Rickspade
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Posts posted by Rickspade
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This a great idea for a thread. . .and an impossible task to complete for any real Cagney fan. I guess it would have to depend on what mood I'm in. If I want to see Jimmy at his hard-boiled best, then it's got to be White Heat. If I want to see him with great chemistry with another actress, then it has to be City for Conquest and Torrid Zone (My favorite actress is Ann Sheridan, and boy were they great together). If, as a fellow native New Yorker, I want to see him at his New York-roots best, then it has to be Angels with Dirty Faces and The Roaring Twenties. Then for sheer entertainment throw in Yankee Doodle Dandy, One. . .Two. . .Three. . . and oh, well, you get the picture. All I can say is, Cagney was the first actor I came to love as a kid growing up learning about old movies, and nobody but nobody could ever rise above his material the way he could. He was always fun and fascinating to watch, no matter what the movie was like.
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On second thought, that can't be right. The Saint was George Sanders. Never mind.
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Coffeedan,
The Saint.
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Scarlett,
You did very well; the actual number is six, including the three you guessed, and the other two you mentioned. They used "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Times Goes By.'" And your personal favorite quote finished at #20. ("Here's looking at you, Kid," was the highest quote at #5.) The sixth quote was "Round up the usual suspects." One of my very favorites didn't make the list, a variation of which you hear people use today. Claude Rains, after ordering Rick's nightclub closed, says to Bogie, "I'm shocked, shocked, to discover gambling has been going on in this establishment." And then of course a croupier hands him his winnings! Priceless.
By the way, Gone With the Wind had three quotes. Gable's famous exit line finished at #1, and the others were "After all, tomorrow is another day (#31) and "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."(#59).
In closing, I have to echo your sentiments: when all is said and done, Casablanca is my favorite movie, too. If it's not the perfect film, from first scene to last, it's as close to perfection as anyone ever got.
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> Hi Rick! Partially right according to my sources. I
> get Knock on Wood,, As Time Goes By,
> and It Had to be You.
>
>
I'm learning fast that it's important to post
> questions that have a definite answer I don't
> remember Sam singing a song called That's What
> Noah Done? But............that certainly doesn't
> mean anything . Did he sing the whole
> song..............or part of it? It certainly is
> possible that there could be 4 correct answers
> instead of 3.
>
Scarlett,
I believe you're correct. I was relying on my memory and then a couple of sources I had here, one of which is a comprehensive biography of Bogart which has a detailed filmography, including cast, production, and music credits. However, it doesn't mention "It Had to Be You," which as I now recall, is a song that Sam definitely does sing, along with "As Time"..and "Knock on Wood." As for "That's What Noah Done," I have no clear recollection of Sam singing it, unless it was a few bars in the background. So, I guess I scored 2 out of 3, which if this was baseball, would be great. Good question. Now, here's another Casablanca one for you and anyone else.
Last year the American Film Institute came out with another one of its Top 100 lists, this time the 100 best quotes from American movies. As you might have expected, Casablanca came out with the most. How many of the film's quotes, or lines, made the list and which ones were they?
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What three songs did Sam sing in
Casablanca?
Scarlett,
"As Time Goes By," "Knock on Wood," and "That's What Noah Done."
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> Born this day February 21st:
>> Posthumous
>
>>> Lead/co-star Ann Sheridan (51) 1915-1967.
> Irresistibly likable movie star (a redhead) in many
> Warner Bros. films including "Angels with Dirty
> Faces", "Torrid Zone", "City for Conquest", "They
> Drive by Night", "The Man Who Came to Dinner", "Kings
> Row" good performance, "Juke Girl", "George
> Washington Slept Here", "Nora Prentiss", "The
> Unfaithful", also in "I Was a Male War Bride" w/Cary
> Grant, "Woman on the Run" good crime caper (she ends
> up on a roller coaster), "Come Next Spring", etc.
> Was married to actors Edward Norris and briefly to
> George Brent. She was tagged "The Oomph Girl" which
> she despised. Was starring on the TV series "Pistols
> and Petticoats", at the time of her death from
> cancer.
> Her 3rd. husband Scott McKay didn't follow through on
> her internment and after 37 years her cremated
> remains were discovered stored in a metal box along
> with her wedding ring and a pair of her favorite
> earrings (thanks to the author of her biography).
> On 2/21/05 a memorial was held at Hollywood Forever
> Cemetery, which would have been her 90th birthday.
> She rests in an elaborate setting in an urn with her
> picture near by. We love ya Annie.
> > ****************
>
Mongo,
Thanks for this nice summary and tribute to Annie on her birthday. She's still my all-time favorite actress, and in the past I used to look forward to this day because TCM always showed at least three or four of her films, some of which were rarely seen gems. Now, with the Academy Awards falling in February/early March, we have to endure the 31 Days of Oscar, and that obliterates any other programming. A real drag. Anyway, I was intending to post something here, but you beat me to the punch. I'll just echo your last sentiment, "We love ya, Annie."
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> Disregard what I wrote, I realize what you meant.
> That's why I said it made no sense ... it was just a
> marketing scheme. I'm trying to remember Nick
> Charles's Greek name in Hammet's book. Do you
> remember it?
Was it Charalambides?
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> The studio didn't base the sequels on Powell's
> physique, they based it on the audience's lack of
> literacy. Unless people read Hammet's book, they
> wouldn't know who the thin man really was. That's why
> they stuck with the Thin Man in the sequel titles,
> because that was the only factor that connected those
> films together.
Well, that's one way of looking at it, but anybody who saw the first movie and remembered it would know that the thin man was not Nick Charles, but the guy who died. You didn't have to read the book to know that. My point was that the sequels all featured the return of the Thin Man, and the studio just made it appear as if that was Powell's character. Otherwise, how do you market five sequels when the original character is dead?
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That's right we do see the Thin Man in the
first film ... but not in all the sequels
(since he's dead)."The Thin Man" in all the
subsequent movie titles makes no sense.
You're right, Matt, but after that first movie the studio marketed the subsequent films as if William Powell's character was The Thin Man, not the guy who died in the first film. It probably helped that Powell himself was thin, and other than hardcore movie fans (such as those who post on these message boards) no one ever really thought or cared about the discrepancy. BTW the "thin man" character's name in the original was Clyde Wynant and he was portrayed by a terrific character actor named Edward Ellis, who had a great supporting role as a hardcore convict in the classic, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang.
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>
>
> Who was initially cast as the Tin Man in "The Wizard
> of Oz" (1939)?
Buddy Ebsen. But he had to bow out because he was allergic to the paint or whatever it was they used on the character.
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>I liked her a lot, too. She always grabbed your
> attention when she was on-screen, no matter who she
> was playing opposite. "King's Row" has always been
> one of my favorites. She's one of those actresses
> who, if she's in a movie, I'll always give it a
> look.
>
> But . . . she did go the Broadway route. As so many
> actresses do, when work got scarce in her later years
> (especially after "Woman and the Hunter"), she moved
> to New York and appeared on Broadway and toured for a
> long time (as I recall, she toured with her
> then-husband, Scott McKay, for quite a while - I
> can't remember in what. Whatever happened to him -
> she was married to him when she died). And then,
> just as TV was reviving interest in Miss Sheridan,
> she died at 51 - far too young.
>
> I know we all miss her, but she's never too far away,
> thanks to TCM and DVD's.
>
Hi Ralph,
I like Kings Row a lot, too; Annie is great, and it?s probably the only real good performance Reagan ever gave. The only thing that spoils it at times is some of the very corny dialogue, especially coming from the Robert Cummings character, who after all is the main character. It doesn?t help that Cummings is not very good at all, he really should have just stuck with light comedies. Anyway, I didn?t know about Sheridan?s Broadway career after Woman and the Hunter, which I?d like to see one of these days, but good luck since it?s really obscure and I don?t see that coming out on DVD anytime in this millennium. I have no idea what happened to Scott McKay either, and you're right, that at least through TCM and DVD, Sheridan will always live on.
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> She's one of my favorites too, and they haven't been
> showing many of her films on TCM lately. In fact,
> over the coming months, there is only one on the
> schedule, Honeymoon for Three (1941) on March
> 15 at 7:30 AM ET (which I've yet to see), featuring
> Warner Bros.'s "Oomph Girl". Would you recommend it?
Hi, path40a.
I saw this one a few years back, and while it's nothing grand, it's certainly worth seeing, especially for any Sheridan fan. It's also got Jane Wyman in it, and Ann's co-star is George Brent, who became her second husband the year after they made this movie.It's somewhat predictable, but nevertheless funny and enjoyable. BTW, I believe the April schedule has two other Sheridan movies on the 18th--the great Torrid Zone and Navy Blues, back-to-back. I'm sure you know all about the former, and I'm looking forward to the latter because I've never seen it.
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>
> The Black Dahlia is based on the James Ellroy book,
> which I've been waiting to come to the screen for
> ages. So far, we only have one Ellroy book made into
> a movie, L.A. Confidential, which was done very well,
> though it was a LOT different from the book. But I'm
> worried about De Palma because I think he's
> incredibly overrated and has made a career out of
> mimicking other directors' styles. I just hope he
> mimics a good noir director this time around.
>
> I thought I'd put my two cents in here since I'm a big James Ellroy fan, too (at least up until he decided to adopt a writing style that seemed more like sending a telegram), and loved the adaptation of L.A. Confidential. I also share your reservations about DePalma and you're exactly right, he's way overrated and mimics other directors--usually not very well. I just hope he doesn't butcher The Black Dahlia, because if he pulls out some of his usual tricks, he's going to ruin it. Speaking of the Dahlia, I read one of the many nonfiction books about the case last year, the one called Black Dahlia Avenger, written by Steve Hodel, a former L.A. cop who winds up being convinced that his own father was the murderer. Ellroy wrote the foreword to the book. It?s very, very good, and contains a lot of information about people like John Huston and Man Ray, who were good friends of the author?s father. Are you familiar with the book?
BTW, I?m intrigued by you?re posting name, Matt. Are you a fan? When I was in my late teens, I must have read about ten of the Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton, and remember them being very good (Of course I was pretty easily influenced then by sexy dames, spies, and an American version of James Bond.) I was very disappointed when Hollywood chose Dean Martin to play Helm and ruined the entire hard-boiled nature of the character and the stories. What about you?
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> My favs are:
>
> Mildred Pierce
> Double Indemnity
> The Big Sleep
> Laura
> Nora Prentiss
> They Drive by Night (film noir???)
I love all those films, however, I'd have to delete They Drive by Night from any film noir list. While Ida Lupino's character certainly qualifies as a classic noir femme fatale, the film is not nearly dark enough, and Raft, Bogie, and Sheridan's characters are all very decent people just trying to make an honest living. Still, it's a terrific example of the kind of working man/woman film that Warners did so well in the 1930s and 40s. The opening scene in the diner where Sheridan and Raft first meet is great, and the bantering and sexual double-entendres are just classic.
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I agree, Edgecliff. Every time I?ve seen her sing or dance in a movie I thought she was quite convincing. I guess if she had gone the Broadway route, however, there would be even less Ann Sheridan films in existence than there are now, and I wouldn?t be happy about that. Two of my all-time favorites are Torrid Zone and They Drive by Night; her characters and the way she delivers her lines makes both of them great. Anyway, interesting coincidence about your shared birthdays, so happy birthday to you and Ann a little in advance. I wish TCM was showing some of her films next week the way they used to each year on her birthday, when the Academy Awards were in late March and the 31 Days of Oscar took place during that month. Now, they just randomly sprinkle her movies throughout the schedule, but I guess that?s better than nothing. Well, I?ll be searching for any ones I haven?t seen no matter when they show them.
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It's a comedy, and a very funny one. Co-starring Jason Robards and the stunning Jean Simmons, it's a terrific satire on the state of American marital union and disunion. Written by Norman Lear (before his TV successes) and directed by Bud Yorkin, who later became Lear's partner. Check it out.
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Thanks for the tip, Edgecliff. I don't know that book, but I'll try to get a copy of it. I agree about Nora Prentiss and The Unfaithful, two of Annie's best dramatic films. Thankfully, TCM has show them on numerous occasions and I was able to tape them. Of course that's on VHS, which as we all know is soon, if it hasn't already, about to go by the way of the dinosaur. If those films come out on DVD, I'd purchase them. BTW I used to look forward each year to TCM's February 21st birthday salute to Annie, which was good each year for at least one or two films I'd never seen before; but since the Oscars have now shifted to February/March all the birthday tributes have gone by the wayside. What a drag! Anyway, I carefully scan each month's schedule for any Sheridan films I haven't seen, but they are few and far between. Nice to know there is at least one TCM viewer who appreciates her work.
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> Yes, absolutely yes this in NOT Ann Sheridan. I have
> seen the film many, many times and this girl looks
> absolutely not even the least like Sheridan. Many
> books have repeated this tale of Sheridan doing a bit
> in TREASURE and I don't know where it came from.
> Maybe Sheridan was supposed to do the bit, but I say
> this is not her, nor does the woman even resemble
> Sheridan in the least even if this was a disguise.
> Robert Osborne probably picked it up from these
> books.
This thread brings me great satisfaction, and 'd like to personally thank all of you who are trying to lay to rest this story about Annie's appearance in Treasure. I am a HUGE Ann Sheridan fan (I've seen 40 of her films, which I think is pretty good since many of the ones she did before she became a featured actress{pre-1938} are never shown because they're either too obscure or just lost). Anyway, I've seen Treasure about a dozen times since I own it, and I've never been able to identify her in any scene, including all the scenes with walk-on actresses. So, I'm in complete agreement with the opinions by Edgecliff, et. al. that her appearance is just a myth, repeated over and over because no one wants to bother to contradict it (except us) and no one from the movie is around anymore to verify or deny it. Anyway, I wish that long-rumoured biography of her would appear so her name would resurface at least for a while. She was one of the sexiest and sharpest multi-talented actresses in Hollywood history!
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> Wow, an all noir week! That sounds great!
>
>>
> TCM aired an interview with several older retired
> film noir lady stars a while back, and I?d like to
> see that interview again. It was funny. They were all
> nice ladies. I had always thought of them as being
> rude heartless tough dames.
I agree 100 percent! I bet if the TCM programmer really worked at it, he/she could come up with an entire month-long noir festival. And if he can't, it sounds as if several of us on this thread could do it for him.
On your second point, Fred, there's a terrific book by Eddie Muller (since you're so knowledgeable about noir you probably are aware of this) called Dark City Dames. The book contains features and lengthy interviews with six noir actresses of the 40s: Colleen Gray, Jane Greer, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Savage, Audrey Totter, and Marie Windsor. It's a wonderful read for any noir fan, and as you described, they all come across as nice (and smart and funny) ladies.
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I'd also like to add SCARLET STREET and SWEET SMELL
> OF SUCCESS to the mix.
Two great choices. Absolutely have to be on any Top Ten all-time noirs. Joan Bennett in Scarlet was never more sexy in her entire career. . .or more evil. And Eddie G. and Duryea round out one of the most perverse love triangles in noir history.
So much of the dialogue in Sweet Smell is memorable, but my personal favorite is:
J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) to Sidney Falco (Curtis): "I'd hate to take a bite out of you. You're a cookie full of arsenic."
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> One scene of Woody's which I often recall (making it
> one of my favorites) is from "Radio Days". The scene
> starts with Woody's dad getting **** off because
> the upstairs neighbors are playing the radio on the
> Sabbath (everybody knows they are godless
> communists). Dad goes upstairs to read the riot act
> to the...communists. Dad stays upstairs a
> very long time. Dad, upon his return to his
> apartment, immediately begins bellowing (I am
> paraphrasing), "downtrodden workers must unite!"
>
> Woody Allen--what a talent!
>
> Rusty
I also love Radio Days; it?s one of my favorites as well. Glad to see that there are some TCM viewers who appreciate Woody?s great talent. Admittedly, he?s produced some weak films, but overall his comedies are filled with some of the funniest lines since Groucho was tossing them left-and-right during the 1930s at Margaret Dumont, and a host of pompous, bloated foils whom he so hilariously skewered.
I also wanted to amend my previous posting on favorite lines, since the ones I chose were from post-1960s films; here are two favorites from pre-60s films.
One truck driver to another (pointing to diner waitress Ann Sheridan): ?Nice chassis.?
Second driver: ?Classy Chassis.?
First driver: ?I?d like to finance it for you, baby.?
Sheridan: ?Who are you kidding. You couldn?t even pay for the headlights.?
They Drive By Night
. . .And the ultimate closing dialogue from any movie.
Detective Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond): ?Heavy. What is it??
Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart): ?The. . .stuff that dreams are made of.?
The Maltese Falcon
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From a comedy:
Woody Allen to his mother: "Why were there Nazis?"
Mother: "Ask your father."
Father: "How the hell do I know why there were Nazis. I don't even know how the can opener works."
Hannah and Her Sisters
From a drama:
Noah Cross (John Huston) to J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson): "You see Mr. Gittes, when you get to be my age, you realize that at the right time in the right place people are capable of . . . anything."
Chinatown
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> I think some of the most amazing acting by MacMurray
> in Double Indemnity was when he just looked at
> someone while gritting his teeth. I could see his jaw
> muscles clinching. I could feel the knots that were
> developing in his stomach and his chest pains as he
> finally began to realize that the dame was a crooked
> lying conniver. I?ve never seen a guy on film say so
> much without speaking a word.
>
> And his narration was great too, like when he said he
> couldn?t hear his own footsteps.... it was the walk
> of a dead man. Geeze, while watching that movie, I
> feel everything he feels because of his excellent
> acting and his tone of voice during his narration.
I agree completely; it's almost impossible to believe this is the same actor who was in such Disney films as The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber; what a waste, he could have had a great career as a villain, especially in the hands of the right director. While we're on Double Indemnity, let's not forget how great Eddie G. was (when wasn't he great?) in the role of Keyes.His scenes with MacMurray are terrific, and my favorite one is after the murder, when Robinson rattles off all the ways people commit suicide, every possible statistical variation, until he drops the punch line: "No one has ever committed suicide by jumping off a train moving less than 5 miles an hour!" And of course at the end where he lights MacMurray's cigarette after all the times MacMurray had to light Keyes' cigar. What a Hall of Fame film noir, from first scene to last!
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