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The Palm Beach Story--Rudy Vallee as J.D. Hackensacker III Miriam Hopkins as The Richest Girl in the World Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World

Spoilers Neat ending. The little guy will pay for his crime but the end note of a bureau with trophies suggests that he paid for his crime and went on to great things. Mickey Rooney was great! Such naturalness, he always had that. It was particularly evident in the Andy Hardy series (Oh c'mon stop laughing, boyish enthusiasm ad nauseum, but still good). He acquired his skill for having been in movies almost before he was born. Other actors have striven for this and they succeed somewhat but you could still see they were acting. Mickey Rooney doesn't act, he just is. A letter perfect performance IMHO. I will go out on a limb. Mick was so great that his consummate skill of coming across as natural rubbed off on the other actors, I could almost seeing them emulating him without perhaps even realizing it. This last point, maybe not ; but I suspect it, that's my opinion. Don't mistake Mick of simply being low-key or heaven forbid bland, none of this at all, he was great. And to happily belabor the point, Mickey Rooney received a rather generous accolade from Sir Lawrence Olivier. Okay big deal, though Larry did after all know a thing or two about acting and I imagine he had a pretty good eye for it. I believe he was being probed to mention truly find actors, even his favorite actor of all. He mentioned the name Mickey Rooney. Perhaps not to say definitely that Mick was his favorite or the greatest, but the comment was in this context. As already pointed out, Eddie's likening of Dianne Foster to Rita Hayworth was correct. It was so astonishing at first that I almost groaned. But Dianne comes into her own with a fine performance and the likening became blurred as the movie progressed. She was herself and fine. Also already mentioned Barbara Mathews went through the motions of Femme Fatale but she was indeed most "reluctant." Did someone mention earlier that Barbara fell for Eddie Shannon. Or How could anyone fall for stiff like this or something like that. She did not love Eddie. He was a decent guy, that's all. She feared abject guilt if things went wrong and Eddie went to prison. But I think she was decent enough to feel for him personally, she did not want him to go to prison. It wasn't practicable for Eddie to do a trial run of the crooked road. First, it would take extra minutes that the movie could ill afford, and second and most importantly it would detract from the absolute thrill of the actual run during the robbery. Yes, I said thrilling. By rights, it should probably not be thought as necessarily anything special but I loved it. I thought it was quite dramatic and exciting. I have never been a real fan of Kevin McCarthy. There is generally a stiffness in his acting. But he is not bad. He survives. And Jack Kelly who I have not seen in anything but Maverick. Interesting how the two bad guys differ. Kevin is the brains and someone you could trust so long you were also a bad guy whereas Jack appeared a bit on the wild side and perhaps a loose cannon of sorts. Interest to me that they didn't cast these parts with actors with more of a sinister gait, actors known for bad guys. But maybe a good decision that they did not. Perhaps too obvious and the movie did not need them. There is a fine verisimilitude to the story. I did not notice any overt noir elements but I can miss things like that. Did I read above somewhere (sorry, to lazy to look and it is late) that Eddie Muller pointed out a plot hole. I saw the mention but not what it was. And so I conjecture, was it by chance that the car was unlocked allowing Harold Baker (Kelly) to get in the car? Boy, that was glaring. "Eddie Shannon ran into a door." Very funny. They did not want to make Eddie hideous but they wanted him to be almost excessively unattractive and apparently being of small stature (euphemism for 'pipsqueak") was not enough so they cursed him with a scar. "Some scars can be attractive," says Barbara. But this one wasn't. I did not see it clearly until he stands there in the Malibu sun stammering and shifting uncomfortably as she flirts with him. And wow what a doozy. His face looked like a road map. "On a clear night you can see Catalina Island" A good way to establish the setting. PS : Just for balance, Mickey Rooney can be annoying. Puck. Not all bad but definitely annoying at times, all that forced giggling) ///

ANNIE — Daddy Warbucks CRAZY RICH ASIANS TITANIC/A NIGHT TO REMEMBER — first class was full of many of the richest men in the world — Astor, Guggenheim, etc

The Navigator (1924) The Great Gatsby (1925/1949/1974/2013) Harold and Maude (1971) Arthur (1981) Melvin and Howard (1980) Trading Places (1983) The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) Marie Antoinette (1938/2006) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Billionaire Boys Club (2018)

Larainne Day flashes back to her childhood in The Locket Ray Milland recalls meeting Jane Wyman in The Lost Weekend Henry Fonda recalls his past in The Long Night

I have to agree with this statement, Ray, though he was very good in Stella Dallas made at Goldwyn around the same time that he signed on with Warner Brothers. At Warners, though, he loosened up as a performer, playing gregarious, perpetually laughing or cheery types, often good friends (or a little later) fathers to the leading man. I think, in retrospect, that Hale's peak period at the studio, when he had his best roles in top studio productions, was from 1938 (Robin Hood) to 1942 (Gentleman Jim). During this period Hale's charm and personality seriously competed with that of many leading men. No wonder Errol Flynn later called him (affectionately) the most feared character actor in Hollywood as far as scene stealing was concerned. For some reason after 1942 Warners, while still casting Hale in a lot of productions, was no longer using him as well as they had previously. He was appearing in a lot of minor productions, musicals, westerns, dramas, but often with less screen time than before and in roles lacking the substance of, say, Jimmy Cagney's scalawag father in The Strawberry Blonde or laughing Ed Carlsen in They Drive By Night. At least he was reunited with Flynn one last time in Adventures of Don Juan in 1948. Hale was more subdued in this film than he had been previously but the two actors still had that marvelous screen chemistry which brought more to their scenes than it would have if those roles had been played by other actors. According to one source Flynn suffered depression following Hale's death in January, 1950. Here they are talking on the Don Juan set:

I see that TCM is showing ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC tomorrow at 5:45pm (EST). This made me think of how this Warner Bros. film benefits from, among other things, lovely character support from one of the studio's great stalwart performers, Alan Hale. In view of that I thought it might be time to revive this old thread devoted to one of the best character actors Hollywood ever had.

One of my most prized possessions is a film book called "Heroes Of The Horrors" by Calvin Thomas Beck, published in 1975. It has biographies and the all of the films of the following actors. Name your favorite film of each one. It doesn't necessarily have to be a horror film since they didn't all do strictly horror movies. 1. Lon Chaney Sr 2. Bela Lugosi 3. Boris Karloff 4. Peter Lorre 5. Lon Chaney Jr 6. Vincent Price Here's mine: 1, Lon Chaney Sr-The Unknown (1927) One of the most bizarre films ever made. Lon plays a circus performer with no arms, he falls for another performer (Joan Crawford) who hates being touched by men. It has several twists in the story ending in a shocking and ironic ending. 2. Bela Lugosi-The Raven (1935) A twisted tale of revenge with Bela in his most exuberant performance. He is a raving mad surgeon who is rejected by a woman and decides to have her and her family tortured and killed by his devices inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. The scene where he goes completely bonkers. waving his arms (while holding a gun) and laughing hysterically is a real sight to see. 3. Boris Karloff-The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) his most famous role of the Frankenstein Monster and this is his best performance. He can be scary as he menaces villagers, funny and touching in his scenes with the blind man. 4. Peter Lorre-Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) I tried to find a film where he had the lead role, but I kept coming back to this one, my favorite black comedy. He is part of an ensemble but he one of the standouts. He plays a drunken plastic surgeon and sidekick to killer Raymond Massey. Lorre tosses off some of the funniest lines with great subtlety and dark humor. 5. Lon Chaney Jr-The Wolf Man (1941) his first of 5 appearances as the title werewolf. This one is my favorite since he starts off as a normal guy, a fun loving chap with a crush on his neighbor Evelyn Ankers. When he is cursed to be a snarling beast, his character becomes anguished and guilt ridden, which is how his character is in all of his later Wolf Man films. His eyes gleam with bloodlust under all that makeup. 6. Vincent Price-House Of Wax (1953) he made many great films before and after this one, but this made him a horror star. He starts off as a slightly eccentric artist but goes mad when his wax creations are destroyed. So he also creates some sympathy for the character while also being very menacing.

I recall going with some male friends to see DELIVERANCE when it was released. We all enjoyed the film except for its shockingly uncomfortable "Squeal like a pig" scene. As it became increasingly apparent what the hillbilly had in store for poor Ned Beatty I heard my friend Steve, sitting beside me. say, "Tell me when it's over." I glanced over at him to see that he was staring at the floor of the theatre. After we were past the worst of the scene I told him it was okay to look up again.

It's a lot of fun, a charming rom-com with the usual triangle/complications. Janet Gaynor retired from movies in 1938. She was coaxed out of retirement for one more film in 1957 back at her old stomping grounds 20th Century Fox. In THREE LOVES HAS NANCY, she's in peak form.

Lon Chaney Sr. - THE UNKNOWN, bizarre, masochistic story with one of the most remarkable moments of acting I've ever seen, that when Chaney learns that Crawford likes the touch of a man's arms around her after he had just . . . okay, I'll say no more for those who haven't seen the film. Bela Lugosi - ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, with his second of only two portrayals of Dracula. A film that manages to be very funny as well as paying respect to its monster characters, to the extent that the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula are more effectively presented in this comedy horror film than they are in many of their straight horror features at Universal. Boris Karloff - BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a marvelous black comedy horror feature with unexpected moments of sensitivity. Despite Mel Brooks lampoon of the scene years later the blind hermit scene is still capable of producing tears. Peter Lorre - CASABLANCA. Lorre's not in the film enough (my chief complaint about the production) but this remains one of the most marvelously entertaining romantic melodramas produced by Hollywood, with perfect casting and crackling, smart dialogue. One of my favourite moments in the film is Bogart's response when Lorre asks him, "You despise me, don't you, Rick?" Lon Chaney Jr - ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN again. Okay, here's another title: OF MICE AND MEN, with Chaney's great, sympathetic performance as simple minded Lenny. He never had a finer moment as an actor even if he will be primarily remembered for his horror films. Vincent Price - LAURA, Otto Preminger's sophisticated exploration of film noir, a film that shimmers in good taste, from its black and white photography of stunning art direction to the classic "Laura theme" by David Raskin to a cast that are perfect in their roles. Poor Dana Andrews, falling in love with a dead woman through her portrait on the wall. While Price has a supporting role he makes shallow, weak Shelby Carpenter a credible characterization.

I remember his 100th Birthday tribute. I saw it with Ben and his daughter. It was great. She talked about what a really great cook he was too. Hey. How old would he be now?

Collinwood basement could've been a speakeasy!

How about seeing the Collins family and supernatural fiends tangle with hippies? (And no, Buzz doesn't count, he was so lame!). A really hot topic would have been how to deal with the civil rights at the time....but then we hardly ever saw any African-Americans on DARK SHADOWS, save Tom Jennings' nurse and King Johnny's servant Istvan. Maybe Istvan could have returned as a ghost to haunt Barnabas for sending him off Widows' Hill.

Witchfinder General is so bleak, I believe those who say that the director committed suicide after making it. I saw it first at the Museum of Modern Art. There is a beautifully sweet young hero, played by Ian Ogilvy. By the end, Ogilvy breaks free of his chains, grabs an axe, and begins hacking Price to pieces. Ogilvy's friend comes in, shoots the hacked Price, and says "May God have mercy on us all." Ogilvy, quite justifiably crazed by this point, shouts at his friend, "YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!" And you know what? The audience felt the same. We wanted more hacking of the evil Price. The film ends with Ogilvy's girlfriend, chained to a table, screaming, a primal scream. Best in the UK print, which has a great musical score, which fits the horror in the midst of beauty theme of the film.

Maybe he meant the 'old hand' when referring to the Gleason character? The dynamics of the old pro and the new pup.

Some folks have mentioned a certain naturalness and seemingly “un” acting quality of Rooney, and I agree. But it was only in glimpses that we saw this in Crooked Road. The movie he really shines in is Requiem for a Heavyweight.

HOWARDS END (1992)

OKAY LEGIT NOW, I HAVE IT: ALTERNATE 1871 where COLLINWOOD is an ALL GIRL'S SCHOOL run by JOAN BENNETT and GRAYSON HALL.... (AND OF COURSE, BAD THINGS HAPPEN...)

The SCOOBY DOO/ DARK SHADOWS crossover we all felt was destined to be...?

My wife and I watched Wait Until Dark a few weeks back. The only memorable experience I had was after the ending she said to me "you're replacing that Fridge light by this weekend!". I tried pointing out that it was really the opposite; that if that light had been out Audrey would have been in less danger. I replaced the light the following day.

Has anyone ever thought about storylines if the show had continued? What plots would they have mined? Sam Hall said they spent hours (meaning minions) going through everything in the public domain from which to borrow/steal. I'm thinking something in the realm of extraterrestrial UFOs would have been in the picture! So few years from E.T.

You know, this is difficult since they've all done many great works. Hard to pare them all down to one pick each. Chaney Sr.--- I'll go along with THE UNKNOWN Lugosi-- DRACULA is still up there for me. KARLOFF-- His against type role in DEVIL'S ISLAND ('39) Lorre--- Toss up between his role in M and as Dr. Gogol in MAD LOVE('35) Chaney Jr.--- Sure. Hard to top THE WOLF MAN('41) Price--- DRAGONWYCK('46) Sepiatone

Gates, Nancy

Thanks for Blind Chance. Just added to WatchTCM. Big Fella is notable mostly for Robeson's singing and a cameo by his wife, Eslanda, as the café bar maid. Rutherford's singing, as a character in the film put it, is sweet. But the plot is worse than trivial and Paul has little of interest to do but croon.

In the "First Film That Comes to Mind" thread, Laffite gave a clue ("Lots and lots of fairies") that reminded me of a favorite film. The film, Kingdom of the Fairies (1903), is one of the pioneering films of Georges Melies. I can watch this nearly 17-minute film again and again. It's charm and style beats just about anything made today.

Similarly to Debbie Reynolds, the collector that previously owned MM's gold pleated lamé dress was going broke keeping his collection- He was "touring" his collection to any Museum that would take his exhibit. It costs the Museum to lease the show & that helps defray the cost of transport, storage, handling repair, etc. It's not cheap. Just like every other collector, they often sell a few pieces to pay for keeping the rest of the collection. I was very glad to have had the chance to see this exhibit along with another pair of ruby slippers. Also saw the pair at the Smithsonian. Right now prices in the antiques market is very low. This makes all the people with funny money come out of the woodwork looking for a "bargain". The few pieces I'm working on are selling for half their value of 20 years ago, still $40,000 though.

Tuesday, September 14 8 p.m. The Paper Chase (1973). Decent law school film by James Bridges.

I like how it's like "Wow the bidding was crazy during this recession" like uh if you ask me 4.6 mil is ALOT to spend on a dress regardless of whether there is a recession or not lol The rich are something else I tell ya.😂

The new “look” is horrifying! Really? Why? Classic film attracts individuals who are seeking the flavor and aesthetics of a different era. TCM is not a Motion Picture course at college where everything is dissected and discussed, it is a PAID for by viewers entertainment channel. The graphics and sounds are in no way alluring or representative of what the channel has always been, CLASSIC. This is almost as upsetting as the lost MTV format.

A STAR IS BORN (1937)

I probably watch too much crime. The poster for Female Jungle could have shown a woman being strangled, as the film opens with her murder, but instead opted to show another female, Jayne "Sex on the Rocks" Mansfield, hanging on to a knife-wielding assailant's leg. This never happened, but with suspects like Lawrence Tierney and John Carradine, who cares? It's one of those 72 minute "so bad it's good" flicks. Jayne earned a total of $150. for her role. Full movie here if you have an hour to kill.

SAY ANYTHING (1989)

The Split (1968)

Get-TV is showing Casey Jones, a late 50s T.V. show about trains that stars Hale Jr. and Dub Taylor. The first time I even heard of the show was when I ran into it last month. The show isn't that good but it does feature some guest actors that are familiar. It only lasted for 32 episodes.

MOVIE-TV is showing The Clay Pigeon.

I'd never seen the film before, and what particularly struck me was how unexpectedly beautiful, dreamlike, and even poetic the conception, lighting, and special-effects work were in all those demon-appearance scenes. I guess I had been bracing myself for something disappointingly cheesy, and was instead reminded more of something like, say, Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête, where a great deal of loving care had clearly been put into making such scenes as hauntingly expressive as possible, rather than merely "scary." A good reminder that memorable artistry exists in every genre of filmmaking.

The main reason for this, Lorna, was the simultaneous making of the two movies. If you'd read or seen Rebecca and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you pretty much knew how the story was going to go. The cast was divided into movie and TV groups, and the writers had to work around that with--such is the nature of soaps--no time off. The overreach of making movies and a serial simultaneously doomed the show as thoroughly as any witch's curse. Dan Curtis may be the David O. Selznick of daytime TV. With predictable stories, DS no longer had that "Dirk bit three people today!" vibe where you just had to watch. At its best DS created its own memorable villains--Barnabas (originally), Angelique, Rev. Trask, Nicholas Blair, Quentin (originally), Count Petofi. Gerard was basically a rerun of Evil Quentin, but James Storm played the villainy well, too. The casting department outdid themselves finding those particular actors. The writers never developed the potential of Marie Wallace's Eve as a villain, but she did leave the show to play a more prominent role on Somerset. The stories weren't always polished or thoroughly developed, but once Barnabas became the hero of the show, DS wasn't simply repeating the vampire and werewolf stories the way 1970 Parallel Time was a knockoff. Even the Leviathan story wasn't a bad idea: Collinwood threatened by a group with certain magical powers is a solid premise. I thought the concept of Parallel Time would be the salvation of DS because the show could go to different eras in the past with new characters for the repertory actors to play, but the show was canceled too soon for that to happen.

Eddie was right -- Dianne Foster really looked and sounded like Rita Hayworth in DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD, so her appearance sort of dovetails appropriately in a nostalgically noir way with Columbia's tony production values (along with that haunting, modern score) and her role as femme fatale; unfortunately this lushness doesn't mesh with the "low-budget" air of the particular story and Rooney's schlemiel-like character.

I'm a little surprised at how few photos seem to be available on the internet of father and son. They sure were lookalikes. Gretchen Hartman, Alan Jr.'s mother and Alan Sr.'s wife of over 30 years (she died in 1979).

PROFESSIONALS, The (1966-Western) Featuring an ♠ Ace♠ cast.

Levant, Oscar

Jory, Victor

Western Trails 1938 Guilty Trails 1938 The Phantom Stage 1939 next: Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake

^ I always think of NEIL YOUNG's Decade collection every time I hear BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD...

Ben Best Dies: ‘Eastbound & Down’ Co-Creator And ‘The Foot Fist Way’ Writer And Co-Star Was 46 https://deadline.com/2021/09/ben-best-dead-eastbound-and-down-the-foot-fist-way-actor-writer-1234831788/

BLOOD ON THE SUN (1945)

Sunday, September 12/13 11:15 p.m. Big Fella (1937). A film Paul Robeson made in Britain. Margaret Rutherford has a small part. 3:15 a.m. Blind Chance (1981). Interesting Polish film with trio of ‘what if’ stories based on whether a man manages to catch a train or not. Made in 1981 but not released until 1987 as was the case with so many films from behind the iron curtain.