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I would like to clearly state here that I am not questioning TopBilled's intelligence. He writes well and clearly knows much about classic movies (and, I've little doubt, not-so-classic movies as well.) I am merely questioning his interpretation of the Norman Bates character in Psycho. And I am not the only poster here to be doing so.

It’s deeper than that. It’s the rejection she feels, knowing that all her friends know that her boyfriend slept with another girl in her class. It destroyed her. When she tells him “I have no pride.” She is at that point of breaking, disregarding her mother and is now throwing herself at him. He rejects her. Rejection hurts, rejection can destroy people. It’s not all about sex, it’s deep love for the person you were dreaming of spending the rest of your life with. It made less sense that Bud’s father jumps out of a window, over MONEY?? That’s okay though. Suicide over money.

Talk about stranger than fiction. It was 40 years ago this week that President Reagan -- barely 10 weeks into his first term -- was wounded in a failed assassination attempt outside the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981. The man credited with saving the president's life was Secret Service agent Jerry Parr. When the would-be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr., began firing at Reagan, Parr reacted by shoving the president into a waiting limousine and jumping on top of him. The limousine then sped off to the emergency room of the George Washington University Medical Center. Reagan, shot once with a .22-caliber bullet, underwent surgery for two hours. He was back at the White House 12 days later. Parr, who was a member of the Secret Service for 23 years, said his interest in the agency began when he was nine years old. His father took him to see the 1939 film "Code of the Secret Service," which starred Reagan as Agent Brass Bancroft. Has anyone seen this picture?

I think you meant HollywoodGolightly. Let's not drag Audrey Hepburn into this! Oh, maybe I should not have used "drag."

Calm down. No one is bullying you, it's called debate.

Jane Wyman:

I know you were probably thinking 'hit man' like: Foreign Correspondent but my first thoughts were different: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Apocalypse Now I Want to Live!

Murder by Contract (1958) Grosse Point Blank (1998) Telefon (1977) The Parallax View (1974)

A Dandy in Aspic 1968 Scorpio 1973 Three Days of the Condor 1975

Hard Contract 1969 The Day of the Jackal 1973 The Man With the Golden Gun 1974 The Eiger Sanction 1975

The Mechanic (1972) Enemy of the State (1998) Leon the Professional (1994) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Can't talk about famous movie hats without mentioning THE WIZARD OF OZ I love the Munchkins' oversized and plant-based hats:

By a long shot. 😡 Or, questioning his obviously motivated "Well, everyone SHOULD think it's a gay/trans issue, even if it isn't; I'm dedicated in my belief, and if you just can't see it, you're against a good cause!" attempt to push the issue out of personal idealism long past the point where logic is rapidly winning against him. Sometimes, there's a time to just give up the fight for cultural appropriation, even if it's to try and jam a good cause into the discussion till it fits.

Nah, it doesn't contain any of that stuff. And nobody except perhaps you is thinking Norman Bates is "supposed to be transitioning to a woman". How can someone who claims to be so educated in film studies possibly think that?

In honor of Easter Bunnies, here are a bunch of rabbits wearing hats: My favorite movie rabbit from HOLY GRAIL (my excuse -- the guy is wearing a helmet)

Another one if you haven't seen it is Spring Night Summer Night (1967).

I was considering a double feature of The Legend of Lylah Clare and Myra Breckenridge. Do you think that is too much for one evening?

Who's the Boss? Next: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Michael Kenneth Williams

Mr. TopBilled says: It's interesting that you mention her. I was thinking about her yesterday when I read misswonderly's posts. I remember when I started here years ago, I received some private messages from HollywoodGolightly. I think she lived in the Seattle area, because she talked about the weather there and that her favorite director was Tim Burton. She felt bullied and stopped posting about a year or two later. I think she was a very sensitive soul. Looking back on it now, I bet she private messaged me in the early days and took me under her wing because she felt I was a kindred soul. And she didn't want me to feel bullied or run off. I've been here about ten years with over 120,000 posts. I would never quit posting because someone else does not know how to communicate a difference opinion as a mature adult. I would only quit posting the day I feel I have run out of things to say about classic film. Anyway, I had sent a private message to misswonderly and the moderator yesterday, which is why misswonderly came on a short time later to try and justify her behavior. I had asked misswonderly not to quote me anymore or to reference me directly, because I think that kind of nonsense will derail threads where she and I are both posting our views/opinions. My concern with misswonderly's recent behavior is that she does not seem to be content with simple disagreements. She goes out of her way to insult/attack someone whose views differ sharply then her own. In my message to her and the mod I stated that this is a community and we should be supportive of one another. Trying to justify bullying is not acceptable, it is not the solution to anything. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________- I am not quoting this gentleman, I merely copied and pasted his post. I will admit, it is hard to resist the temptation to mock far-fetched self-serving theories about films. But I should know better than to do it with Mr. TB, as this is one of his favourite activities on these boards. (Not mocking. Positing far-fetched self-serving theories about film.) If someone were to mock any comments I make about films, I would be somewhat flattered (depending on the mockification style) and possibly amused. I do not hold with "bullying", however, Mr. TB's definition of the word is different from mine. I will confess, I have little patience with far-fetched theories, especially when the one holding the theory clings to it despite reasonable rebuttals (alliteration !) from others. If Mr. TB would like to mock - all in the spirit of good fun - any posts I have made here on this thread, I would not mind at all. Afterwards we can all sit down to some delicious healthy steamed kale.

I do remember back then when a few of us were griping about it and someone brought up(and he was a Nixon supporter by the way) , "Our president's great plan for face saving withdrawal from Viet Nam." To which another in the group quickly quipped, --- "Withdrawal was something Nixon's Father should have considered 60 years ago!" Sepiatone

"IMMA LET YOU FINISH, RONALD REAGAN, BUT BEYONCE HAD THE BIGGEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!"

Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

Look where it all started. Thankfully, he's been turned off.

A few of Merle Oberon's beautiful hats from THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL:

I have my Mother's copy, given to me for my 16th birthday. I loved how spoiled Scarlett was and recognized myself in her emotional reactions. I loved how as her world fell apart around her she took charge. I liked the Wilkes' and other charactors, her relationship with her Mother, so stodgy just like any teen views their parents. I liked how she was brought up to be helpless but ended up responsible for many. I've tried reading it again but just can't get through it. As for Norman being transgender/cross dresser in PSYCHO....didn't the Dr say Norman dressed like his Mother to keep her alive by "giving up his own life" for her to live through him? It was Mother who killed the girl, not Norman.

From March 31-April 2, 1921, the feature at the Poli was Always Audacious, starring Wallace Reid in the double roll of Perry Danton and Slim Attucks. The film was released on November 14, 1920, at five reels, and is presumed lost. Plot: Millionaire Perry Danton, whose motto is “Always Audacious,” is regarded as an idler by his family and their lawyer, Theron Ammidown. Perry cannot receive his full inheritance until he has proven himself capable of hard work. Ammidown gives Perry a position in his office, and promises he will turn over all the Danton property to him. Meanwhile, a gang of crooks headed by Slim Attucks, have discovered that their leader bears a remarkable resemblance to Perry. They concoct a scheme, but first Slim tests the resemblance by taking Perry’s fiancée, Camilla Hoyt, to lunch. She believes he is Perry, so the plan proceeds. Slim places two of his gang in the Danton home, as butler and maid. He then places a telephone operator in Ammidown’s office. The next day, Slim knocks out Perry and has him shanghaied on a steamer to South America. Slim then dresses in Perry’s clothes and poses as Danton, fooling everyone. When Perry sends a distress telegram to Ammidown, the lawyer dismisses it as a gag. Slim takes over Perry’s position with the lawyer, and learns all the private affairs of Danton. He also plans to marry Camilla. When Perry returns, he is refused permission to his own home, since no one believes his story. Camilla turns him away. Ammidown wants nothing to do with him. Perry then enlists the help of a newspaper editor and reporter and promises them a big story if they will help him. A test is arranged in Ammidown’s office, in which questions will be asked of Perry and Slim. But since Perry is ignorant of his own affairs, he fails miserably, and only boosts Slim’s credibility. The reporter still believes Perry’s story, and arranges for another test, but Perry again performs poorly, leading the reporter to denounce him. However, Perry’s dog saves the day when he is able to identity his master, and the impostor is exposed. Exhibitor’s Herald wrote that Reid “gives his usual excellent performance, adds another histrionic achievement in his success in impersonating two men exact in every detail except that while one looks from the eyes of a sneak, the other sees with those of an honest man.” Motion Picture News stated that the film was “a first class picture any way you take it – a great audience picture because it is packed with good action, adventure, love interest, intrigue and mystery. Improbable? Yes. But so cleverly done that one doesn’t hunt for truth but entertainment.” Moving Picture World added “a plot like this, in which the chief character faces the difficulty of proving his own identity after an impostor has usurped his place, is not unfamiliar, but when manipulated as in this drama, it offers absorbing entertainment.” Also on the bill was the team of Lyons and Yosco, described as “2 funny w o p s.” Lyons does not strike me as an Italian name, but so be it. This duo started their career just before 1910. George Lyons was a harpist, and Robert Yosco a violinist, as well as a singer. The pair went their separate ways in the early 1920s. Yosco, who died in Brooklyn in 1942, wrote several songs, with such titles as “Rose of Italy” and “Macaroni Joe.” Finally, the trio of Hunter, Randall & Senorita appeared in the “scream farce” entitled “On The Mexican Border.” Topical, to say the least.

Quilty, Clare -- Peter Sellers in Lolita

Yep, correct with bonus points for answering the other top Oscar winners that night! Here's a picture of Colbert accepting her Oscar with coat in hand: The question goes back to you, Starlit.

TAKE A LETTER, DARLING

Peabody, Judy was played by Betty Hutton in The Stork Club 1945

O'Bannon, Crick - Fred MacMurray in Cafe Society

The Day the Earth Stood Still

I began to watch Calling Philo Vance (1940) when it was on TCM the other day, then realized it was a remake of The Kennel Murder Case (1933), so switched it off. Instead, I watched The Dragon Murder Case (1934), which I think I have seen before, but which is great fun. A mansion filled with people, most of whom don't like each other; a pool party where three men dive in, only two come out (of a very strange pool!) The film features as nutty and enjoyable a cast as you'd expect to find in a Philo Vance movie. Warren William excels as Vance, but the two most delightful characters are Eugene Pallette as Sgt. Heath, the bumbling inspector; and Etienne Girardot as Dr. Doremus, the exasperated coroner, who is always getting called away from his meals. The interplay between Heath and Doremus is hilarious. Pallette played Sgt. Heath in six movies; Girardot played Doremus in three films. Kudos also to Helen Lowell, as a mad old lady. Lyle Talbot is a major supporting character; mysterious at first, benevolent in fact. An odd thing: someone says to him, nastily, "That's just what I would expect from someone of your race." That's referred to once more, but there's no mention, as far as I could tell, of what his race is supposed to be. Two exchanges between Girardot (Doremus) and Pallette (Heath): Dr. Doremus: Ernest, it's clear that you don't know much about women. Now I'll tell you, women are, generally speaking... Sergeant Ernest Heath: You certainly said it! They ARE generally speaking! **************** Dr. Doremus: [Leaving the scene, thoroughly annoyed that the body was not dead] Now I'm going to get some breakfast... [turning for one last word] Dr. Doremus: ... and, Heath, don't you call me out here again unless you've got a corpse. I'm here as a coroner, not as a doctor! Sergeant Ernest Heath: [shouting after him sarcastically] Why don't you learn to carry a hard-boiled egg in your pocket? Eugene Pallette, Warren William, Etienne Girardot Helen Lowell, Lyle Talbot, Warren William

Thank you, thank you ! Just what I was saying , but you said it better !

The only thing that's scary about looking at Norman as a trans individual is that it's apparently possible to be so profoundly wrong in interpreting a movie. To suggest that anyone who doesn't think Norman Bates is "trans" is a homophobe or transphobe is just ridiculous. Pompous and consdescending too.

Lawrence, Marjorie, played by Eleanor Parker in "Interrupted Melody"

The Carpetbaggers 1964 Legend of Lylah Clare 1968 Beyond The Valley of the Dolls 1970

Who is nothing like Sophia Loren. Perhaps I should have mentioned Nude Nuns With Big Guns instead.

How to Frame a Fig (1971)

For anyone who is interested in the Pepe le Moko remake, Algiers (1938) happens to be scheduled on TCM this coming Thursday, April 1 at 4:15 pm Eastern time (both U.S. and Canada). Algiers qualifies for 31 Days of Oscar with 4 nominations - actor Charles Boyer, supporting actor Gene Lockhart, cinematography by James Wong Howe, and art direction by Alexander Toluboff.

Subject matter aside, it is a technical achievement in Hollywood filmmaking, given that it's only 10 years or so removed the commercial adoption of sound, and its use of cumbersome Technicolor technology of the era.

In some regards, I think Gone With the Wind is held up still as a model of filmmaking because of its sheer momentum. It's an almost four hour film that feels much shorter (plenty of movies that are three hours long begin to feel a bit draggy). Do I regard it as an accurate portrayal of the South prior to the war? No, far from it in fact, as storywise its closer to one of those sweeping miniseries they used to put on TV in the 80s like The Thorn Birds, and even Hattie McDaniel only has 10 minutes onscreen. But it is a character study with fine acting, especially from Vivian Leigh. Its also one of the quintessential "women's pictures" and one of the earliest depictions (outside of gangster films) of an antihero in a Hollywood film.

Precisely. Norman is just messed up mentally, and isn't gay or a transgender or a cross dresser in the normal sense. This would be true of the killer in De Palma's Psycho rip-off Dressed to kill (1980), but not of Norman in Psycho.

Oh, please. Silly pretentious drivel. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a mentally ill young man who misses his mommy is just a mentally ill young man who misses his mommy.

The Thrill Of It All (1963) TCM-7/10 A doctor's wife becomes a TV spokeswoman which disrupts her household. The first time I have seen this all the way through, it was a funny 1960s domestic comedy with some satire on TV. Doris Day is as funny as ever with her shocked expressions and line delivery. She has great chemistry with James Garner, who turns in one of his best comedic performances. He is probably Day's best leading man right after Rock Hudson. Carl Reiner co wrote this and has some amusing cameos as a TV actor. There are several old pro characters in this. Edward Andrews and Arlene Francis play an older couple expecting a baby. Zasu Pitts plays a live in maid and has one of the funniest scenes when she finds Garner in her room at night. Reginald Owen is a an irascible soap company tycoon, 25 years after he played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE (1969)

It's very concerning how rabidly angry Twitter mobs seem to have so much power. They can get people fired, ruin the lives of anyone they deem to be out-of-step with their own self-righteous views, and, apparently, get an entire television channel (a non-commercial one at that !) extinguished. I loathe those people who seem to spend half their lives posting angry nasty Twitter comments, often without even looking into the details of whatever they're so furious about.

Just in time for 31 Days, some interesting stats I found from an acquaintance on the internet. Runtime totals (and the percentage of how much of the film they were in) for all 4 of the acting categories with almost all the nominees from the 20s to today listed. Some are surprisingly long or short. leading Actor: https://www.screentimecentral.com/leading-actor-nominees leading Actress: https://www.screentimecentral.com/leading-actress-nominees supporting Actor; https://www.screentimecentral.com/supporting-actor-nominees supporting Actress: https://www.screentimecentral.com/supporting-actress-nominees