the family connection. (Auntie also appeared in "All That Heaven Allows", which has a Christmas scene included as well.) I don't know if I would say that I consider this film to be underrated, although I do believe that it tends to be rather overlooked. In a way (also to be honest), I'm rather pleased that this tends to be bypassed so that all of us "very special, select privileged" folk may partake of it. ;-)
Funny, while you were talking about low key Christmas movies, I was thinking of suggesting "It Happened on 5th Avenue" to you, then found out it is the next movie. So, I'll suggest instead "3 Godfathers" (1948) starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford.
Nice reaction - if you like this kind of comedy, try Arsenic and Old Lace, or You Can't Take It with You, both also adapted from plays - re Rathbone, he's the quintessential spoil-sport of classical Hollywood - the sleek and humorless villain who plays straight man to the antics of the heroes (he would have been the ultimate Malvolio) - almost as an extension of his lethal nastiness, he was also a famous fencing expert - spectacular in Robin Hood and Zorro - IMO Christopher Lee was the Rathbone of the 60s - each bringing that same sour ingredient - each wedded to an implacably crisp classical stage delivery - Lee had even played Sherlock Holmes, as well as his brother Myron, and also Baskerville, though I think Lee had a heavier, more sadistic presence, whereas Rathbone was more mechanically oblivious, and infused with that brisk 30s lightness - it's fitting that Rathbone played Murdstone to WC Fields' Micawber, and Karenin to Garbo's Anna - and he was Oscar nominated for playing Tybalt to Leslie Howard's famous Romeo, whose memory would permeate Howard's Ashley in GWTW a few years later - Rathbone might have been THE iconic all-purpose screen villain of the 30s, before becoming the iconic Sherlock Holmes of the 40s - I think We're No Angels gives a good sense of what he brought to a film - besides being maybe the dark Fred Astaire of sword-fighting (as an actor and screen persona - with or without a sword, he was like a human rapier)
Another non-traditional Christmas classic is “The Man Who Came to Dinner”. Warner Brothers gave Bette Davis star billing but Monte Woolley stole the show as he reprised his Broadway role as the most pompous, nasty, arrogant, aristocratic jerk you could imagine. It’s easily one of the funniest classic movies of the early 40’s you’ll ever see. Ann Sheridan, Billie Burke and Jimmy Durante co star.
Peter Ustinov was good in "Quo Vadis." 1951 I like Biblical epics that involve SPQR and especially films that are about SPQR. Perhaps that how I recognize Walter Wanger.
Ha! Came here to see if anyone recommended this movie. If she thinks he couldn't hurt a fly with his 'sweet face' she needs to watch Quo Vadis so she can love to hate him. (But also because the movie itself is epic and because Robert Taylor is a feast for the eyes!)
@@adrianaheiler9794 Robert Taylor was a decent actor. He's not really remembered. If you like Taylor check out "The Bribe." 1949. Just a great vehicle for Taylor's acting. It also has a young Ava Gardner, Vincent Price and Charles Laughton. That's a pretty good cast! The plot is kinda silly, but the atmosphere is great. Many clips from "The Bribe," were used in Steve Martin's overlooked Gumshoe detective movie, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." 1982.
Thanks, Mia! This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I just love the colors in the films from this era, and Bogart's comedic skills are very much underrated. If you haven't seen it yet, you should watch Billy Wilder's Sabrina (1954) (Though the 1995 version with Harrison Ford is worth watching too)
Did you ever see "Kind Hearts and Coronets " a 1949 b/w dark comedy with similar overtones to We're No Angels . Alec Guinness plays eight parts and was thought to be one of the best British films ever .I think it was excellent but i can think of better films to take such a title.
Awesomeness One of my favs :) Great reaction as usual, I found this as a preteen and would watch it whenever it came on ( broadcast TV days) Thank you :) Oh the father of this piece reminded me you should check out Topper
Hello Mia, an excellent selection and Christmas time movie. This movie always made my heart soar with happiness and giddiness. I saw it in the theater, must have been in a double feature, as I was too young to attend movies alone at that age. Don't recall what the second feature would have been. Maybe " The Africa Queen " , but viewed sometime after 1955, maybe 1958 or 1959.
Bogart was great at comedy and very underused in that department during his career. In the 1950's film production became more lavish and expensive, more in color becuse they were competing against that new fangled thing called telelvision.
i don't even remember this film being in color. i must've watched it on a b&w tv. although all movies, and all bogie movies, have some lighthearted or comedic moments in them, this is only bogie's 3rd true comedy. the first being "beat the devil" (1953), which had many viewers scratching their heads over whether it was a comedy or not, and "sabrina" (1954), a romantic comedy i never really liked much. "we're no angels" is the only bogie comedy i ever really liked. i just love bogart, OH! there's one more bogie comedy that was a very pleasant surprise. being made years before his break out role in "the petrified forest" (1936), there's the little known "up the river" (1930) which co-stars spencer tracy. the only film he and bogie appeared in together. it actually follows a plot similar to "we're no angels."
although aldo ray had a long career, until 1991, after this film he didn't make too many mainstream films. he did appear in the 1967 cult classic "riot on the sunset strip" and he was in "pat and mike" (1952) the spencer tracy/katherine hepburn vehicle directed by george cukor. peter ustinov, on the other hand, made many successful mainstream films including "spartacus" (1960), "Quo Vadis" (1951) where he played nero and he starred in few films where he played the french sleuth Hercule Poirot. "evil under the sun" (1982) is the best of these.
"What's that picture Bogart did? The one he played a cowboy. He only did one." "The Oklahoma Kid?"... "Shane?" "Shane???" "The Oklahoma Kid!!! That's me! I'm the Oklahoma Kid! Dance you varmint!"
Hi Mia. Peter Ustinov, a character actor that shows up in a lot of classic era films, name is pronounced YOU-stin-ov, with a long U. Stories of this set was that it was a very happy shoot.
Here's a tip for figuring out how to pronounce peoples names - highlight their name on a web search and go to the speech command in the apps pulldown. You will then hear the computer pronounce their name. Cause you are mispronouncing Peter Ustinov. I'd say Ustinov's best film is the multi Oscar winning "Spartacus", which he won an Oscar for his supporting role, and deservedly so. He was also a very fine writer and did Voice work for animations. You're also mispronouncing Basil Rathbone's first name. Basil was also in a number of Cortez films and was noted for being a very fine swordsman, and is also, still my favorite actor to play Sherlock Holmes, doing about a dozen Sherlock films in the 40s. I suggest you watch the series of them or at least "The Hound of The Baskervilles"
Love your reactions. FYI: Ustinov is pronounced in American English as "YOU-sti-nuhv." The Brits say, "oo-STEEN-of." It would be pronounced basically that way or the way you did if you were speaking Russian. I can't verify which syllable would be stressed, since stress is not predictable in Russian. And Russians with the same last name can stress it differently. Ustinov himself was born in Switzerland and although his name is Russian, his origins are as much of a Heinz 57 as most Americans. Ustinov spoke several languages and once said, "I am an international citizen conceived in Russia, born in England, working in Hollywood, living in Switzerland, and touring the World".
