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Takeaways from a viewing of Hell Bound - 1. Using a junkie, as well as a seriously sick person, as part of a criminal master plan might not ensure a perfect execution of that plan. 2. Stabbing someone with a one inch knife might not finish that person off. 3. Never hide in an empty train car when ten tons of scrap metal are being dropped in similar empty cars around you. These are life lessons I will forever carry with me.

And for those who don't think things could get worse on Noir Alley . . . "Hi, I'm Dave Karger, Eddie Muller's gone and and from now on I'm your new host of Noir Alley. Actually it's no longer called Noir Alley. From now on the Saturday night and early Sunday morning time slots will be known as The Best of Allyson because, that's right, folks, TCM will be showing films of one of my all time favourites, June Allyson. Our feature film tonight is Two Girls and A Sailor, a musical about two sisters who want to entertain soldiers. Please count with me the number of times June smiles and says, "Golly, gee.""

One of the great things about film noir is discovering obscure films which have fallen through the cracks. I love this kind of stuff.

Glad to see a full day of silent classics on TCM. They should do this once a month, not once a year!

How about if we form a whine club? Might get us some airtime.

A common complaint is that TCM shows certain films way-too-often, too many from the main studios of Warner, MGM and RKO, too much focus on star actors and directors and their big-budget films, and that generally, TCM should open up their rotation. Eddie does that here with Hellbound; A United Artist, low budget film with no big name actors (other than maybe Whitman, who was just starting to make somewhat of a name for himself when this film was made). I guess my overall point is there is no pleasing of all-the-people-all-the-time.

The actor Tommy Kirk, who appeared in numerous Disney movies and television productions in the 1950s and 1960s, has died at the age of 79. He was one of many memorable young stars -- including Annette Funicello and Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran --who achieved fame on "The Mickey Mouse Club." The Hollywood Reporter said Kirk (pictured below at a memorabilia show) lived alone, and his body was found Tuesday in Las Vegas. Kirk once said that his career with The Mouse Factory was short-circuited because he was gay. “Disney was a family film studio and I was supposed to be their young leading man," he said. "After they found out I was involved with someone, that was the end of Disney.” Kirk also fell from grace after an arrest on December 24, 1964 on suspicion of marijuana possession at a Hollywood residence. He wasn't prosecuted for that or for a charge of possessing illegal drugs after barbiturates were found in his car. But his career suffered because of the incidents. Tim Considine and Kirk played the junior detectives Frank and Joe Hardy in episodes of "The Hardy Boys" -- serialized adventures that aired on "The Mickey Mouse Club." They appeared in "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure" (1956) and "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm" (1957). Both actors and Corcoran were inducted as Disney Legends in 2006. Kirk starred in the classic 1957 Disney feature film "Ole Yeller," the story of young Travis Coates and his family as they coped with problems at their late-1860s Texas homestead while the father (Fess Parker) was away on business. Travis drew some comfort from his relationship with the title dog, which helped protect the boy, his mother Katie (Dorothy McGuire) and brother Arliss (Corcoran). The film was based on the award-winning 1956 children's novel by Fred Gipson. The movie's unforgettable ending inspired a funny sequence in a Season 2 episode of TV's "Friends," in which Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) discovered that her mother had misled her as a child by turning off the TV before the climactic scene. Considine and Kirk played romantic rivals in 1959's "The Shaggy Dog," the popular Disney live-action comedy feature about high school teen Wilby Daniels (Kirk) who became magically transformed into a Bratislavian sheepdog. Although he retained his human consciousness after the shape shift, Wilby realized he was in trouble because his mailman father (Fred MacMurray) detested dogs. Kirk was reunited with "Ole Yeller" co-stars McGuire and (Corcoran) for Disney's 1960 adventure film "Swiss Family Robinson," based on Johann David Wyss' about a family of shipwreck survivors on an island somewhere in the southwest Pacific. Sir John Mills starred as the family patriarch, McGuire was his wife and their three sons were played by James MacArthur, Kirk and Corcoran. In 1961, Kirk co starred with MacMurray and Keenan Wynn in Disney's live-action comedy feature "The Absent-Minded Professor," MacMurray played the title character, Medfield College's physical chemistry professor Ned Brainard. His legendary absent-mindedness resulted in three canceled wedding ceremonies, which exasperated his fiancée (Nancy Olson). Meanwhile, his explosive home experiments accidentally created an anti-gravity substance he called "flubber" (a portmanteau for flying rubber). Brainard found himself struggling to fend off the schemes of a greedy land developer named Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn), who wanted to profit from flubber. Kirk played Hawk's son Biff. The movie's 1963 sequel was "Son of Flubber." In 1964, it was Kirk's turn to star as a Disney braniac. "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" starred the actor as a college student whose experiments with mentalism resulted in his developing the ability to read minds. The sci-fi comedy also starred Annette, Leon Ames, Stu Erwin, Alan Hewitt and Norman "Woo Woo" Grabowski. Kirk and Annette starred in "The Monkey's Uncle," the 1965 sequel to "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" that revolved around such plot devices as the custody of a chimp named Stanley and the invention of a human-powered flying vehicle. Annette sang the title song with musical backing by The Beach Boys. It was Kirk's final film for Disney. His contract was terminated by Walt Disney after it was discovered he had become involved with a male minor. Kirk continued to appear in movies, including the 1968 independent project "Mars Needs Women," which co-starred Yvonne Craig. The sci-fi comedy cast Kirk as a Martian on a search for females for The Red Planet. Although it was not released theatrically, it has developed a cult following through the years.

So glad TCM is celebrating and I get to start my morning by watching one of my favorite films City Lights😊 Though everyday should be silent movie day in my opinion🤣 https://www.nationalsilentmovieday.org/ I wish I could've hosted a watch party or something today haha, anyone have any special plans? What's your go to silent film?

I purchased The Big Parade and Wings over the weekend so maybe i'll try to watch one of them tonight to celebrate.

Here are some resources of interest to further celebrate today! The Smithsonian Museum of Asian art is streaming The Goddess from 1934 later today you can watch here: https://youtu.be/JMxUOXq5420 UCLA is doing a virtual event showing 3 Harold Lloyd shorts here: https://cinema.ucla.edu/events/2021/09/29/national-silent-movie-day-harold-lloyd The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum has some rarities up on their website: https://nilesfilmmuseum.org/?tv=4997833899900928 Later today, films by Angela Murray Gibson will be shown here: https://youtu.be/rKyKdTRwqQU I highly recommend checking the map on the National Silent Movie day website to see if there are any live events near you. 😁

PUBLIC DOMAIN

No, he's been called all sorts of names, but never a pooka.

They could at least pop in to tell us where they stand on Don Ameche, Brian Aherne, or George Brent!

The Male Animal Send Me No Flowers Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House The Big Chill

Tom, I love your list of takeaways from Hell Bound. I also learned a thing or two. When a stabbing victim goes down, it's a perfect opportunity for one final closeup of her feet. Kinda like Norma Desmond. In the fifties you were better off calling a cab than an ambulance.

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) The Passionate Friends (1949) Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) Ruby Gentry (1952) There's Always Tomorrow (1955) Pauline at the Beach (1983) Persuasion (1995) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Kitty Foyle, 1940 Follow the Fleet, 1936 Vertigo, 1958 Private Lives, 1931 Blithe Spirit, 1945 My Favorite Wife, 1940 His Girl Friday, 1940 Sunset Boulevard, 1950 Casablanca, 1942

I don't think the hosts have anything to gain by coming into the forum with a bunch of anonymous posters. Think there's too much that could go wrong and their image could only be tarnished. If it were verified accounts where people went under their real names, maybe that would be different, or if there was a mod in charge of approving the comments from members before they were added to a thread, that might work. Although that was basically what the on-line meet and greet for the last classic film fest was. the conversation is controlled that way, and you still get real responses, but not really what i think people on here want.

Thursday, September 30 Deborah Kerr day. My pick … 8 a.m. I See a Dark Stranger (1946).

Coming up Thursday 30th September 5am PDT I See a Dark Stranger ('46) Deborah Kerr ❤️ is lovely to look at as she appears as a sweet young thing. It won't be long before she turns into a sophisticated, mature, and elegant woman. Not in this one, but later on as we know. If you haven't seen this yet, you must. You simply must. 🌷

That's the point. Other "newer technologies" don't allow for real long-form discussion, they are basically like fa rt ing in the wind in front of a bunch of anonymous passers by. At least that is my impression of Reddit which I am on, and the others presumably to an even lesser extent. Much less useful in function, other than the fact they are the flavor of the month and people old and young mindlessly tend to gravitate towards them these days.

All The King's Men Becket Shattered Glass

I saw the film years ago and I was glad when Eddie programmed it on Noir Alley. A lot of the framing and composition was like the panels of a graphic novel. The location shooting was awesome. Many big budget films don't bother to shoot footage like that and quite a few people mentioned the street car junkyard climax so it did hit a note. A few scenes would have fit into a David Lynch film. There's a lot of small, noirish crime films shot in the 1950s like Hell Bound and I look for them on other cable stations and streaming sites.

Actress and author Joan Howard Maurer has passed away. She died in Sept. 21 at age 94. She was the daughter of Three Stooges actor Moe Howard. She appeared in about ten films herself as a child actress in the 1930s, between 1934 and 1939. She appeared in films with such stars as Shirley Temple, Humphrey Bogart, Jean Hersholt, and The Three Stooges. But her film career was more her Dad's idea than hers and she was never really interested in being a movie actress. So in 1939 she told her Dad she wanted to retire from acting. She later wrote books on The Three Stooges and was a very popular guest at conventions and other Three Stooges events. She was a good friend of mine, since meeting her in 1987, and I'll miss her very much.

Congrats to Ms. Stewart. I very much enjoy her contributions to TCM and to the film community.

Why not just "overlooked film makers"? Why does everything have to be about race? This kind of thing, despite its stated purpose, serves to divide us as a people. It's a form of segregation. The same holds true when we emphasize "women filmmakers". It's divisive. We're not going to make any actual progress as a society until people get past this identity nonsense. This assumes, of course, that everyone wants to get past it and not wallow in it, and that, unfortunately is not true.

THE CROWD, GREED, SAFETY LAST, RED LILY,, CALIGARI, FLOATING WEEDS....... just off top of my head....

Muller asks viewers to contact him on Twitter or his website. But not on the TCM Message Board. Golly gee, I wonder why.

Huh? "Joker"? I thought that was DARGO's tag. Sepiatone

Yes, in terms of moderation of such venues, a human presence is always better. Otherwise, the impression is, one is dealing with a machine. By their very presence in a forum, moderators can quell problems at the outset. They can intervene in a dispute before it goes too far. These open exchanges between moderator and member are seen by all who read a problem thread. In this way, the forum at large may benefit, by knowing where the boundaries are, rather than continuing along a bad trajectory until they hit the electric fence. I've seen an admin put out potentially huge fires in threads, merely by posting one single character in the thread- a period. This says "I am aware of what's going on. I am here and watching." Rather effective (and efficient) as long as the moderator or admin has established a reputation in their forum for being willing to do whatever it takes to maintain order. What is his name? It's right on the tip of my tongue. 😛

Do you WONDER as you "wander"? Sepiatone

ALTHOUGH... How rad would it have been if FISHER PRICE made a TALKING DARK SHADOWS CANDLESTICK PHONE you can use to talk to QUENTIN AND BARNABAS????

TB: Though I disagree with you about Li'l Abner, I understand your point, up to a point. This urban NYC white can be offended by all the movies based on Damon Runyon stories/films, including Guys and Dolls, which depict NYC stereotypes in such a way as to make it fashionable for rural whites to make fun of. As someone who has been involved with theater in New York, I can also be offended by All About Eve, which, despite the great talents of its creators, also depicts urban theater types, in such a way that rural whites (and others) can laugh at. Sadly, I think, we live in an age in which offending anyone, even in jest, is a capital crime. But I hope we can agree on this: Mammy Yokum as played by the recently departed Billie Hayes (1924-2021) is one of cinema's great feminists! "I have spoken!"

Of course. Someone could even voice dislike of a movie and the lead actor and the musical performances. All options are open. General Discussions, right?

It's not unkindness. But I have not read any comments where you praise a film made after 1968. Also I suspected that TCM's marketing department has been using the word 'curate' to where it is now becoming "common" parlance. And it's really just a hoity-toity word to get people to think they are special because TCM is doing something special (supposedly) to bring a movie to them. In the end these are just products that are there, take them or leave them, that can be enjoyed by anyone. People in 1955 did not need an executive or marketing department to curate anything for them to drive to the theater and watch something. Let's get back to reality here, that's all I am saying.

Here's a trailer for The Green Knight (2021).

There actually is a General Douglas MacArthur Fellowship. Every year the chosen recipient receives a gold plated corncob pipe, a pair or aviator sunglasses, and a dugout canoe.

"Arrayed for the Bridal" by Bellini (I Puritani) sung by Cathleen Delany in The Dead (1987) Next: Another song from a movie based on a work by James Joyce

I would never put you on ignore since I enjoy your comments and insight. But newbies may not understand your style of posting; The user you replied to had posted only around 14 post. Thus saying "As for the songs, they're fantastic. If you don't like them, you clearly don't appreciate good song-writing. I know this sounds personal and insulting, that's not my intention", might come off as an insult to such a newbie, regardless of your intention. But don't change your style. As Bogie said to your avatar buddy, Joel Cario, users will just have to take-it-and-like-it! (oh, and yes, I find that songs in WSS to be well written, both the music and the lyrics).

Here's what I wish would happen, and even though I know that the chances of it actually happening are zilch, zero, nada. I WISH any of these smiling faces (yeah yeah, nasally Ben needs to work on his) pictured below in this shot here... ...would FOR ONCE come on these boards, yes THESE very boards that their EMPLOYER set up on the internet years ago for the express PURPOSE to discuss TCM and its fare, would read through this thread IN PARTICULAR, and THEN post THEIR reponses to what has been said in it. Now, my guess would be that their responses would be of a higher caliber than mere "mediocrity", as I consider ALL of them to possess an intelligence level at least commensurate to their stations in life, if not higher. Yep, I'd LOVE to read their replies to some of these (for want of better word) "accusations" which have be levied against them in this thread. Yep, I'd LOVE it! (...too bad this will never happen, as I'm sure even IF any of them WOULD actually somehow stumble across this thread IN once again TCM's VERY OWN WEBSITE, they'd probably feel there'd be nothing at all to gain by replying in or to it, and thus THIS is what I FEEL is the REAL "shame" of this all!!!)

Williams, Cara

Spotlight (2015) -- Boston Globe uncovers Catholic church abuses All the President's Men (1976) -- Watergate The Sandpiper (1965) -- married headmaster of Episcopalian boarding school has affair

Robert Montgomery Next: Blacklisted

Well I noticed many things in the last year or two, several posters are getting tired of the 'lecturing' (I may have not the right term) about the race issue.The other night Mr Karger and Mrs Stewart were presenting Citizen Kane,they were mentionning the original annoted screenplay was available at the museum there and she mentionned the screenplay of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' was there also. I like the movie with Gregory Peck very much, but I feel this was not necessary comment regarding Citizzen Kane,we all know what To Kill a Mockingbird'is about.This is my opinion.

Eight Men Out ('say it ain't so, Joe!') John Barrymore in Dinner at Eight The Magnificent Ambersons --George gets his come-uppance Frederic March in A Star is Born

Exactly. TCM makes its share of mistakes. But broadcasting classics from 1920 up to 2020 is not one of them. There are classics in every decade.

I get the impression Muller is making most or all of the selections for Noir Alley, including Hell Bound. If TCM has a copy of a particular film and has broadcast rights, and Muller wants to feature it, the film will air on Noir Alley. I think some of these low budget films make for entertaining viewing. How about Ulmer's Detour? They couldn't even afford a shoestring for the budget. Sometimes, schlock can be the best choice.

Perhaps Mr. Mellencamp is not a pretentious person and is unaware of his "artistic" obligation to choose such films as, say, Cocteau's Le sang d'un poète. Perhaps he actually likes the films he chose, and felt no need- and gave no thought- to falsely telegraph a sense of intellectual superiority he's presumed to possess, simply because he's a musician and painter.