Good Pulp Movies (List)

[Metternich]

I think we're mixing Victoriana with Pulp.  I see Pulp as more 1920's - 1950's (when it becomes Noire).

[warlord frod]

I think we're mixing Victoriana with Pulp.  I see Pulp as more 1920's - 1950's (when it becomes Noire).

Yes and steam punk as well. True historical pulp was 1920's -1950's but today the idea seams to have been expanded to include the other ideas when its being discussed. I stick to the classical idea myself.

[joroas]

Jeeves and Wooster?

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Jeeves and Wooster?

Definitely!

[joroas]

Sydney Riley Ace of Spies with Sam Neill

[Menelduir]

For a real mix of genres, try Bogart's All through the night. It's a comedy featuring, as the ad says "Gangsters vs. Gestapo" Starring Bogart, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Jackie Gleason, William Demarest, and Phil Silvers. Not too many movies like this, a real mishmash!

Other movies for me include the Thin Man series, Maltese Falcon, The Foreign Correspondent, and the Prisoner of Zenda.

The list could just keep going on, so many movies thhat offer inspiration. Even the Young Indiana Jones shows can give me some cool ideas of scenarios to try.

Oh and someone mentioned that the serial Zorro's Fighting Legion was a good serial, well, I just got a copy of it and they were right. It is one of the better serials that I have watched. I have 20 or so and it certainly ranks high on my list of serials!

[Carpathian]

Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Mighty Joe Young
Son of Kong
Hope & Crosby: The Road to Singapore, the Road to...

Steam-Pulp:
  The Island at the Top of the World
   Five Weeks in a Balloon
   Around the World in 80 Days

Jackie Chan:
     Armour of God
     Operation Condor

Pulp-ish Historical:
     The Aviator
     Seven Years in Tibet

[DavyJones]

I got a kick out of "The Librarian" movies. Here's the trailer for the first one ("Quest for the Spear"):

Thanks. This one was new to me. 

[Onebigriver]

I think we're mixing Victoriana with Pulp.  I see Pulp as more 1920's - 1950's (when it becomes Noire).

Be honest, the lines are blurry at best. Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories were being published in serial form from 1912, which coincidentally the year that Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" serial was published.....

Film Noir was largely a result of limited budgets during WW2, but there's no denying that pulp crime fiction (just one facet of pulp fiction) was a source for stories & writing talent.

That's my penny's worth anyway. 

[warlord frod]

In our continued discussion of what Pulp is may I offer the following 

This is an excellent history of the Pulp Genre
http://www.pulpworld.com/history/history_01.htm

You can find a briefer history here
http://www.thepulp.net/pulp-info/pulp-history/

And finally a quote from one of my favorite rule sets "Astounding Tales" by Howard "Masked Avenger" Whitehouse

"'Pulp' requires that you see the world through the eyes of a certain sort of audience. Often it's a fifteen year old American kid in 1934; at least, that was who Lester Dent - the writer of the Doc Savage books - was aiming at. What you need are simple heroes, evil opponents, and a good deal of gee-whiz science. Geography can be vague, history ludicrous, but as long as it moves fast and good wins out, that's all fine.

If you were a hard boiled writer - Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, for example - the audience was older, less innocent, but still looking for a world where good people stood against evil, even if you couldn't find a doctor who woulden't drug you and lock you up at his private sanatorium. This style demanded strongly defined heroes and villains, although the more sophisticated heroes might be fairly jaded, and have their own bad habits. Actually, everyone has bad habits, as well as regrets, debts and losing bets."

So the pulps included westerns, detectives, jungle adventure, gangsters, tales of the Orient (the yellow peril), love stories, aviation, war, fantastic science, mad scientists, Nazi's, aliens, horror, other worlds, dinosaurs, apes etc etc..

other good web sites for helping define pulp are

http://www.thepulp.net/
http://www.normansaunders.com/PULPS.HTML
http://www.pulpmags.org/cover_gallery.html

I hope this helps our discussion and our selection of movies

[warrenpeace]

Thanks for those links, warlord frod! Those links are really great.

I think the 1998/99 TV series "The Lost World" has been mentioned already. But here's the trailer:

[PortCharmers]

Just flicked through my collection and found some that might fit the bill:

Dr. Strangelove
V for Vendetta
Public Enemies
Shadow of the Vampire
Porco Rosso
Chicago
Amelia

And some gems from the german speaking world:
Ijon Tichy
Raumpatrouille Orion
Nick Knatterton

[pistolpete]

Never thought about it until rewatching it last night but but 'guardians of the galaxy' could be considered pulp sci-fi.

[Calimero]

Congo (1995) Can't remember if it was any good though

[northtroll]

Well somebody beat me to Nate and Hayes- bravo to you! As far mysteries go, while not being pulp they certainly have atmosphere. I recommend the Miss Fisher mysteries, either the books or the shows with Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher. She is a real pulp hero with moxie!