Members

Here's a mistake that's always amused me — Christopher "Wlaken"

Several excellent movies are set in Malaya: The Letter, King Rat, The Seventh Dawn. Outpost in Malaya is worth seeing, too. What about Malaya? It's based on an actual situation, the theft of rubber by Allied agents from Japanese-occupied Malaya. The film is oddly structured, as a James Stewart film morphs into a Spencer Tracy film. With several more drafts this could have been a first-rate film. It's a great choice for Sydney Greenstreet's SOTM, as he plays one of those shady characters (but exactly how shady is this one?) that he plays so well, and sadly this was his final film. This is one of the Spencer Tracy performances I like best. Warning Label: I am not fond of films like Father of the Bride and The Story of G.I. Joe where the director lets Tracy eat the scenery and indulge in all the ear-tugging and other scene-stealing tricks he likes. (Notice, however, how long it takes Tracy to take off his tie when he's in a boat with James Stewart; Stewart might as well not be in the scene.) I like Tracy best in early roles like Me and My Gal and Man's Castle and in later dramas like The People Against O'Hara and Judgment at Nuremberg. Tracy is perhaps too old to play this kind of rogue turned hero, and in one scene where he's getting dressed, he is unflatteringly shown to be very broad in the beam, but that actually works for me. He's too old and out of shape for this kind of stuff, and yet there he is doing it anyway. A husky-voiced singer intones "Blue Moon" in a seedy gin joint. Marlene Dietrich? Hedy Lamarr? No, it's Valentina Cortese. She's the former love of Spencer Tracy, among many others. Will she fall for James Stewart instead? No, he just looks around the place as if to say, "Gee, where's June Allyson?" Despite the production code, it's quite clear that Tracy spends the night with Cortese, and his attitude the next morning shows how much he enjoyed it. Gilbert Roland is delightful in a small role as one of the rogues recruited to carry out Stewart's plan.

I've mentioned this before on these boards but I don't think that hard core western buffs (the ones crazy about John Ford, Howard Hawks and John Wayne, for example) care much for THE BIG COUNTRY because one, its sparsity of big action scenes, two, the film's pacifist message and three, William Wyler is not a name associated with the genre. It's more of a cerebral, thinking man's western which will appeal to some, as reflected by the enthusiastic responses to the film on this thread. This, I suspect, for those of us (and I'm one of you) who love THE BIG COUNTRY may help to explain why it rarely, if ever, seems to get included on many greatest westerns ever made lists. Speaking for myself I think this film has been denied its rightful place as being regarded as one of the best westerns ever made.

CALCUTTA (1947) SINGAPORE (1947) THE SHANGHAI GESTURE THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI NIGHT AND THE CITY

Thank you for sharing this lovely song! I had not heard this one before, but I am putting it on my wintertime music list! There is something so comforting about wintertime music and the winter in general. I am glad to see I am not the only one who has started the season early with some cold-weather tunes. Yesterday I started listening to this mix again, which is a favorite of mine:

Yay, it's always there streaming free on youtube when I need a Stanwyck film noir fix. And it's directed by a particular fave, terrific Robert Siodmak. Mysterious femme fatale "Thelma Jordon" deftly targets an Assistant D.A., the restlessly married, rather hard drinking Wendell Corey, first on some small pretext. But soon they are swept into a torrid romance, in which she will ensnare him in a nefarious scheme involving her wealthy aunt. But despite her allegiance to her previous boyfriend who is in on the plot, she is increasingly ambivalent, as her feelings for Corey take an unpredictable turn. Great, shadowy cinematography, memorable score, and interestingly, Stanwyck and Wendell Corey have pretty intense chemistry-- surprise! I never think of him as particularly romantic, but here, he's kind of soulful and hapless, falling harder and harder, and doing his best to protect her.... Don't you love the way she's dressed all in white for her first encounter with Corey, right down to her pristine little white gloves? Anyway, a very good, atmospheric noir. In case you haven't seen it, here's the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GumD36cwHqY

KITTY (1945)

Joy in the Morning

George Burns Next: Had a famous Oscar-winning brother or sister!

J for Jordan. There it is. Right after I for Ivers, which of course comes after D for Dietrichson. Thelma Jordan’s file is thick. Like Martha Ivers and Phyllis Dietrichson. They sure had their share of trouble. Maybe that’s what makes them so much fun to watch on screen, thanks to Barbara Stanwyck, who expertly plays three distinct yet related faces of evil. Robert Siodmak’s production shares thematic similarities with earlier pictures by Lewis Milestone and Billy Wilder, but this story contains a shadowy subtext. Stanwyck is in full femme fatale mode, playing a woman trying to break free of the past. This time she is involved in the death of another “loved one.” It’s her Aunt Vera (Gertrude Hoffmann). Vera has taken her in, and Thelma functions as the elderly woman’s companion. Though Vera is frail she is nowhere near dying. So Thelma decides to hurry things along one night during a storm. Thelma blames her aunt’s murder on a prowler, but the police figure she’s behind it. In order to get away with the crime, Thelma needs the help of a lawyer (Wendell Corey). Cleve Marshall works in the district attorney’s office. He’s very skilled at his job, and he’s very married. He previously met Thelma when she turned up to see his boss. They ended up having a drink and spending time together. He fell in love with Thelma, which she realized she could to use to her advantage to create a new life. After Thelma is arrested on suspicion of murder, she works her feminine wiles on Cleve so he will throw the case in her favor. There are trial scenes which Siodmak and cameraman George Barnes stage very precisely. While the ins and outs of the legal system are observed, most of the action is focused on Thelma’s ability to manipulate the judicial process. Part of her case involves the existence of a “Mr. X” who was with her the night of Vera’s death. Cleve’s boss (Paul Kelly) is unable to figure out Mr. X’s identity until the very end. Perhaps the best sequence is the part where the verdict comes in and Thelma is marched over from the women’s jail across the street. She passes reporters on the sidewalk and heads up the steps into the courtroom. Siodmak’s direction is straight forward, and the sequence has a semi-documentary feel to it. It works very well, especially when Thelma is exonerated by the jury. One can only imagine how many other crimes Thelma committed that aren’t included in her file. Siodmak and writer Ketti Frings could have added flashbacks, where we saw Thelma pulling earlier scams. And we could have learned what brought her to live with her Aunt Vera in the first place. Then how Thelma persuaded Aunt Vera to change the will and make her the sole beneficiary. Did Aunt Vera see something good in her? Of course there wasn’t anything good in Phyllis Dietrichson; she was rotten to the core. And there was very little evidence of goodness in Martha Ivers. But Thelma Jordon’s personality is different. For awhile things are going her way. Until she decides to do the right thing and let Cleve go. After a car accident, she’s taken to the hospital where she confesses some of what she’s done. But she does not want to reveal that Cleve was Mr. X, because he was Mr. Right. And for a time, he made her forget everything that was so schizophrenic about her life. …may currently be viewed on YouTube.

It doesn't have "absolutely nothing to do with either theatrical movies or TCM itself." There were two movies-- House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows, and they're both frequently shown on TCM. Yes, the discussion of the show may be tangential to the movies, but it does have something to do with them.

Okay Katie, and seein' as how you've asked here. My favorite on-screen bear was a lot less threatening a beast than Bart here...and always wore a hat and a tie. (...and whose lone threat to humans was his constant search of acquiring a pic-a-nic basket or two from the unsuspecting camper)

Virginia Grey was in "Portrait in Black" with Anna May Wong.

"Banished to Off Topic Chit Chat," "permitted to continue to exist," "validity of your thread." You clearly have strong feelings about the Off Topic board, emoticons, and discussion of classic TV on a movie site. I don't use the feature myself but if you want to follow the discussion of emoticons you can click "follow" on the topic page which will spare you the unpleasantness of scrolling through the chit-chat ghetto. If your concern is that no one will find the topic there to add to the discussion, well that could be, but it's not a terribly deep subject so probably all that could be said has been. This discussion is at least related to watching a classic show, and the actors who worked on it, story lines, et cetera, so it seems fitting in General, while using emoticons is more about forum member behavior and off the topic of movies/tv/entertainment. That's probably what a moderator would say. I have had responses to direct messages to the site admin. You could pose the question to them directly.

I do love the surprise scene where everybody in the cast is ready to move on from the original production, and then we see Buchanan has been sitting among them the whole time and is agreeable.

For Charleston Girl and you, SweetSue:

Everett, Chad

Denning, Richard

Macao 1952

SUDDENLY — as in the city of Suddenly, California

I fell hard for Errol Flynn watching The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, etc. on syndicated TV when I was growing up. Later, of course, I learned about the scandals associated with him. Yet, when he's on-screen, I still fall for that gallant and charming hero he portrays -- these were roles created for his persona, fantasy and fictional, for which his screen presence was well-suited. At the same time, in real life, Flynn never pretended to be anything he wasn't. I guess it's hypocrisy that bothers me the most. For example, I can't watch the old Bill Cosby show despite the talent of Cosby, the writing, and the rest of the cast, due to the sex scandals associated with him, partly because he also set himself up as a role model for family life and especially for black males. He was especially castigating of black males and black youth in speeches he gave at UMass Amherst and other venues, and in light of his private life, I found him hypocritical.

angelique is from martinique in the west indies.

The wife and I were watching Dark Shadows on Decades-TV when the episodes were about her coming from France as a servant and she uses her witch powers to get Barnabas to marry her. My wife really hated the character but could tell I felt differently; yea, she was a snake but I still found her bewitching. So if Angelique beckoned me I would run TO HER, and meet my doom!

I must mount a defense for Night of Dark Shadows. I finally read the full screenplay, and I have to say that I think the cuts and editing actually improved the movie. It’s very atmospheric, the actors are quite good, and the reordering of scenes gives it a dreamlike quality. The fact that characters refer to occurrences that the audience hasn’t seen also amps up the mystery. In response to one commenter who ridiculed the quantity of scenes that involve Angelique beckoning, let me just say that I find nothing more frightening than Lara Parker, as Angelique, beckoning. She is one scary, even though beautiful, woman. If she gives me that look and beckons, I will run. I will agree that the “night” scenes filmed during the day are a bit silly, but overall I give it a thumbs up. Plus young Kate Jackson.

Katharine Hepburn, for "Long Day's Journey Into Night". And I'm saying that as someone who's not really a fan of Hepburn. I like her in certain select roles, but in general, she's not one of my favorites, frankly. But that performance she gave as the drug-addicted mother in the film version of O'Neill's play was a stunner, so poignant, and stays in the memory. The ephemeral image of her drifting about that ramshackle house, wrapped in a shawl-- a husk, but a beautiful husk-- is so haunting.

From 1955

I highly recommend Malaya; Tracy and Stewart are in fine form playing characters that are interesting and someone unique for both of them. Greenstreet was loaned out from Warners to do this MGM film and helps add to the overall vibe of corruption. While the plot revolves around rubber it is more hardball; this film doesn't have many soft edges.

some of you might like this (just came across it)

Well, I suppose I do have to admit that after hearing Fred MacMurray was a tightwad and a terrible tipper, I've never been able to fully appreciate any of those Disney flicks he played such a nice guy in, since. (...actors and their politics or their "life style"?...don't give a damn...BUT be a lousy tipper and NOW you've got my ire up here, dude...HATE lousy tippers!!!)

Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs (1982) It started off the mismatched buddy action/comedy films of the 1980s, but this was the best

A movie I'm truly embarrassed to say I like is Glitter (2001), Mariah Carey's contribution to the sub-genre of pop diva vanity projects. When she started popping up in interviews taking credit for the "concept" of the film, I knew it was a must-see. I doubt her claim would stand up in court because we've been down this road before, particularly with the Streisand A Star is Born and Diana Ross' flagrant misuse of Motown money, Mahogany. Since we saw nothing like this from Celine, I guess we should conclude that Rene's cooler head prevailed, though something tells me Taylor Swift is itching to give it a go. It starts with Mariah's mom, a talented saloon singer who's on the skids, burning down the house with a careless cigarette, which puts Mariah ("Billie"...Get it?) in the hands of child protective services. Literally within 20 seconds of walking through the door of her new institutional home she meets the two girls who will become her back-up group. Fast forward to the 1980's New York club scene ( Fresh!) as the three look for a foothold in the music business. An unscrupulous agent (Terrence Howard) signs them, but only as a ruse to get Mariah to ghost the lead vocals for his talentless client (Padma Lakshmi!). The hot DJ in town ("Dice") catches on and fills Mariah's head with dreams of solo stardom if she'll only ditch the group. (Well, Barbra couldn't stay an Oreo forever, now could she?) She falls for him but his shady business dealings doom the relationship. (Nicky Arnstein! Nicky Arnstein!) Mariah gets her ultimate dream (Madison Square Garden!) but has to face the cost of getting there. In a strange way, movies like this are a testament to the vitality of film in general, as old tropes are gussied up again and again by hopefuls with a "fresh" take on time-worn themes. Sometimes it works, sometimes you get beloved trash like this.

Hey, everyone! I love how the "Big Country" has wound around into a Big Topic, encompassing things from Paramount VHS tapes to which brand of frozen pizza is tops! God, I do love these boards! Sewhite: Funny, that in my world and experience Red Baron pizza as always considered to be the gold standard of frozen pies! It was always the most expensive and a real treat, available to us only when one of us got a raise or promotion or something. Tony's, on the other hand, is by far one of the "cheapest" options when glancing down the frozen food aisle! As a side note, in my part of the country we don't have Kroger, but I have lived in areas where Kroger was the main grocery store. Just some regional differences that are all part of life's rich pageant. Stanwyck22 and Overeasy, thank you for your comments. I'm glad that you find "The Big country" so enjoyable. Not to give anything away; but to me, those last scenes between Burl Ives and Chuck Connors are almost unbearably heartbreaking. For two actors -- both of whom were not cinematic "stars" -- they nail their performances like no one else. And this is all part of the way the movie works for me as a whole. And why I tend to gush a bit here about it. Thanks for listening.

King, Andrea

In Dean's last movie he gets killed by a giant alligator . . . in ALLIGATOR (1980).

Fight for Your Lady (1937)

Of course, it wasn't FRED who was truly rotten. It was LT. TOM KEEFER. Great movie, by the way.

Very fitting choice, NoShear! This song is actually tied to a family memory so it's a special one, thank you! 😁

And every cheapie, freebie streaming service...

Sorry, didn't mean to include that giant blank field there. I don't know how to X it out. I was going to say this makes me realize I probably misspelled his first name in my posts for the December schedule.

My parents had an album from a radio station that contained this song and it used to be my favorite when I was a kid. Recently I found this video with some super groovy dance moves. I also liked the song "Here Comes the Hotstepper" by Ini Kamoze when I was a kid. Amusingly, that song also uses the same opening beats and "Na na na na na" chorus. That chorus must have just spoken to me. 😂

I wonder if the film was shown when Joe E. Brown was SOTM? It's from Warners. If so, I'm sorry I missed it (didnt watch him AT ALL) just as a curio. Joe E. Brown gets to be SOTM, but not Joan!

I appreciate you all for your responses, and I feel like I ought to apologize for a rather crude and unfocused review of THE BOYS IN THE BAND (1970)...I wrote it right after watching the film online... something about the movie provoked me... and while I did not like THE TELEPHONE GAME SCENE or the treatment of BERNARD the black character (although I will note, it rings true), I think the thing about the movie that ATE AT ME was the CENTRAL CHARACTER OF MICHAEL.... problematic not just because of the performance of the actor or the way the character (an obvious stand-in for the playwright himself) DOMINATES every scene and hogs all the lines (even the bad ones) and perspectives in a way that's a bit off-putting for something that is ostensibly an ensemble piece... I don't know, there was just something about having to endure spending an hour and a half with such a brittle, inebriated, highly emotional person, prone to manic mood swings and histrionic outbursts and moments of brutal, relentless criticism lobbed at innocent people- someone born with a precise sense for just how to destroy someone, should they so wish...a SOUL VULTURE, if you will, feeding off of others misery and angst... (I mean, as it is, I have to spend 365 days a year with MYSELF, and that's trying enough as it is)

From 1950

I do love this movie, and it was recommended in my feed a few days ago...oddly on the primo service STARZ, I say oddly because it is IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN (I hope you saw a good print of it) ORSON and LORETTA worked well together. here they are as MR ROCHESTER AND JANE EYRE on the radio:

Pigeon was following the script. He wasn't a bird, he was an actor.

So, I'm guessing those "7/10"s are your ratings. Gotta admit, those movies are consistent, if nothing else. And, is it ME---- or is there a correlation of Lake's comic style and Jerry Lewis? To a degree at least. Sepiatone

Fine actor and as pointed out had a solid career in so many different phases over decades. E.g. He was in the 50s T.V. westerns as a young man - one was Wagon Train where he played the younger brother of Shelley Winters. Just one example of the over 100 roles for him. Russ Tamblyn had this to say: Dean. My oldest friend. A godfather-figure to my daughter, Amber. Brilliant artist. Loving dad. We met on the set of The Boy With Green Hair, stayed close til his last breath. Rest easy now, brother. Give Dennis a hug from me when you see him on the other side. (I assume Dennis is Dennis Hopper).

I loved Mackenna's Gold when I saw it in 1968. (I was one of about ten people sitting in the theatre that day). That all star cast, Jose Feliciano singing "Old Turkey Buzzard," Julie Newmar as a hot blooded Indian (oops, indigenous lady) with the hots for Greg Peck. I mean, who's to question the credibility of any film in which Omar Sharif is an outlaw called Colorado? But the critics have never been too fond of this western and no one ever lists it as one of the great ones of the genre. Okay, maybe it shouldn't be but I still think this oater has a considerable amount of hokey entertainment value.