Members

Agreed. There are many old movies that regularly ridicule all sorts of people-Jews, Italians, Chinese, Japanese. I cringe hearing any racial or cultural slur in an old movie, but realize people weren't as enlightened or "global" thinking. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT '67 is a movie about racism, could you imagine every insulting word bleeped out? Honestly, re-watching BLAZING SADDLES a few years ago, I was shocked hearing the N word, used for comedic effect rather than insulting the hero. When I hear a racial slur directed towards MY people's heritage, it makes me bristle but I realize it slips past most people's consciousness. (I even had to enlighten MrTiki about it) When Canadians or Brits make fun of Americans, I can usually see the humor and can laugh along with it. Same for female stereotypes, I may roll my eyes or stop watching the movie, but how can you be angry over it or demand it be stricken from history? The world is not going to conform to whatever makes you comfortable. I'm tired of people moaning over words being offensive. Grow up. You can't change the past & I'm disappointed TCM would capitulate & edit their movies.

New Beatles documentary "Get Back" recasts band's breakup Filmmaker Peter Jackson's new film "Get Back" documents the Beatles 22-day creative process that resulted in the album "Let It Be." "Fantastic," "intimate," and "historic" are some of the words Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson uses to describe the 57 hours of video and 130 hours of audio he combed through to create the soon-to-be released Beatles' documentary "Get Back." Jackson and his team spent about four years culling down the footage into a more than seven-hour, three-part narrative arc that follows the band's creative process in chronological order. It begins streaming on Disney+ on Nov. 25........... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beatles-get-back-peter-jackson-60-minutes-2021-11-14/

As for the question at hand, do I let the actors' personal lives affect my viewing of their films? No. No I don't. It doesn't matter to me what they did in their personal lives. Do I condone their actions? No, but at the same time, so many people are so quick to condemn people based on what they've *heard* about someone. Just because you heard some rumor, it doesn't mean that it's true. It doesn't mean that it's not, but it seems silly to me to boycott a long dead celebrity because you heard that they did something you didn't like. As for those who were actually charged and convicted of a crime, a la Roman Polanksi, I guess that watching that person's work is up to the individual person's discretion. I won't be watching Rosemary's Baby because I don't like the film; but I love Chinatown, so I will continue to watch it. I know that I'm not condoning sex abuse by enjoying Chinatown. There are others, like my fave, Errol Flynn, who were charged with a horrible crime, but were aquitted. Flynn even denied the accusations in his memoir, and based on the things that he did admit to doing (some which were pretty bad), I choose to believe him. I guess my point here is that so many people are condemning people based on rumor, which I think is silly. If that person wasn't actually convicted and charged with something, and you weren't there first-hand to witness whatever the person is being accused of, then you don't really know if whatever rumor is true. When the rumors are substantiated by someone, it is probably important to look at *who* it is that is supporting the claim and what possible motivation they might have for doing so. I always hate it when on social media posts, someone will say something like "I really love John Wayne. He's great in The Searchers" and the first comment will say something like "John Wayne was racist, he said [such and such] in 1975." I always feel like these low-hanging fruit type posts are low-effort. There's no attempt to actually engage in a discussion about the OP's statement. Just an attempt to be a wet blanket and shut down any attempt at conversation. If that's all you can contribute, do everyone a favor and don't respond. So many people think their opinion about everything is worth sharing, and frankly, it's not. People should use a filter and think about whether their post is helpful. If not, don't post. It's okay to be critical about what is said, and to even offer a dissenting opinion, but there's a way to do so that encourages a productive conversation.

Re: MacMurray. Having not been alive during the 1960s when Fred was known primarily for My Three Sons and his Disney films, I only knew him from Double Indemnity and The Apartment. And I knew of him from his appearance as himself in an episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. I've also seen his more comedic turns like his collaborations with Claudette Colbert (The Egg & I, No Time for Love, The Gilded Lily) and Alice Adams. More recently, I saw him in The Caine Mutiny. I remember seeing him in The Absent-Minded Professor, and compared to Double Indemnity and The Apartment, it was kind of a letdown to see him in these types of roles. I much prefer seeing Fred in his pre-Disney career.

Question for the posters here-- if a film like "The Magnificent Ambersons" is deemed by critics and others to be a failure, even if a 'worthy' failure-- by virtue of poor editing, re-cutting, or some measure of loss of control by the director-- does that ruin it for you? "...Ambersons", (airing again on Monday @ 6:15 p.m. Eastern on TCM) is my favorite of all of Orson Welles' output. Mutilated or not, it's fabulous, in my opinion. Welles is so quickly able to set up the drama of this fascinating group, whose fortunes spiral down as dizzyingly as his camera flows up and down the Ambersons' grand staircase. I was hooked from the first moment. That whole complex, layered scene of the party they throw confirmed it for me. He gets everything right-- the Midwestern town's dense, sharply observant social climate, the brisk mood of the times, the pettiness and closeness and oddity of the family relationships. With Welles, with so many scenes staged with such originality, you almost can't single out one. For me, it will always be that bucketing, jubilant, seething, eventful automobile ride they take through the snowy countryside-- it's a set piece of pure brilliance! And the casting! It's true that the ending, taken out of Welles' hands, is a let down, to say the least. Didn't they re-shoot more than one scene, as well as make drastic cuts? But for me, that doesn't take away from the excellence that came before....

Actually. the scene appears in the film but TCM cut it out because it was deemed offensive to sidewalk entrepreneurs.

For me i have Four. (Until i think of More.. ha.) (The) Keys of the Kingdom. Lilies of the Field. Brimstone. News of the World. (Only reason i Include this one is due to that Lovely Finale' of an ending.) Dreamland. (Tend to Look at the Absolutely EXQUISITE, Glistening, and Glowing Performance of Margot Robbie in this Amazing Feature As (A Bit of) a Preacher.)

I think any censorship needs to be taken seriously. It usually starts off small, but look at what's happening in San Francisco. It used to be a cool city, now it resembles the Third Reich with its destruction of artwork, censorship and "re-naming" frenzy. Article in The Atlantic: The Holier-Than-Thou Crusade in San Francisco "This debacle is just the latest example of “progressive” cultural censorship in a city once renowned as a bastion of free speech."

Other people’s opinions, even a professional film critic’s, doesn’t affect my opinion one way or the other about a film. All that matters to me is my opinion and feelings about a film. I really like The Magnificent Ambersons and I lament the loss of Welles’ original cut and ending. Right now, a filmmaker, Joshua Grossberg is in Brazil looking for Welles’ original cut which is rumored to be residing there. TCM is funding the expedition. If successful, the original cut will be on TCM next summer. I can only hope the rumor pans out and Grossberg’s expedition is successful. https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2021/04/tcm-documentary-search-orson-welles-the-magnificent-ambersons-1234732933/amp/ Until then though, I really love ‘Ambersons’ as it is right now. It is a compelling story and my heartaches for poor Aunt Fanny.

I read a review on the IMDb earlier this morning where the writer said MASS APPEAL (1984) is one of the best church movies of all time. I would have to agree. What do you think are the best church-related movies? Catholic or non-Catholic...here's my list: 1. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) 2. MASS APPEAL (1984) 3. I'D CLIMB THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN (1951) 4. DOUBT (2008) 5. I CONFESS (1953) 6. ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (1941) 7. GOING MY WAY (1944) 8. THE CARDINAL (1963) 9. COME TO THE STABLE (1949) 10. THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM (1944)

Here are some more Church movies. The Bells of St Mary's 1945 The Bishop Wife 1947 Stars In My Crown 1950 The Nun's Story 1959 Francis of Assisi 1961 Becket 1964

OLIVER

I hate it, can't watch the hosts while they are on camera. TCM might as well have a clown in the background, waving, that's how distracting it is.

Well said, SPEEDRACERS. Those are very much my sentiments too. Wow, I had no idea someone was actively looking now for the original! How very exciting-- what a coup if they find it. "Fanny" was so well played by Agnes Moorehead, she is so poignant in that role. She was caught in a horrible position. I love the authenticity of the 'bickering' exchanges between her and Tim Holt.

I wonder if that was the first use of the term "The Man" as we now know the term in a film?

I had not seen The Lineup for a few years... I really enjoyed it, but I also would not call this noir. For one thing, the film is very bright, all shot in bright daylight. No fog, no darkness. The closest things to noir elements for me were the scene in the precinct house with the police lineups of crummy-looking jokers the rooming house occupied by the late wheel-man "Lefty" Sanford Jenkins, where the cops find his stash and needles- grim, realistic scene on a garbage-strewn street The Seaman's Club where Eli Wallach murders the guy in the steam room; dark, morbid scene in a place that seems like it was waiting for a murder BTW, I have stood in police lineups. When I attended college at Fordham U in the Bronx (early-mid 1980's), the cops from the 52nd Precinct would recruit students like me to stand in lineups, at the police station (still there at the corners of Webster & Mosholu Ave's) for $10 cash, per night. If I was lucky, one lineup, home in an hour. If I was unlucky, I'd start at midnight and be home at 8:00 AM, after spending the night in the company of the crummiest-looking group of crooks you could imagine. $10 was not chump change in those days, On the way home at Rocco's on Bedford Park Blvd, a large pie and a calzone might be 8 dollars. At Cushy Butterfield's bar, a draft beer was 35 cents.

With all the high-tier Catholic movies, I'm almost ashamed to mention Disney's The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) as a nice depiction of local suburban Protestant community churches. Not really much out there for the New England and Minnesota Lutherans besides canonical biopics, eg. the Joseph Fiennes Luther (2003).

Ikiru (1952) Turkish Delight (1973) Terms of Endearment (1983) The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Dark Victory 1939 Love Story 1970 Brian's Song tv movie 1971 Six Weeks 1982 Dying Young 1991

Not trying to be snarky. I'm just saying I'm sure they have a database of films they have rights to broadcast that can be sorted by last date shown. Some they probably decline to show because they are in bad shape and not digitized. One I can think of is "Divorce Among Friends" (1930). I have an old VHS copy of a very old TCM broadcast of that film. I don't think it has been shown since the 1990s. What was broadcast was in very bad shape, has no stars that anybody would recognize, and I can see why TCM would not broadcast it. On the other hand, "The Divorcee", from the same year, won Norma Shearer a Best Actress Oscar, and has been restored. I would expect to see that from time to time. And don't expect TCM, with its history of showing everything uncut, to be honest about why some films are just not being shown anymore. Because they realize that can of worms only opens from the inside.

First, I saw (and noticed) this when it aired. I was actually coming here to see if there was anywhere to complain, and I'm overjoyed to see that several others have beat me to it. Uncut and commercial free... Well, they get half of it right. But in all seriousness, this is a VERY frightening development. As for: ABSOLUTLY beside the point. Presentation does not equal endorsement. And if you want to go further, the scene plays as Popeye: Never trust a n**** Cloudy: It doesn't matter that he was black Popeye: Never trust anyone So it's not merely "white people saying that word". It's a joke, a character beat, it destroys how the scene plays, and it's censorship. I SERIOUSLY doubt it. A few years ago I read Friedkin's autobiography where he talks about having to fight with the studio for them to not cut that very scene (they thought it would make people hate Popeye and check out of the movie), so it seems strange that suddenly he would request it cut. Not to mention, he has fought MANY battles regarding the censorship of his movies, including his most recent Killer Joe. So I highly doubt that he would now request them to be cut. He probably doesn't have any idea, so I reached out via twitter to let him know (and to see if it was indeed his doing) REGARDLESS. if that was the case, TCM should have said so during the opening thus letting the audience choose whether or not to watch a censored movie

It was a terrible storm. The boat rocked and rocked. Up one wave and down another...

Did someone say Al Jolson as Star of the Month?

What a great summary, TOTO, of all that makes Ambersons so rewarding! Glad you highlighted that stunning cinematography and the intricately detailed ambiance that only Welles seems to be able to bring off, with such verisimilitude. Gosh, SEWHITE2000, did not know about a new version. As usual, I'm not well disposed to these remakes of great classics, but purely as an academic exercise, it would just be interesting to see what moderns would make of that screenplay, how they would attempt to put it across. If you find any more about it, I'd be interested to know. NIPKOWDISC, what a good eye you have. Those kitchen scenes are so atmospheric, love them too.

Tuesday, November 16 9 p.m. The Learning Tree (1969). Gordon Parks autobiographical film.

"The THings I Will Not Miss" from LOST HORIZON the musical next song from another 1970s musical

Over the Edge (1979)

"I Love a Piano" - Easter Parade (1948) Next: Duet with two women

a willy, nilly, silly old bear...

Julia Misbehaves

One of the things I do respect & appreciate about the host segments is that they are each filmed in a single continuous take. Changing camera angles or switching to closeup would require cuts. Better if they just stop the useless and distracting camera panning.

Yes the car chase was different. Unpredictable. All those dead ends. I was sort of against the car driver at first (although I thought it sort of mean when Keith called him a dipso and emptied his half-pint out the car window) but he proved his mettle when the chips were down. Drove good. Maybe if he coulda had a couple pulls from his ‘inspiration’ he would have figured out an escape route that worked.

the few times I've watched it I found unrewarding. agnes moorehead needed to whack georgie on the head a few times.

Maybe CJ, but don't we now primarly think of the term "The Man" as meaning "the police", and not so much in regard to it meaning some kind of "Mr. Big" in the underworld? (...btw, I enjoyed The Lineup as well. and like Vautrin, I think I too remember seeing it many years ago...the ending jogged my memory of this)

Colorado Territory (1949) Director Raoul Walsh's western remake of his own High Sierra (1941) works very well on its own. Joel McCrea is western bad man Wes McQueen, breaking out of prison at the film's beginning and teaming with a couple of low life outlaws for a train robbery that he hopes will be his last act of outlawry before beginning a new life. As with the original gangster classic there's a prevailing sense of doom about a man who cannot escape his past. Virginia Mayo plays a woman he encounters who, like McCrea, is also trying to escape her past. While McCrea and Mayo might not bring quite the same shadings to their roles that Bogart and Lupino had in the 1941 original they are still fine in their roles. McCrea is a convincing seasoned westerner, this time bringing a sense of cynicism to his role. Raoul Walsh always had an authentic, expressive feeling for the vast exterior expanses of the American West. The film will lead to a climax similar to that of High Sierra but with a fateful, bitter twist that will make it memorable in its own right. Dorothy Malone plays the seemingly nice girl towards whom McCrea is initially attracted, with Henry Hull as her father. This was Virginia Mayo's first film with Raoul Walsh. She would immediately be reunited with him to play another gangster's girl (but a far tougher, completely self serving one) in White Heat for even more memorable results. Colorado Territory has been broadcast on TCM on numerous occasions in the past, and is currently part of a two disc release of High Sierra from Criterion. It's a quite serviceable print, even if the scratches and blemishes show that the print is not a restoration. 3 out of 4

Tea and Sympathy (1956) The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) The Last Picture Show (1971) American Graffiti (1973) School Ties (1992) Thirteen (2003) Easy A (2010)

Just recently I purchased M, a German film, and Peter Lorre's first film as well. It's so realistic for 1931. I'm a big Peter Lorre fan anyway, but this may be his best performance. The director (Fritz Lang) manages to make ordinary criminals look like the good guys compared to the child killer. The criminal underworld and police are in a race with each other to catch him. In the end, I can't help but feel sorry for him. It's obvious he needs to be in a hospital or at least be given a fair trial, not ripped apart by gangsters at a mock trial. Definitely worth a watch!

I think it’s a wonderful idea!

Interesting post. I know the Movies Network censors their films, I hadn't noticed TCM doing it especially when West Side Story was on last week. All the deragatory names were called I believe when they sat down to discuss the rumble. Tomorrow night, Swing Time is coming on, let's see if they take the number out where Fred Astaire is wearing Black Face as a tribute to Bill BoJangles Robinson. Shaft is coming on TCM Tuesday night, let's see if any of the language is censored here and during Superfly which comes on later.

The Lineup has no women. No femme fatale. No “love” interest. That in itself makes the movie move faster. Are there any other females besides Mom and Daughter? I don’t think so. I liked this one because of that, and I never expected Eli Wallach to be so intense. He really impressed. Of course you know Mom and daughter are going to survive (it’s Hollywood). And the head cop seemed to have a dual personality - one with his hat on and one with his hat off. Or maybe just a dual look ‘cause of his curly hair. His partner was okay but they both walked stiff and their trousers were cut too short. The movie was worth it ten times over when Wallach kicked ‘the man’ over the railing at the ice skating rink. That was cool as all get out.

It took me a while, but I realized I had seen The Lineup before, probably three or four years ago. I like the idea of having two psychos in the movie--one quiet and the other all out there. Why would a Mister Big hire nuts like these? They only mess things up. Do your job and leave the sociopathic stuff for your spare time. And the two SFPD officers were rather on the dull side. They made Friday and Gannon look like rock stars. Pretty entertaining, though there's a bit of I've seen this all before here. I've always like Mary LaRoche, though here she doesn't have much to do. She appeared in a lot of TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s, including a number of Perry Mason episodes. Sexy in an understated way. I get get a kick out of Eli Wallach doing a Widmark and pushing Taylor over the edge onto the skating rink. Splat. The car chase was well done, though after watching The French Connection it loses some of its luster. I wondered if it was legal for the cops to take away Mr. Drysdale's suitcase without a warrant. I'd see a lawyer about that.

"La Mouche". Oh, now you had to go and put that old joke in my head, about the tourist at the French restaurant: 😆 "Garcon? (points to soup) Le mouche!" "No, m'sieur...'LA mouche'. Is female." (squints) "You've got good eyesight!"

The Lineup has cinematography and location shooting that to this day blows away many modern movies. The car chase was impressive. The falling dummies, not so impressive. The child endangerment sub-plot was repulsive. What always takes me out of a story is the police lab tech or policeman cutting open the bag and licking the white powder off his finger. This happens constantly in TV shows and crime movies. No one working in law enforcement in the real world would do this. The second is the use of a silencer attached to a revolver carried by Eli Wallach. Silencers don't function with revolvers. They're made for pistols. This kind of hit-man movie gun is used in a zillion shows. Lee Marvin and Clu Culager carried them in The Killers. (There have been experimental noise-supressed revolvers made by Russian and American military.)

Eli Wallach and Robert Keith as psychotic criminals -- fun! Plus, Vaughn Taylor as you've probably never seen him! And I always appreciate Don Siegel's crisp direction. But -- I didn't think LINEUP had any real noir elements. Can someone fill me in?

So...you WANT some hacks at TCM arbitrarily, at their whim, replacing the artistic vision of the director and writer(s)?

The Big Steal was also directed by Don Seigel. Although I would not call it a car "chase" as such. You had three cars mostly just following each other at a distance. There were some interesting events during this, but nothing I would call chases. The Big Steal is probably my favorite movie. As for The Lineup, after about five minutes I recalled having seen it, but had forgotten enough to keep it interesting. Eddie was right the first half hour of police procedurals was not as entertaining as the rest of the movie. The car chase was a classic chase.

According to many married women it seems to have been missing for quite some time. Sepiatone

TCM has mistakenly shown edited prints before--I remember this happening to The Outfit (and films in the wrong aspect ratio many times). They showed The Bad News Bears (with a little kid dropping N-bombs) a few weeks ago. But an even better test will be coming up this Friday, since Blazing Saddles is on at midnight ET.

Actually, most of them in the later '60's(especially those American International "biker" flicks) were more cliched stereotype riddled than intended parody. Their only credibility came in the form of using actual music of the times instead of the way too ridiculous "Hollywood Rock'n'Roll" heard in many "major" releases in the earlier '60's and late '50's. Sepiatone

"The Nun's Story", (Sunday, 7:15 a.m. Eastern), so frequently aired, is one I like no matter how many times it's shown. As a teenager and non-Catholic, found it exotic and fascinating. And you can't underestimate the hormonal pull of Peter Finch's charismatic "Dr. Fortunati", and his playful, shrewd, sometimes tormenting r'ship with Sister Luke. But viewing it from the perspective of an adult- it would be great if there were more films that delineate an ongoing relationship with God or a major spiritual struggle of any kind, or even films that take that seriously. Her downfalls, from the perspective of her type of nun, were her pride, and disobedience. Of course, in the end, she elects to abandon that particular struggle and continue to work against the Nazi menace outside of the convent. Her discerning father had predicted she wouldn't be able to conform to the ideals (some would say, 'needless strictures') of her order. And the ending seemed to endorse her decision. But between the beginning and the ending, you at least got to see something of a soul grappling.