wordmaster

Oh, Jack, very crafty. It pays to know the ins and outs of the game before playing. [by the way, Jack, it's your turn over at "Six Degrees...", thanks to your solving of my Marie Windsor/Jerry Lewis conundrum.]

Thanks, ken. The acting in the films of the 30's has an inherent stiffness, I grant you. Your recommendation is enough for me to seek out the Ford-Wayne version, if only to see Ward Bond and the others out in the "Technicolor/John Ford West".

Ahhhhhhhh....CAROLE LOMBARD.......the luminous one........... Pardon me as I float upon her ethereal gaze.............

I will weigh in on this topic in my usual considered and non-confrontational manner. Rather than disliking films after 1970, I prefer to say that there is little, if anything, in them which could capture and/or hold my interest at this time. There may be stories in more recent films that might attract my attention but I don't find myself having the urge to see contemporary actors tackling them. For example, the film "Good Night, and Good Luck": a story that may be of interest to me but I don't feel an urgent need to see how George Clooney deals with it. It can keep, as far as I'm concerned. If it's that good. it'll be good ten years from now. Conversely, there may be actors whose work I might be curious about, to see where they might be in their development as actors, but the stories these actors inhabit may not be compelling enough for me to want to make the investment in what constitutes the contemporary "movie-going experience". An example here would be Kevin Spacey, an actor with tools and potential but is this enough inducement for me to see "Superman Returns" or "Beyond the Sea" or other movies of less questionable merit - short answer: not yet. Again, it can wait. The territory of pre-1970 [or, for me, pre-1960] films is rich enough for me to explore for the foreseeable future.

I just finished watching this film - nothing on today's schedule caught my eye so I decided to fire up this one from the videotape pile. I was very impressed; in many ways, a classic Western. Smart writing, a well-written story in a concise package and a trio of solid lead actors [Chester Morris, Walter Brennan and Lewis Stone]. It gave me a new perspective about films of the early-to-mid 1930's, which I had generally placed in the 'unrefined' category, with notable exceptions, of course. This film looks good, sounds good and is good. I will be looking for some more Chester Morris films for future viewing on the strength of his work here. The friendship between the Brennan and Stone characters is genuine [at least to me] and edges on the profoundly touching. Any film that refers to a book by Schopenhauer as a "joke book" is wise beyond its years. The Chester Morris sequence where he tells the bartender how he got the lady's watch and the throwaway 'tagline' at the end is a gem of screenwriting - I almost fell over in my chair with laughter and surprise. I would also be interested in hearing from anyone who has seen the later version of this film - the 1949 John Ford/Wayne version.

A solution has arisen: Wrongfully Accused < Leslie Nielsen > Forbidden Planet Forbidden Planet < Walter Pidgeon > Men of the Fighting Lady Men of the Fighting Lady < Louis Calhern > The Arizonian The Arizonian < Richard Dix > The Ten Commandments That is the best I have come up with to this point. I'll see what other routes are available.

I can't do any better, MrWriteLA. I came up with: Little Caesar > Edward G. Robinson > Two Weeks in Another Town > George Macready > Taras Bulba > Sam Wanamaker > Guilty by Suspicion

You are correct, sir. Life is often harder than it seems. This does not say much for France. [M. Hulot's Holiday has to be funnier than The Nutty Professor - or at least let me live in hope/delusion...] In any case, the floor is yours, Jack.

Here goes, Jack: Der Blaue Engel < Marlene Dietrich > Judgment at Nuremberg Judgment at Nuremberg < Spencer Tracy > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde < Ingrid Bergman > A Matter of Time A Matter of Time < Liza Minnelli > Cabaret

I'm picking two names [sort of] at random, just to see what people can come up with in the way of connections: From the sublime to the ridiculous: MARIE WINDSOR to JERRY LEWIS Tally-ho!

I'll post a pair of names soon - I'm trying to decide whether I should try to devise something tricky or just pick names at random and see what everyone comes up with...

Submitted for consideration: Leslie Howard < The Lady is Willing > Cedric Hardwicke Cedric Hardwicke < A Woman's Vengeance > Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick < Tammy and the Bachelor > Leslie Nielsen

> > Best Non-synchronized Speaking by a Bit > Player: the guy with the Elmer Fudd lisp whom > Shatner shot---I think between the eyes---on the > porch outside the saloon. > It's good to see that the chimps who've been > programming the Fox Movie Channel and AMC have gotten > their sibling a job on weekends at TCM. Per diem > basis, no doubt. That must mean that this chimp > provides his own darts & blindfold and TCM points him > facing the dart board, aka schedule. Many thanks, moira, for reminding me [and others] about this unique individual - I'm sure he was shot between the eyes, as you mentioned. To put it mildly, the guy creeped me out. It was a surreal interlude amidst a cavalcade of mediocrity, and his appearance almost [but not quite] made the film watchable. I'm sure the fever will pass, if it hasn't already. Cold compresses and maybe some light entertainment [a musical, something silent from Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd, perhaps] should do the trick. If not, you may have to go for further, more intensive treatment. Re: chimps and dartboards You are on to something here - it was either this method, or the dreaded Wheel of [Mis]fortune that spun inexorably to its fatal resting place. I am a bit concerned, however, that there may be some cross-contamination occurring among some of the movie channels on offer. I may have to propose the posting of a "CHIMP ALERT!" if such aberrations in programming occur more regularly.

Correction, please...my enthusiasm overtook me there. Radar Men From the Moon > George Wallace > Forbidden Planet Forbidden Planet > Anne Francis > Funny Girl Funny Girl > Barbra Streisand > What's Up Doc What's Up Doc > Ryan O'Neal > Paper Moon There is an answer. There may be a better one, though.

Radar Men from the Moon > George Wallace > Forbidden Planet > Anne Francis > Funny Girl > Ryan O'Neal > Paper Moon Such is my answer.

We will certainly try...and welcome from all of us here. The first film that comes to mind from your description is June Allyson in "Too Young to Kiss" [1951]. You can check on the Movie Database above to see if this is the right one. Feel free to browse, chat, play some trivia or whatever you wish.....

Much to my [mis]fortune, I am unfamiliar with this "I Dismember Mama" of which you speak. After a brief detour to imdb, I notice that film patrons were provided with free paper "Up Chuck Cups" for their personal use during the film - how quaint... Would that such little touches as these could be provided nowadays...for oh so many reasons...

Well, Jack, I did watch it today, much to my chagrin [this film made me wonder about the virtues of, dare I say, "ishtar"* or "howard the duck"*]. My review, such as it is, can be read in Genre Forums under "Westerns" - look under "Commanche [sic] Blanco...". *=whispering as quietly as I possibly can...

Hey, Jack...too fast for me! I had Dan Rowan > "Maltese Bippy" > Mildred Natwick > "The Enchanted Cottage" > Robert Young > "Tugboat Annie" > Marie Dressler This is FUN, though...

Well, Jack, trust you to find a more direct solution than my own humble effort. A less direct person, such as myself, might have posited the following: "My Man Godfrey" > Eugene Pallette > "Tales of Manhattan" > Edward G. Robinson > "Mackenna's Gold" > Raymond Massey > "East of Eden" You may fire when ready...

Ah, a BINGO! Such contentment...thank you, MrWriteLA. I enjoy Ian Wolfe also, if only because he pops up in a film where you least expect him... Back to the game now. Please go from "My Man Godfrey" [1936] to "East of Eden" [1955]. [i will be away from the desk this evening, so please excuse any delay - I will look at your response[s] as promptly as I can.] Message was edited by: wordmaster

Hello there...I just watched it too, just to hear Shatner's Indian yell. If this is an enchilada western, it would have to be described as pure "Tacky-o Bell"...too long under the old heat lamp. How ever did he get his voice to echo like that when he was rallying his Comanche brethren to action? Maybe he had some kind of gadget akin to the Universal Translator in those designer jeans of his...and the most un-Western-looking belt buckle ever sported by a cowpoke in Western history! One thing I did admire - although I hesitate to admit it - was the degree of marksmanship displayed by the cowboys here...so many shots to the head/between the eyes from long range - simply astounding! I was fascinated by the horses in the film, high-stepping along the trails and through the town...I didn't know dressage horses needed the extra work. "preposterous pontifications", eh? Some astute alliteration on your part - a tip of the hat for that... The music was pseudo-jazz/cocktail/intermission noise pollution from some lounge that I wouldn't be caught dead or alive in. Strangely, though, it often synchronized with the horses' hooves...those wacky Europeans must have been practising overtime clacking their cocoanuts together - shades of "...The Holy Grail"! I wonder if this was filmed before or after the ST episode where Kirk got a knock on the head and fancied himself an Indian... Now that you mention the locations, I didn't see any tigers or Samurai warriors either so I don't think you're on the right track... :-) All that said, this film is worth missing [and I don't say that very often...]. The only laughter I could muster was of the risible/scornful variety - unfortunate, indeed. Message was edited by: wordmaster

"Mutiny on the Bounty" has Ian Wolfe as Maggs..."Dick Tracy" [WHICH I HAVE NOT SEEN] has Ian Wolfe in the cast as a forger and Dustin Hoffman as Mumbles...and Dustin Hoffman is in "Meet the Fockers" [WHICH I HAVE NOT SEEN]. I think that is a one-film connection, is it? [awaits the arbiter's decision with much trepidation...]

Thank you. It is true...there is triumph in defeat, after all.

[gazing triumphantly at the masses upon his pedestal, wordmaster turns and speaks...] I HAVE NOT SEEN "ISHTAR"!!! Back to the drawing board...