Tikisoo

Blame TVLand for this series of disappointing statues: Lurid/Scary Lucy Elizabeth Montgomery in Salem, MA Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis, MN Andy Griffith in NC TVLand also sponsored a Ralph Cramden statue placed in NYC. They did NOT sponsor the LUCY sculpture abomination. The team that made the TVLand statues are astoundingly good sculptors. I've seen the Andy Griffiths & the Bewitched ones several times and they are impressive. Although you may not think so from Holden's photos, the Elizabeth Montgomery statue is a dead on likeness. Her pose is natural and there is interesting detail patterns to the moon & the stars on the ground. See how the artists kept her teeth within her lips? And recessed her iris' with a high spot to catch the light? Classic sculpture techniques. Her hair flows beautifully. And look at her throat, with dress & necklace draping as I pointed out the failure of such on Lucy. The Andy Griffith one is just as perfect-and that has Griffith & Ronny Howard both! Difficult to pull off!

To enhance your vintage theater experience, I will be slingin' popcorn & jerkin' soda in vintage garb all three days of CapitolFest! Please introduce yourself! Maybe we can gather TCM board members for a photo. I'm pretty sure of at least 3 other board members will be in attendance. This truly is a fantastic film festival- there is plenty of down time for people to socialize, the theater is gorgeous, the films are RARE and everyone needs to take a peek at the projection booth. The Capitol takes great measures to keep their vintage equipment in tip top shape. And THIS year they will have a dealer's room! Hard to find disks, authentic movie posters/lobby cards/stills and rare books & euphemera. If anyone wants to crash at my place & commute in with me, please PM.

The Lucy/Desi Museum in Jamestown NY had several of the costumes from this movie on display. They were gorgeous. In the scene of Lucy in riding clothes, the crop she carries is Desi's. He was an avid horse rider.

Even using a picture of Lucy making a funny face with her mouth, her eyes & nose are still beautiful. I just got back from visiting the Lucy/Desi Museum in Jamestown which was a fantastic experience. The statue has a "camp" and comedic reputation now and people flock to photograph it. It's just awful and confirms my feelings the artist doesn't have much professional experience. The proportions of the figure are way off. It's as if she's larger than normal size around her bust, but child size around her hips: She is tipped forward and even her hands are poorly sculpted, looking like rubber flippers. I travel the universe with Captain Kirk, and in this close up you can see the artist didn't even drape the pearls on the chest with any sort of expertise (easy for an artist): The shoulders and arms are not "relaxed" and forehead and cheekbones are too low to represent Lucy's face. It's just not good. But it certainly makes people laugh! Jamestown is full of bronze statues (hockey players, ice skaters) which are better, but still not nearly as good as the TV Land sculptures. OTOH, there are several memorable murals around downtown depicting famous I Love Lucy scenes. They are really well done, even this one painted on corregated concrete.

(I am continually stunned how many museums of the world do not have air conditioning!) Lorna, museums should not have air conditioning as it artificially dries out antiquities, needing humidifiers to counterbalance it. When I was curator of a museum, it was IMPERATIVE we allowed the artifacts to "breathe" right along with changes in the atmosphere. We used very unobtrusive low level fans to keep the air moving, never near the displays, but for the people visiting. It was amazing at night to hear all the pieces "crack" as the wood contracted. Night at the Museum, indeed. Now my workshop is in my home. When watching a movie with me, friends will often jump when pieces "pop" in the next room. It sounds like a car backfiring, but I'm used to it. All that's wrong with the very large Dorian Gray painting is the weight of the canvas has sagged in the upper corner. This is actually an easy fix for a qualified restorationist. But it would also benefit from cleaning, moisturizing and minimal touch up to conserve what's there before it further deteriorates. I do this all day long.

I think I'm the only woman in this thread and as earlier stated, find William Powell handsome. He had big bedroom eyes and a prominent nose. Sure, his clean appearance & suave clothing help too. You guys need to watch Powell with the sound turned off-his body language exudes confidence and he ends every sentence with a smile-at least shows both his upper & lower teeth often-which is a direct invitation to the opposite sex. William Powell's comedy comes from what was written for him, not his delivery. Now you take Frank Morgan, who is also handsome & suave looking. HIS body posture is less aggressively confident. His body seems to "bob" as inflection to his "bobbing" speech patterns. We see this as dramatic & comedic, which is why actors who are deft at one will be very good in the other, ie Bette Davis, Robin Willams, etc. Along with this is visual body type. Powell is tall & thin-indicating an athletic lover. Morgan has a softer mature physique, not quite as sexy. A perfect example of this is Eugene Pallette who was a handsome leading man in the early days of celluloid. As he became portly, he had lost his "romance" status and put into more comedic roles in which he excelled. His leading man days were over when sound came in-that gravelly voice just iced the cake on his successful comedic status.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the photos. The Dorian Gray painting meant a lot to me. Apparently I'm the only one on this board who appreciates your efforts. I forwarded your link to several friends I knew would get a kick out of it. The painting means a lot to me too. It's an important movie prop as well as an extraordinary painting from the golden age of Hollywood. While I try seeing every Hollywood costume exhibit, this painting stands alone for it's role in the movie: the signature, the cat, Hurd's incredible face. After all, the movie is named for the painting! All I know is that the last owner of the painting was Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, who was an acclaimed Art Collector for Asian artifacts and was also a relative to Hurd Hatfield. It makes sense he was the one who bought it for Hurd and received it back after his death. You'd be amazed how often people discard historical artifacts because of their size or cost of upkeep. An art collector already knows this and prepares for it. Again, thank you for your diligence tracking it down & taking the time to post your photos & share your blog about it. You rock!

Keep 'em coming, folks....I may have copies of what you are looking for & would be happy to share. How could I forget, the one movie I want more than any other is Martin Scorsese's ITALIAN AMERICAN ('74). It has shown on TCM before, but I wasn't smart enough to record it. It's not available on any DVD release, even as an "extra". It's a fantastic film he made early in Marty's career, simply interviewing his parents - Italian Immigrants- asking them questions about settling in NYC and raising their family. It's such a beautiful time capsule of now gone NYC in the 70's. Actually, somewhat quaint. His parents are a RIOT, they are so insightful and use terminology my grandmother used. You can really see where Marty gets his sense of humor. My favorite passage, "How did you celebrate Christmas? Did you ever have a tree with ornaments?" "Naw, we didn't go for that." Adorable. It's one of those movies I want to watch with my family for our yearly get together. My mother & I both love it so.

Well, I actually keep a list of "want to see" along with a reminder as to the reason. Every month I peruse the TCM schedule and once in a while a wanted film comes up. Recently, O LUCKY MAN and and TOO MUCH TOO SOON came up on the schedule. None of these are available at my library, typically a great supplement to TCM. THE GOOD COMPANIONS (33) FRIDAY THE 13th (33) both Jesse Matthews after reading Shelly Winter's autobio: THE BIG KNIFE-1955-ShellyWinters/Ida Lupino/Jean Hagen I AM A CAMERA 1955 Julie Harris/Shelly Winters I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES-1955- Shelly Winters THE SOUND & THE FURY with Joanne Woodward/Yul Brynner (Faulker novel) AND THE ANGELS SING Betty Hutton/Dorothy Lamour WINGED VICTORY (saw the first half at Cinefest, couldn't stay awake) The rest are all from TCM board conversations...got my interest, waiting for them to come around again on TCM: Post Tenebras Lux Rancho Notorious 52 (fritz lang) Bad Ronald Behind The Door (noted on this board as worth seeing) Escanaba in Da Moonlight by Jeff Daniels My brother's wish list I carry in dealers rooms at film festivals: What Price Glory 1928 Mr Moses w/Robt Mitchum 1965 Reunion At Fairborough A recent movie angel burned copies of ON WITH THE SHOW, ALL THE FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS and LETS GET LOST for me-now off the wish list!

oops double post...I'll take this opportunity: Look at the size of it! That frame alone is worth $10,000. It looks in pretty good condition but definitely needs to be restretched and most likely cleaned a bit. I find the hands extraordinary. And the "basil hallwood" signature is so prominent. Fantastic! Cute picture Emily-so glad you had someone take that pic with you for perpective!

Wow THANKS Emily for sharing that! You are correct-I've always wondered what happened to that painting. I had known Hurd Hatfield once owned it, but what about after he died? Interesting history. Lucky that you were on top of things and saw it in person.

I've never enjoyed an Antonioni or Fellini film for that matter. Anyone else? Could very well be that I need to see them in a theater setting with an audience. Maybe they just don't translate well for home viewing. Silents are like that for me too.

As I understand it, the reason for "Spam is people!" comes from the fact that cannibalistic societies are given Spam as a substitute.....because it tastes close to human meat, ew. The spider/ad spam on this board is easy to spot and generally gets eliminated by the mods fairly quickly. Which is more than I can say for the junky vanity threads on this board; you can't miss them...the one where the original poster is the only reader and responder because no one else cares.

phroso-great to see you back on the boards! My math skills suck...thanks for pointing that out. Apparently, I saw the movie in '83 and never realized it was a 10 year old movie when I saw it. I went on a lot of "double dates" to the movies back then and would groan over the titles of some of the stuff I'd get dragged to. In retrospect, I saw a lot of the best movies of the '70's & 80's thanks to the guy my best friend was dating. Wonder what ever happened to him? Thanks Bill Thomas for introducing me to some really great movies!

I like your entire observation, andy. But I do swoon over Bill Powell's bedroom eyes and large nose (indication of largeness elsewhere) And if there's ever been a female counterpart to "ruggedly handsome" who's showed up as a romantic lead, I'd like to know who she might have been. Although I find her attractive mainly from personality, I never found Lauren Bacall to be a typical feminine beauty. In fact she comes across as somewhat homely with large uneven features. I actually prefer more unusual beauties. We've also discussed Barbara Stanwyk's atypical looks on this subject at length. There's a few unconventional beauties who became big stars. Would you consider fave Anna Magnani in your "ruggedly handsome" category?

This was the highlight of this month's list. Hadn't seen it since '73 (when I was 22) but recall enjoying it. Hope the recorder got it for me so I can see it with a 54 year old's eyes. Funny, I always described it as a modern CANDIDE tale as well. Gosh, that pic of MacDowell reminds me of what a weird looking guy he was!

Great! I was named for Susan Hayward and only know her from I WANT TO LIVE, BEAU GESTE and REAP THE WILD WIND. I don't know why my mother was so taken by her, but hope to find out!

Yes classicsuz, both of Mary Astor's books are available from my local library-but then again, my local college has a very famous acting school. I really enjoyed her writing style. As I've mentioned before....there are many books out there on movie stars that are really poorly written, but are decent sellers only because of the star power of the subject. Many are personal anecdotes, ie "When I saw her on the screen, I was mesmerized" while many are picture books of simple listings of all their movies - ugh - I can see that for myself! Classic Images magazine has THE VERY BEST book reviewer ever, "Book Points" by Laura Wagner. She's well informed & tells it like it is, pulling no punches. I enjoy hearing this kind of review, it helps me decide whether to make an investment buying it, or just borrowing it from the library. For example "House of Noir: Dark Visions From 13 Film Studios" she says, "Let's start first with "meticulous plot outlines" since his entries are basically just that: long agonizing plot retellings, containing spoilers. This would be boring anyway, but here made even worse by Schwartz's inability to distinguish between useless and interesting points. His writing is disjointed, making the stories of these classic films sound illogical and downright surreal. I just shook my head over passages like this one from THE GANGSTER...." And she goes on to quote the book illustrating you how poor the writing is. Realize many books these days are written by "fans" rather than trained writers-a point that makes a huge difference in your comprehension & enjoyment of a book. When she lauds a book, I know it'll be entertaining and worthwhile. Wish ALL book reviewers were this candid.

I've always thought younger Frank Morgan somewhat resembled hunkster John Barrymore. Morgan had a distinct voice with great inflection along with going prematurely gray which I think changed the way he was charactorized. Ever see his less famous brother Ralph Morgan in a movie? Almost the same voice & face! They were from a large family (I think 10 kids) and he & Ralph were almost like twins. Like Barrymore, I find Frank Morgan to be a sentimental rogue type of leading romantic man. But his comedic timing and vivaciousness were so great, I think he was just cast exploiting that type. My group just screened BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 and in it Frank did a recurring bit of allowing his ever changing dates to wear an expensive ermine coat on the date-deftly taking it back after the goodnight kiss! He was bright & brilliant as usual and received big gaffaws from the audience whenever on screen. Whenever I make a martini, I toast Frank Morgan, once heir to the Angustora Bitters fortune.

There's an entire web page devoted to playing songs backwards (something much easier to do in the days of vinyl & record players) I have d/l a few like Queen's ANOTHER ONE BITS THE DUST when played backwards says "smoke marijuana" believe it or not. OK, I rewatched SLIGHTLY FRENCH yesterday and found I had slept through the entire middle the first time. It was actually rather cute, with Ameche's charactor training Dottie to impersonate a French girl for a movie part. I still find Ameche to be wooden and smug, not very likable. Dottie of course was adorable, especially when she acted like a tough townie gal. The story had a little MY FAIR LADY about it, especially when she blew up at Ameche when he tried taking credit for her success. So yeah, a rather predictable and light comedy....but Dorothy Lamour brings life and sparkle to make it worth watching.

When I was a kid it seemed perfectly reasonable to go into the theater and begin watching even though the movie was half over. Then we would stay and watch from the beginning (the movies looped over and over in that ancient era). The time would come where we would say, "Here is where we came in..." then leave. Funny you'd say that laffite- my brother took me to see HELP! as a kid and we did just that. They showed a Bugs Bunny cartoon before the feature and we watched both cycle through all afternoon. Crazy kids. AND the Tiki family watched HELP! for family night. First time for them, first time in 50 years for me. TikiKid was enthralled by the Beatles and I loved remembering them so young & cute. Completely forgotten my fave Eleanor Bron was in it. Her role seemed to be just to show great costumes for every scene. A silly plot perhaps, but we all enjoyed it. A gorgeous restoration. I watched the extra disk by myself later, very interesting. Many of you know I'm laid up for awhile. This is forcing me to rest & I'm catching up on my TCM recordings. Last night I watched RAIN OR SHINE an early Capra film that takes place in the circus. I lurved it. It showed how Capra wanted to focus on morality tales, the code of the circus is an early strong one. Scenes showing the lead "Smiley" performing were ASTOUNDING-what an acrobat. I'm so glad this performance was preserved on film. I'm finding a common theme for Capra was "mob mentality" of a crowd rioting. The climax was a tent fire-something I'm always in total fear of-so I was on the edge of my seat! Dramatic stock footage had to have been from the great fire in Hartford, but I haven't confirmed that yet. Corny yes, but historical & fun too. Next was star of the month Don Ameche paired with my fave Dorothy Lamour in SLIGHTLY FRENCH. While whenever Dottie was on screen & singing was great, the rest of the movie was ho-hum. Ameche had zero presence, inho. I'll rewatch the last half hour just in case I was too sleepy (I'm on meds for my injury) But I think it was a "skip it" kind of movie. Too bad-I'd love a better vehicle for Dottie.

I can understand Robert Reed's embarrassment over his participation in the show. I was the right age when it first aired and I even thought it was awful. It was just as insipid as Gilligan's Island-like a bunch of Laurels with no Hardys. Any 10th grader could have written the episodes which seemed to have been purposely acted in a stilted way. How could you parody something that was a parody in the first place?

DRACULA'S DAUGHTER sure was a snooze fest. I don't mind Svengoolie's patter in between breaks-it entertains kids and that's how I got involved in old movies too-with horror movie hosts.

OK laffite, if we're going to talk about music greats.... I was a model and was an "official greeter" for our local radio station which made backstage a part of my arena. Between that & on my own I had met Jethro Tull, Renaissance, Billy Joel, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, Fleetwood Mac, Harry Chapin & many more. Electric Light Orchestra was one of my favorites and I was on my own for that one, (it was out of town, in Buffalo) although I managed to get myself backstage with a "gift" painting of Jeff Lynne. I got to meet the guys, get autographs and talk a little about music with Jeff Lynne who was very enlightening-a truly smart, kind & talented fellow. They all went to rooms to get into costume and this really sweet curly haired guy said, "Wanna see the stage?" OF COURSE. I had heard it was some big spaceship set that opened up a la Spiñal Tap so I wanted to see it. The curly headed guy went right to the synthesizer and told me all about it. He was "tuning" and checking it and we got into a conversation about electronic music, theremins, Raymond Scott, etc. Finally, when I asked his name he was BOB MOOG! He was shocked I knew who he was, but I was really into music, I knew of him. I had no idea he was so young & cute, which he loved. In the 2000's, his company offered inexpensive theremins so I bought one. It is one of my most prized possessions. It's always fun when someone comes over & spots it, "Wow! A theremin! Can I play it?"

I wonder how embarrassed she is by her FLYING NUN series? I loved it as a kid but even then realized it was stoopid. Same thing with Gidget. I'm glad she made the transition from "kid" actor to adult actor. A testament to her talent. Maybe a PRIVATE SCREENINGS is in order for her discussion on filmmaking?