Members

Years ago, whenever this movie would show up somewhere, I would turn the channel after just a few minutes. Not sure why, but I did. Then I sat through the thing; then sat through it again. And again. And one day I found myself absolutely enchanted by this movie. Since then it has become one of my favorite musicals, and I will go to battle with anyone who tries to talk me out of dropping it from my top 2 or 3 joys! (please don't let that discourage anyone -- most of you probably have a good 15 to 20 years on me, so have at it!) Most movies go by at a fairly good pace, but in my opinion IAFW has not a wasted second in it. The story and characters are well-fleshed out with fine precision. Though the story has at its core a rather bittersweet premise, everything that unfolds from it is a terrific carousel ride with some very convincing character development. In contrast to much of the Freed Unit productions, this movie's colors are subdued --- neutral grays and browns for a good portion of the film. The songs are top drawer, really top drawer -- outstanding contributions from Comden & Green and Andre Previn. Aurally, it's a joy and delight. The dances then are inventively wonderful to watch as well. I'll admit that in the last few years the Gene Kelly star has lost some of its shine for me, but he is engaging in this film. Though I know Dan Daily was a song and dance man, it still surprises me that he is on screen singing and dancing! And when Michael Kidd is in the picture, he's the one I focus my attention on. Now, I'll match Cyd Charisse's number in Stillman's Gym against anything else she's done. And then there's that voluptuous volcano of an entertainer in Dolores Gray! (How does anyone even think of combining Clifton Webb and Marlon Brando into a perfect man!) So I'll admit it: I love "It's Always Fair Weather." I'll shout it from the rooftops, and I don't care who knows it. So who's with me on this? Any takers?

My favorite musical number in the film is Delores Gray"s "Thanks A Lot, But No Thanks.' I also always get a kick out of the "I Shouldn't Have Come" number.

I loved her & her films. She was on one of the TCM cruises that I attended. It was pretty good, but it was a time when her husband was very ill & it was sad hearing her speak about it. She was still very lovely.

the lighter side of stress: Robert Hays feels the stress of landing the Airplane! Steve Martin snaps under the stress of traveling with John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles The constant presence of Harvey stresses Josephine Hull in High Anxiety, (future director) Barry Levinson is so stressed out.. . ....he takes it out on Mel Brooks

Actually, The Blue Whale was a surprisingly open and tolerant joint. The real problem was the fact that Roger Collins had worn down the record of IT’S RAINING MEN on the jukebox to where it would no longer play.

This, minus the international intrigue...

Despite her success, and the high regard of her, she was still an underappreciated actress. She lacked the nuclear bomb presence of other actors. But her acting was always bright, energetic and solid, and was visible every moment she was on screen. And when she was, she was the center of attention, holding her own (and not barely, thank you very much) with anyone she was paired with, from the likes of Fred Astaire, oozing sophistication and class all over the place, to Howard Keel, munching up the scenery with his machismo. I laugh every time I see this: How has this not become a standard?: And this one of the great moments in cinema: Adam brings new wife Millie home to his high-country farm, where she meets more than she expected. We follow along with her in the turbulent crescendo of revelations about brothers, and household disorder. Stanley Donen plays on our stereotypic assumptions leading us to feel sorry for Millie and the shameful way she has been misled. And at the end of the scene as the camera pulls away, showing her small, isolated, confronted with a daunting burden, as she sets her books, her beloved father's legacy down to the table, everyone watching expects her to break down sobbing at Adam's cruel deception. But just at that very moment, she pushes up her sleeves and starts tackling the challenge. She doesn't feel sorry for herself, she doesn't weep and blame others for tricking her. No one forced her to marry Adam, and she wasn't someone to be taken in by fast talk. She was made mistress of a realm and it was up to her to make it what she would, a horror or a haven. Jane Powell beautifully underplays her reactions, allowing us to be the real victims of a deception. Issues about conventional gender roles can be raised, and I wouldn't dispute them, especially considering when the movie was made. But it also shows her as a person of strong character, taking responsibility for her own actions and their consequences, and responding brilliantly. That's some kind of woman.

She was a beautiful blue-eyed soprano who never lost her youthful outlook and surprisingly, for performer noted for singing, she could keep up with Fred Astaire step for step.

Jane in A Date With Judy: Jane in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers: Jane in Royal Wedding:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) - Humphrey Bogart as Fred C. Dobbs Vertigo (1958) - James Stewart as Scottie Ferguson The Children's Hour (1961) - Shirley MacLaine as Martha Dobie The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) - Jack Lemmon as Mel Edison Carrie (1976) - Sissy Spacek as Carrie White The Others (2001) - Nicole Kidman as Grace Stewart

Fay Wray in King Kong (1933) Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight (1944) Eddie Bracken in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit (1948) Joan Crawford in Sudden Fear (1952) Marilyn Monroe in Niagara (1953) Doris Day in Midnight Lace (1960) Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion (1965) Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (1967) Jeremy Davies in Saving Private Ryan (1998)

This reminds me of two other cats used as character props... Eve Arden in Stage Door (as if it were a white feather boa): Marlon Brando in The Godfather (which he apparently did spontaneously on-set, and which makes Don Corleone seem somehow less evil, although also preternaturally relaxed and self-confident):

Gotta say here Brian, your history with and your growing appreciation for this film somewhat mirrors mine, and evidenced by after a recent viewing of it on TCM, I found myself liking this movie much more than I remember having done in the past. Especially good point about that terrific Cyd Charisse number with all the boxers. (...btw, ever noticed that a very similar resolution of this storyline, the one of mobsters being unwittingly televised while disrupting a TV program, would later be used in the 1982 comedy My Favorite Year ?)

I was just about to post this when you posted the new one so this is for yesterday's, sorry I just missed it. Dino and his "alcoholic" beverage (which really was apple juice) Columbo's trench coat and cigar

Harpo Marx: rumpled tophat, carhorn cane, coat that holds everything Willy Wonka: walking stick Norma Desmond: sunglasses, eccentric cigarette holder George Raft: coin Charles Laughton: monocle (in Witness for the Prosecution and The Paradine Case) Carmen Miranda: pearls, bangles, tutti-frutti hat (sorry, exceeded my photo limit) There are also many films about the "history" of an object as it passes through the hands of various characters (e.g., The Yellow Rolls-Royce, The Red Violin, The Earrings of Madame De)

Hmm, maybe a different Iowa pool hall -- the one in River City. Lots of great tunes to get you through the day, though probably not everyone's cup of tea.

Jane Powell must have been the last of the famous MGM musical stars from the Golden Age. She introduced her signature song, "It's A Most Unusual Day," in 1949's A Date with Judy, based on a famous radio program. But she claimed her favorite of her musicals was 1950's Two Weeks with Love because it was the first movie that allowed her to play an adult. After June Allyson dropped out of Royal Wedding because of her pregnancy, and Judy Garland dropped out because of illness, Jane Powell was handed the role, proving she could hold her own dancing with Fred Astaire. Her rendition of "Too Late Now" received an Oscar nod for Best Song. One of her last musicals was 1957's delightful The Girl Most Likely at RKO. In her first musical, The Song of the Open Road, she played a character named Jane Powell and, according to her, liked the name so much, she changed her real name, Suzanne Burce, to Jane Powell. As you can probably tell, I am and will continue to be a big fan of this beautiful singer~~Jane Powell.

McDowell was one of the few child stars to proceed to a long and fruitful adult acting career. He was also known for being the confidant to an untold number of movie stars, and probably knew more of what went on in Hollywood than any other person. Unlike a more spiteful person might have, he was honest and kept their secrets to himself.

Today I was reading about his devotion to Montgomery Clift in the latter's biography. By 1955, Roddy's career was in a slump, before he regained his footing in a Broadway success a year or so later. With not much to do, he would stop over at Monty's NYC brownstone and look for chores to do around the house, and run errands. The author claims that McDowall was the only member of Monty's "family of friends" to remain close to him until Monty died on 7.23.1966. Roddy McDowall died on 10.3.1998.

I omitted to mention in my review of Greatest Show on Earth that one of the faces you see among the spectators is that of Arthur Q. Bryan, best known to some cartoon buffs today as the voice of Elmer Fudd. His character in the film is far more excited about the circus activity than is the quiet little kid accompanying him. That reminds me of myself. My parents took me to a circus at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto when I was six or so and they got more of a kick out of it than I did. The highlight of that visit for me was not the elephants and clowns but when I got in a lineup with my Dad to meet the Cisco Kid (Duncan Reynaldo). I recall Reynaldo riding his TV horse, Diablo, around the ring with his cowboy hat raised in the air to us. This has a direct a parallel to De Mille's film when all the kids cheer as William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy rides his horse in the ring.

The question was just asked by Eddie and Ben and the gang on a TCM interlude. Good question. I knew right away where I belonged - in that Ames, Iowa pool hall with Newman, Gleason, Scott, and the boys. I’d be the fella who swept the floor and tended to the pool tables. I know how to do that.

Love On The Run, 1936

THE FUZZY PINK NIGHTGOWN (1957)

THE CORN IS GREEN (1945)

Thanks, Dargo. I think at first I had some reluctance to get past what seemed like a hokey start -- the three army buddies marching along to the backdrop screens. But once I stayed until when the three sang "The Time for Parting," I was hooked -- and I knew it! That's one heck of a song for the plot point there, and the movie just sailed right along for me after that. Yes, Cyd goes a full 15 rounds in that ring with the Stillman Gym Alumni Association. One other thing I always notice in this movie in particular. Dan Daily's "Situation-wise" -- the three-sheets-to-the-wind, sloshed to the gills song and dance number. I wonder what it must be like to wake up in the morning, go to work, and then surrender all your inhibitions to lay yourself completely exposed to perform the number. I know he's an actor and all, but to go out in front of fellow cast members and full crew and simply go nuts! I find that ability extraordinary -- and mystifying. Well, I'm glad we've found some fellow enthusiasts. We must form a club and meet once every 10 years at a bar somewhere.

Saturday September 18, 2021 Swansongs on TCM the misfits brainstorm the harder they fall

The Last Outpost (1935) Next: Hell's Outpost (1954)

Haver, June

Marie has said that she called her agent to line-up auditions soon after becoming a vampire. She saw the nails being put into the coffin, so to speak.

Looking forward to this.....gotta love Bela's "Children of the night, what music they make!" line. He's one terrific Dracula, though it is unfortunate he ended up getting typecasted way too much for the rest of his career.

Who could not love Gene Kelly on roller skates? It's a favorite as well. Too bad they cut 2 numbers from it. I think they are on the dvd. (at least the audio tracks)

I would say that beautiful place in Bonjour Tristesse (1958)

On Svengoolie tomorrow, September 18, 2021:

Always liked Jane Powell. She seemed like a very nice, down to earth person in interviews I remember seeing of her. Some people might have been miffed at being seen as 'third choice' to take a role as she did in "Royal Wedding", but if someone thinks you are good enough and you have the chance to dance with the likes of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly when they were still on top of their game, why wouldn't you? It would be easy to set aside your ego for an opportunity such as that, and fortunately for her, Jane Powell never seemed to come off that way and be seen as 'full of herself'. Credit to someone like Astaire too for taking on a relative newcomer to show business whose principal stock and trade was as a singer.

Star Wars lightsabers.... ....which light up the Hollywood Bowl at every John Williams concert: Robin Hood's bow and arrows: THey are famous from the board game first, but since they are famous and in a movie, I thought of the CLUE weapons

Oh, I dunno. Perhaps in The Best Years of Our Lives ? (...and maybe because it takes place in a time and a place in this country when the promise of better days to come and a brighter future was the general viewpoint held by more Americans than it seems it is today, unfortunately)

She is much loved by TCM for her many MGM films and has appeared on the network frequently. I am sorry to hear about this. RIP.

Yeah...but I wouldn't consider Toto a prop (and he probably would be offended)😊I didn't think of wearables as props...except something like the shoe that Chaplin eats. I'm really surprised that nobody mentioned 'the black bird'--The Maltese Falcon.

I think they were going with the theme of Hart realizing there is more to life than obsessing about Kingsfield and law school, more than just the paper chase. But it's still hard to believe that after all that work he really doesn't care about what grade he received, especially at a hyper competitive place like Harvard Law School. Just a bit of the old-fashioned Hollywood fantasy brought up to date.

I wasn't thinking the fugu fish nor the mechanical dragon - examples of how you go above and beyond duty... I did want to mention - SPOILER ALERT - the tarantula scene in Dr NO was something of a composite of two separate poisonous insect(s) encounters for James Bond in the novel.

I always liked Roddy McDowall. He was so adorable as young Huw in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. He excelled in heroic roles (as the actor-turned-vampire hunter Peter Vincent in 1985's FRIGHT NIGHT) and as absolute heels (I already mentioned in a previous thread how deliciously nasty he was as the greedy nephew in one of the stories in the pilot of NIGHT GALLERY). He was one fine actor, without a doubt.

Jane Powell was a beautiful singer, actress and a very good dancer. She held her own against Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding. Howard Keel got away without doing any dancing in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, but she did dance with a couple of the brothers. I adore her and will miss her.

Lovely lady. She will undoubtedly get a memorial tribute on TCM. She's great in LUXURY LINER, NANCY GOES TO RIO and RICH YOUNG AND PRETTY. Rest in peace.

I hadn't seen The Paper Chase in a while, maybe seven or eight years and found it as entertaining as usual. The romantic part of the movie reminds me a bit of Love Story without the sappiness and fatal disease plot. I liked the dynamics of the study group more than the romance. I always get a kick out of the arrogant Liberty Bell. I'm sure most people have met a few Bells in their lifetime. While I understand Hart's worshipful attitude toward Kingsfield, to me he's just another establishment go along grouch. And I still find it hard to believe that Hart, though he is freed from Kingsfield's spell, wouldn't open his grade and just fold it into a paper airplane and toss it into the air. Too much of a grind to do that to me. And of course today the famous here's a dime scene wouldn't work.

Really good point. Why was Scotty so resistant to Midge "that way", when she was so obviously throwing herself at him? Something back then apparently changed their relationship forever. Hitchcock didn't really give her a lot of space, so she just comes off as kind of needy and whiney. I wonder if there was an equivalent Midge character in that elusive "French book" that's behind all this, because there could be some back story. I haven't seen it, but supposedly the DVD and Blu-ray have an alternate ending discovered sometime in the 1990's; Midge is listening to a local radio broadcast about Elster being pursued somewhere in Europe. She is joined by Scotty and they share a drink while looking out the window, presumably in silence. It was apparently asked for by the "Code" office (whatever it was called at that point in time) because bad guys have to pay and all that rot. Hitchcock shot it but junked it. No idea whether Scotty is still just haunting her apartment the way he always did or if they're now supposed to be "a thing". Anyway, it's too little too late and only confuses the Scotty/Midge issue without adding anything. I'm glad it was never part of the original mix; there's already plenty to drive us crazy without that.

Gilda is my favorite Hayworth movie. But I also like 1944's Cover Girl and 1945's Tonight and Every Night.

And why not? She WAS an incredibly whopping character actress. One of my "Fab Four" favorites, that include; DORIS PACKER KATHLEEN FREEMAN THELMA RITTER Sepiatone

The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) I hadn't seen Cecil B. De Mille's circus film, often hailed as one of the most undeserving Best Picture Oscar winners, in a few years and decided to take a look at it again last night. There's too much in the way of Technicolor circus acts and even the cornball soap opera plot to ever call this film boring. Much of the cast is to be commended for doing the best they can with their material. Charlton Heston authoritatively barks out commands as the manager of the circus who seems to hold the whole thing together. He may seem stereotypically larger than life but that's what a big top film like this needs for a central character. Heston was third billed in this production but De Mille gave him the first big break of his career by casting him in this film, and the actor was forever grateful to the old man afterward for it. (Bigger things were to come for Heston a few years later when the same director would have him parting the Red Sea). Considering the fact that I normally find him to be a boring actor, Cornel Wilde, fake French accent and all, is quite engaging as the Great Sebastian, the aerial artist-womanizer hired for the show. His character is supposed to be charismatic and flashy and Wilde succeeds in that. SPOILER ALERT: I carefully watched the scene in which Sebastian (okay, his aerial double) crashes to the ground. It is quickly edited when he hits the ground but if you use the slow motion freeze on a DVD player you see that the stunt man actually disappears into a hole (presumably some kind of ground appearing mattress). Betty Hutton I found to be generally irritating as Holly, Sebastian's rival trapeze artist, tryjng to steal the limelight from him while he performs in the air. Wilde, being a hot blooded womanizing type, tries to romance her, of course, while stolid Heston stands around and does a slow burn over it while still barking orders (he and Holly had been sweeties, sort of). Hutton gets excited a lot and is perhaps a little bit less high energy than usual but her character is still a general pain. Others in the cast include Gloria Grahame as a sexy lady with an elephant act (and a jealous boyfriend in Lyle Bettger), Dorothy Lamour playing a slightly dim witted circus performer in big costumes and doing a South Seas tribute song, and James Stewart in that stereotype of all stereotypes, as Buttons, the sad clown only this one has a secret (the guy wears his clown makeup all the time - a major clue if ever there was one that something is amiss but no one in the circus seems to question it). Highlight of the film is, without question, the big train crash towards the end. Yes, it's done with models but the special effects are still reasonably convincing, and it is exciting to see those cars pile into one another as the train de-rails. Afterward De Mille admirably captures the chaos on the ground as people are trapped or running around and lions and tigers are running loose. Heston gets pinned under some metal but, being the true circus man with sawdust in his veins that he is, he keeps barking orders while trapped, even though he could bleed to death from a severed artery. What a guy! With Heston down and finally passing out, Hutton will soon start barking orders at everyone. Why didn't someone slap her silly? Time for Jimmy Stewart's clown (he used to be a doctor) to step into the breach. He will work on saving Heston but I wish he had also taken the time to sew up Hutton's mouth. There are a lot of guest star appearances in the film from the likes of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Hopalong Cassidy and, for some unexplained reason, Edmond O'Brien as a carnival barker in the final seconds of the film. But, as the camera pans across the laughing and cheering spectators, you also spot the likes of Mona Freeman, Mary Murphy and Nancy Gates, among others. Apparently Kathleen Freeman was also in there somewhere but I didn't spot her. In the final analysis, De Mille's big top film can still be enjoyed, corny as it may be, even if the list of superior films released in 1952 is a pretty extensive one (for me, at least). By the way, clowns are not funny. They're creepy. But that, as they say, is another story. 3 out of 4