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How could anyone hate Pillow Talk? It's witty, funny and Doris' clothes and jewelry, Perry Black at the piano playing and singing You Lied and You'll be Sorry and the look she gives Rock was great and make it a worthwhile watch. I've seen Pillow Talk dozens of times over the years and I never get tired of it. Doris and Rock were great together, terrific chemistry and Thelma Ritter is hilarious, throw in Tony Randall and it's a fun film. Many years ago Sydney Pollack was the guest host on The Essentials, he admitted he had never seen it before and was so glad he finally got to see it. He loved the film, He talked about how at a roundtable of screenwriters, Pillow Talk was brought up many times, mentioning how funny the film was. Lover Come Back is another Rock and Doris film that's so much fun. the weakest of the 3 I think is Send Me No Flowers, but still fun. Watching Doris and Rock together, wish they had made more films together for us to enjoy.

I like "You Lied" even more, which closes out this scene. The look the pianist Perry (Perry Blackwell) gives Rex Stetson (Hudson) is priceless. Ms. Blackwell is only on screen for a minute or two, but she packs a lot into that short time.

And here I would've thought TCM inviting Antonia Carlotta over to Atlanta so she could've co-hosted the evening with Ben would have been a natural. (...I've said the following before around here ya know, folks...TCM should give this bright, articulate and attractive young lady some on-air exposure)

It's been years since I saw it but I remember enjoying THE LAND UNKNOWN, one of those low budget adventure films with cheap special effects in which the cast is running around in a jungle setting with hokey looking dinosaurs. The T Rex, in particular, was obviously some guy in a suit. There are quite a few films of this type, of course, going right back to the silent version of LOST WORLD. LAND UNKNOWN will never be regarded as a classic but if you're in a mood for a touch of adventure mixed with a few unintentional laughs you could do worse. Here are a couple of images to give you an idea of the "thrills" to be found in this one.

And which now brings to mind one of Johnny Carson's Carnac The Magnificent lines: "Pickeled herring...Dr. Christain Barnard...Doris Day." "Name a sturgeon, a surgeon, and a virgin."

How can anyone forget that "Ya!Ya! Roly! Poly!" song?

The Anvil Orchestra? Never heard of this bunch, but I bet they are conducted by one WILE E. COYOTE. 🤭

Doris Day: Images of a Hollywood Icon Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages available Jan. 25, 2022 DORIS DAY - IMAGES OF A HOLLYWOOD ICON offers hundreds of photos, including glamorous publicity portraits, behind-the-scenes images with famous friends and colleagues, and glimpses into her personal life. Longtime fan Paul McCartney and daughter Stella have contributed a foreword. Turner Classic Movies host Eddie Mueller and singer-historian Michael Feinstein have contributed appreciations of Day's motion picture and singing careers, respectively. A complete filmography and discography are also included.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) -- James Whale made her look beautiful Rebecca (1940) The Uninvited (1944) Dragonwyck (1946) House of Usher (1960) The Haunting (1963) The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) The Changeling (1980)

I dunno, I was kinda digging the reporter-on-scene minute-by-minute updates thing. Sorta like Les Nessman on Thanksgiving Day.

Yeah, I think it's unanimous. Maybe TCM won't hire her because she'd make all the current host/hostesses look like amateurs.

Hats as icons. Mute witness:

I have to admit it but... I love this topic. Generally, I'm not reticent to tell people I like a particular movie; I figure each to his own taste! Usually what happens is that I find myself explaining to folks -- younger ones, I mean -- what it is about certain movies that make them interesting to me. More often than not I'll have mentioned a movie in conversation, and the guys I worked with would roll their eyes and go, "You like that stuff?" That's why I'm glad, Toto, that you bring up "Pillow Talk" and "Jason and the Argonauts." The Doris and Rock films are just plain fun; and it's really no secret that the Doris Day character finally falls for Rex Stetson's ersatz Lone Star charms! I don't know where she gets this rap for perpetual innocence when in each of her movies of this genre she only calls it all off when she finds out she's been duped! Now, as far as "Jason and the Argonauts" go, I do love this movie. For me, there is no greater special effect than stop motion animation. It reminds me that real human beings are involved in making this stuff. And it, too, reminds me of when I was a kid going to Saturday afternoon movies. I'm still trying to think of something that I would sheepishly admit to liking; I know there's got to be one. I'll get back to you on this. Again, it is a fun topic.

The Story of Three Loves 1953 the Equilibrium segment has Pier Angeli and Kirk Douglas working the trapeze.

The Fox (1967) -- more Keir in the snow Women in Love (1969) -- more D.H. Lawrence and snow

note- I say this as someone with no musical talent whatsoever... But scoring movies is a tricky enough business, REscoring them (or adding a score or music where it has been absent or for copyright issues) is really, to paraphrase MARTIN SCORCESE in that old TCM LETTERBOX PROMO "essentially REDIRECTING a movie." you can really change the whole tone with music, and if it doesn't "fit" with the action/dialogue, it's really noticeable. ...and in the case of a composer rescoring a film where everyone involved is dead and has no say-so, you're giving someone a looooooooooooooot of license with other people's work in a way that makes me squeemish.

Recently I watched a couple of movies on TCM that I hate to admit - but I just love! They're just fun and entertaining. One is "Pillow Talk" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. This is a silly movie but I love Hudson's fake character in the film - a Texas millionaire. The scene in the piano bar where he is trying to seduce the Doris Day character is great. I also saw the movie "Jason and the Argonauts". I felt like a kid again thinking about how cool all those monsters/mythological creatures are. I'm always amazed by the fighting skeletons and medusa. Any films that you love but might hesitate to tell others? Below: Piano bar scene from "Pillow Talk" and scenes from "Jason and the Argonauts".

Not a fan of either, TCM, please retire their films for a while.😁 Note. I do think KH gave a good performance in Alice Adams.

Let's see, I don't really hate to admit it, but I love the utterly soapy Taylor and Burton "stranded-in-airport" outing, "The V.I.P's". Maggie Smith, Rod Taylor, adorable Margaret Rutherford. La Liz looks so ripely beautiful in this, and her character is quite sympathetic. Even Louis Jourdan, as the would-be "other man" is wryly self-deprecating and charming, in a raffish way. I could be wrong, but I think maybe Terence Rattigan, or someone similar, wrote it, and it rings all the bells! I must watch it every year or so...

The Body Snatcher (1945) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) Crimson Peak (2015)

...Jesse James, 1939 Directed by Henry King...Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson Stars Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, John Carradine Western, Crime, Drama 1hr 46 min. In Technicolor I recently re-watched this to compare with Nicholas Ray's 1957 remake which rewrote Nunnally's original script but reused some footage - the notorious scene of Frank and Jesse being chased by a posse and reaching a precipice high above a river. Unlike Butch Cassidy they ride their horses right off the cliff and into the water. You can tell this was for real and the poor horses which had been blindfolded actually died. It's hard to watch but it was the fallout from this stunt that created stricter standards to protect animals in films by The Humane Society. In Ray's film the scene is in the first act, in this one it's near the end. Other differences were the cast, of course. I much preferred Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda over Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter, but all four are ridiculously good looking. This version is much more "talky" than Ray's which I don't care for, especially in Westerns. Not that many action scenes and a whole lotta talking, it seems to take forever to get going. Ray's starts out with a robbery gone wrong, a shootout, and exciting posse chase. Yes I'm a girl who likes westerns. "He was one of the doggonedest, gawl-dingedest, dad-blamedest buckaroos that ever rode across these United States of America!" full movie Nicholas Ray's 1957 remake

GASLIGHT

Tony Randall and the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster he drives in the movie Pillow Talk... (...cars don't come any nicer than this one)

That Touch of Mink, with Cary Grant... This is the one, I think, that solidified Ms. Day's image as the 40 year old virgin, summed up by a quote supposedly attributed to Oscar Levant: "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin." This film spends most of its time having Day and Meadows in a dither over the prospect of having sex with Grant (without the benefit of marriage), to the point that Day's character gets hives over the thought of it when he takes her to Bermuda. And for good measure, there's a subplot with Gig Young worrying his therapist that he might be gay.

do they know THE THEME FROM THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN?

Variety (1925) Allez Oop (1934)

On Svengoolie tomorrow, October 30, 2021: Excerpt from the Psychotronic Encyclopedia: "Don't miss. It's the worst. The evil but beautiful Princess Marcuzan and her bald effeminate dwarf assistant Nadir arrive in Puerto Rico to kidnip women to use in repopulating their dying planet. Meanwhile Frank, an American astronaut who is actually an android, crash-lands near the aliens. He becomes Frankenstein, a crazed killer with only half a face. While wild go-going girls are kidnapped from a poolside party, scientists track down Frank, and a rock combo plays hits like "That's the way it's got to be." The rewired Frank battles the horrible alien mutant Mull and rescues the kidnapped Earth girls. Lots of rock music, stock footage, and laughs. Filmed in Puerto Rico. The actors are mostly New Yorkers. " The only actor I've heard of is James Karen, who used to do the Pathmark Supermarket ads in New York.

Yes, it's ZAPPED. In fact, there's even flying vomit in slow-motion when the exorcists trying and 'purify' Scott Baio. In the 1974 West German "Exorcist" ripoff Magdalena, vom Teufel Besessen, Magdalena done gets herself *possessed* by the spirit of a dead relative. Ostensibly her grandfather . . . but was he? Hmm . . . it isn't long after "Grandpa" dies before Magdalena is having a fit on the floor and foaming at the mouth. What can be done to save poor Magdalena from the clutches of Po-Zession? Well, not much! Oh, dear. THE EVILS PERPETRATED BY PO-ZESHUN! 😈 But can Maggie finally be •Saved• from her snake-vomiting fate? TUNE IN AND FIND OUT! 😜

I love the scene in which Rock Hudson is trying to cram himself into that tiny sports car. Hilarious! 😄

A Yank at Oxford (1938)

POLLYANNA (1960)

Kiss Me Kate

I find both "Exorcist" movies intriguing -- but for different reasons. As far as the first one is concerned, I wouldn't claim to be bivouac'd in either pro- or con- camp. I've seen it a few times, and I'll just put it like this: I am Catholic, and I acknowledge that there are diabolical things that prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. "The Exorcist," I think comes close to treating the struggle between Good and Evil in a serious and bone-chilling manner. And yet, I can stipulate that it is a product of its time and can seem somewhat silly. But as I grow older, I have less and less desire to watch the movie anymore. "The Heretic," on the other hand is just plain out-and-out wacko. My friend and I saw it when it first came out in theaters, and we sat through the entire thing with a blank stare on our faces. When it was over, my friend turned to me and asked, "Did you understand any of that?" "Nope," I replied, "Did you?" "Nope. Me neither." So there was nothing left to do at that point but to go to Burger King for something to eat. I have watched "The Heretic" again a few times, and I can follow well enough what's going on now. I don't care what he's in, but I'll go along with Richard Burton just for the h*e*l*l of it -- and that's what I get with this one. It's plain grand to be swept up in this movie with locusts and God knows what all. So I'll give this another go when it comes around again. I agree that there are so many fun copies of the genre. Is it "Zapped" where Scott Baio's mother calls in a priest to exorcise her son? I could be wrong on this. But, yes, lots of other examples.

So Sweet... So Perverse (1969) Italy/Dir: Umberto Lenzi - Jean-Louis Trintignant stars as a philandering husband to wife Erika Blanc. When a sexy American (Carroll Baker) moves in upstairs, he sets his sights on her, but soon learns that she may be a more dangerous conquest than most. Also featuring Helga Line, Horst Frank, and Giovanni Di Benedetto. The second of Baker's "Lenzi Trilogy" shows the same predilection for naked skin as the previous Paranoia. The film turns into a variation of Diabolique about halfway through, but it's not very inspired. The score by Riz Ortolani is fun. (6/10)

Paranoia (1969) Italy/Dir: Umberto Lenzi - Carroll Baker stars as a New York artist and alcoholic who moves to Italy after her wealthy Italian husband dies. She's lonely in his old family's manor, so she begins an affair with a young drifter (Lou Castel), who soon brings his sister (Colette Descombes) to live at the house, too. Things soon turn ugly. Baker was in the middle of a long string of European films, and this was the first of 3 she made for director Lenzi, later infamous for making several extreme horror films, Eaten Alive and Cannibal Ferox among them. The emphasis for the first half of this film is decidedly on sex and skin - all 3 leads appear nude several times. The latter half becomes a reasonably taut suspense thriller, with Castel using the creepy characterizations that worked for him in Fists in the Pocket. This film was originally released as Orgasmo, and to confuse matters, the third film Baker and Lenzi collaborated on, A Quiet Place to Kill (1970), was also released as Paranoia. (6/10)

Anvil Orchestra. I'll be hearing them soon at AFI Silver, accompanying Metropolis and Underworld (both 1927). Two years ago they showed Metropolis with Alloy Orchestra accompaniment--they laid down a serious groove during False!Maria's dance scene.

The Dead Don't Talk (1970) Turkey/Dir: Yavuz Yalinkilic - Mind-blowing nonsense about a large house where a cackling ghost lures couples in order to kill them. The near-incoherent plot isn't helped by absurd performances, particularly by the guy playing the ghost, as well as the score that's filled with tracks lifted from other movies. The cheap B&W cinematography is also a "high" light. This film was thought lost for decades before being rediscovered in the 2000's. It's so terrible, and I loved it. (3/10)

2 of the Thirteen Women early Hitchcock talkie, Murder! (1930) Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)

Under the Big Top (1938) Circus Girl (1937) Swing High (1930)

You do know you can either--- Put in a disc or a tape( if you still have and can play those) or... Choose one of the other 200+ channels availed to you. Then you can avoid all the Lucy or Kate films you want. I like both Kate and Lucy ("LOVE" Lucy, actually ) And anything Lucy did early on( won't get into the late career MAME) but not all of Kate's roles. But that's more or less the way it is with just about every actor and actress. I still feel it's too bad the studio suits were so short-sighted as far as Lucy was concerned. She(to me) was way more talented and beautiful than they gave her credit for. Sepiatone

I am also a collector of vintage hats! In fact, I am actually wearing one today. My office allowed us to wear Halloween costumes today and since I don't have a Halloween costume, I wore my 1940's outfit that I usually wear to swing/jazz concerts. It was an excuse to wear it, after all. Were it socially acceptable, I would dress in 1930's - 1940's fashion every day, to be sure. I love hats, though. Nowadays I wear a wide brim wool fedora-esque hat quite often. Back in college, I used to wear my vintage hats to my classes and just around. For some reason I stopped doing so, but perhaps I should return to the practice. Someday I want to wear my straw skimmer out somewhere, as that's my favorite piece in my collection.

Bye Bye Birdie

Kate & Lucy were life-long friends. They both appeared in STAGE DOOR (1937) and WITHOUT LOVE (1945). Lucy's granddaughter was named after her-- Katharine Luckinbill, daughter of Lucie Arnaz & Laurence Luckinbill.

Sometimes restorations of silent films feature new scores, which is generally a shame, although it may allow for a new copyright. I had been looking forward to watching Piccadilly (1929), but the new score was so awful I couldn't watch it. On the other hand, the Carmine Coppola score for Abel Gance's Napoleon is brilliant, an amalgam of classics and new scoring. I prefer it to the Carl Davis version. (I don't think Gance particularly liked the original score, by Arthur Honegger.)

Here is my "Universal" edition, with scenes restored from the 1925 cut:

I love Katherine Hepburn's performance in Alice Adams too. In this story that takes place in a town with class divisions, Hepburn's performance feels very authentic.

OMG. Carlotta is performing Faust right now and I swear to God the score sounds like somebody hit the demo button on a Casio keyboard.

There was nothing wrong with the old score.

It’s unimaginative, repetitious, completely out of sync with the action, and is really wrecking the effectiveness of the film. PHILLIP GLASS would be proud.