Tikisoo

>I can't think of all that many circus films... There's a LOT of films set at the circus, like Lon Chaney in The Unknown. But I think you're right, GSOE is the only movie actually about the circus itself. But my very favorite circus film will always be Freaks. It depicts the "backstage social" aspect as well as the often difficult life of traveling by wagon as many of the smaller circus's were still doing the first half of the 20th century. And it's the only opportunity to see these famous people on film! Along with my beloved sideshow theme, I love when movies show "hooch" shows, like Mae West in I'm No Angel. Even On The Town has a "****"dancing scene in it. One circus friend a long time ago showed me a taxidermy chicken with pig feet sewn to it. A true sideshow "artifact" created by some clever seamstress for display. I asked how he could swindle people showing them that stuff and he said, "It's all in fun. They know it's fake, it's just entertainment." That was the attitude.

cody's list includes: >WINGED VICTORY with an all-star WW2 cast UGH! This was shown at Cinefest 3 years ago near midnight. TikiKid & I loved it, but were bleary eyed from watching 14 hours of film, we had to go home & sleep. I was assured, "TCM shows it all the time" so figured I could see it later. Not in 3 years has it been broadcast!!

>I think this film gets a bit of a bad rap. I think mostly because it's so corny-but that's exactly why I like it! I know lots of circus & carny type people from my line of work, and they are a fierce bunch, just as depicted in this film. Circus work is the most traditional & earthy form of show business, and the animal factor definitely adds exotica (especially these days when even a horse is exotic to most kids!) I like this film because it captures the last gasp of the great American circus, even featuring the great Emmett Kelly. The costumes are authentic as are the great carved wagons, now on display in Baraboo WI. Betty Hutton was an over-the-top performer and is perfectly cast as is steely Charlton Heston. I especially liked when fave Dorothy Lamour comes out riding an elephant and the band plays the theme from her breakout film The Jungle Princess!

>It is sad when dollars mean more than artistic and cultural values but that is the state of the world. Disney animation is easily found at your local library, often even BluRay versions. "Free" kind of sticks it to them. Only releasing the "classics" on DVD lumps them in with any other kid's DVD, losing their well deserved cach? status as "art" films. I wouldn't even mind if they re-released the classics on the big screen (along with shorts!) periodically, I'd certainly go & bring the kids. But to just keep them holed up and out of circulation? No one benefits from that. You need to keep them alive by introducing them to every new generation. The corporation's backwards attitude justifies duping whenever possible, imho.

Glad I'm not the only one who was confused by this film, but only because then I don't feel so "thick". I'm sure there are MANY people who "get" this film...like RM, and I'm kind of jealous! I love your descriptions and comments. Some films are like that, black comedies especially. Either you "get it" or you don't, no explanation is going to help you. Only repeat viewings may help turn the light bulb on. 2001 A Space Odyssey is like that-I get it and completely understand when someone says, "what a long, dull film". Although I usually love P&P films, The Red Shoes is another I just can't "get" and after 3 viewings, I'm done with it. Louise Brooks is someone I've held dear since I was a teen. Photos of her are all over my house. I hung around her apartment hoping to catch a glimpse of her in her later years but never did. This is her signature film, I'll give it another chance and hope it clicks for me like it does for RM.

Maybe at 16 years old it was just over my head, but I didn't like it. And I saw this film in a theater as a 35mm projection...and the half who stayed until the end left exhausted and bleary eyed. (and I think Ms Brooks was in attendance too) It seemed very long, slow and pointless. Should I give it another try?

>I would hop at the chance to see either the 1931 or 1958 Dracula on the big screen. Ooooh you just missed a 35mm screening of '31 Dracula, at our vintage neighborhood theater Friday night. It was double billed with Rocky Horror Picture Show. >I don't see why the klieg lights would make it so you see their breath though. The hot lights and cold studio air? It was just backlit enough you could see the mist of their breath. >the other part of the bill was The Thing That Wouldn't Die which is a whole different kettle of fish than The Thing (From Another Planet) . Heh it was The Tghing That COULDN'T DIE, the one with the head in the box found via dowsing. Gorgeous crisp print. The Thing From Another Planet was screened last fall by my film group in 16mm but I didn't attend.

Count me as another AddisonDeWitless fan! >You may already know this but Cissy Cameron is Cameron Mitchell's daughter in real life! She also married Reb Brown after the film wrapped. I have no idea if they're still together. Apparently they are. Looking at IMDB there is a great photo of them at the 2011 Capt America premiere, both looking just great! http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1287961600/nm0030203 Really, he's 64 years old, she's gotta be about the same. He was invited as he was the original Capt America-sweet! Daddy Cameron Mitchell was in a TON of roles, and Reb is pretty active himself. Cissy sort of dropped out of acting-too bad! I think they have a lot of talent, obvious when you see Space Mutiny, their (& Law's) talent carried it. It was the writing and editing that ruined that movie. >I don't watch movies made nowadays for the most part, but used to. Every year there was some movie that went over total gangbusters, that everyone loved and raved over while I stood alone in the corner grumbling about how sh***y I thought it was. I'm standing in the corner right there next to you. >although I didn't hate Pulp Fiction, I just didn't see what the big honkin' deal was Exactly. In the plethora of crappy movies, when one is simply entertaining, it's touted a masterpiece. >In 1999 it was American Beauty. Oh no, worse. It was My Big Fat Greek Wedding. >Which brings me to my candidate: 1997's Titanic. AHA! I'd already given up, never seen it. Never seen Avatar either. I like your reasons for hating it too. It just kind of shows you how influential the "common experience" of seeing a movie in a theater with others can be. Most "blockbusters" are just average movies, but are elevated way beyond that in the public's mind.

>LonesomePolecat said: My favorite in terms of badness I think is SPACE MUTINY. You know, It's in my top 5 too. And a fellow MST cinefile never saw it. I raved on about it so she rented it and came back to say, "It was alright." "Alright? Did you not hear, "Nice of you to give the dead girl her job back"? Or Dirk McBeefchunk scream for his purse? "Now Santa gets a present". Or the beautiful ending, "...and his eyes open. Um, eyes open. OPEN" But especially the floor polisher chase scene! These stinkers really show you how & why films succeed or why they fail. I just requested Night of the Lepus from reading this thread.

Well I just returned from seeing Horror of Dracula in 35mm in a big creepy historical theater. I finally understand the appeal of Hammer films. It was rich looking and exciting. Hearing the audience around me reacting to the action on the screen enhanced the experience. I saw no cel phones, heard no talking... heck even the 7 year olds sitting in front of me were glued to the screen. There were actually parts of the movie where there was complete silence, the audience (about 250) was rapt in attention, I only heard popcorn crackling. Seeing these films on the big screen makes a wholly different experience. In several of the opening scenes, you see the actors' "misty breath" when they speak in the castle. I'm sure it's from the heat of the kleigs, but I thought, you probably NEVER see that on TV! The sets, the costumes, the colors and the serious (ok, hammy) acting all made it an excellent creepy movie. No they don't all have to be Citizen Kane, but I thought the flow of the story was well paced. And love, love, love that it was creepy without being gory. (was shown as a 1958 double feature with The Thing That Couldn't Die, lots of fun!)

>Addison said: Really, Dark Shadows as a comedy? For effin real? What about Dark Shadows struck you as being funny, Tim Burton? Like "hah-hah" funny? Did Mars Attacks! teach you nothing, Tim Burton. I hate you, Tim Burton. That made me laugh all day. Thanks for articulating why I too will not bother seeing a Tim Burton film. He's reduced himself to a "goth kids brand" As for my hatred of Forest Gump, not only is it an awful movie, but it contains incredibly talentless Tom Hanks. I absolutely HATE when people think the quotes from that movie are cute or funny. Really? "Life is like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're gonna get" Uh, you're going to get a _chocolate,_ ****. And Wayne, thanks for the heads up on Hannibal. I thought maybe Hopkins' stellar acting might make this worthwhile. Instead, sounds like he sold out. As for hating When Harry Met Sally, I think it's a very well paced film with clever dialogue. It hits the mark all the way through. I can see though, that many people dislike the hip urban philosophic type of charactors, but that certainly isn't enough to call it a bad film. As for Breakfast at Tiffany's; you're supposed to be confused, then hate Holly, then feel badly for her when you find out her reasons behind the hedonism. I think the film has aged very badly, especially as the viewer matures. The best thing about it is Holly's wardrobe.

>Fedya said: There are a lot of movies that I think of as "so bad they're good", that I can laugh through Exactly, you can't count movies like that or "3 Stooges in Orbit" type either-they're geared towards kids and you expect them to be silly. It's much worse when you're expecting a movie to be good and it's just awful. The only two films I ever walked out of (and I sat through Clash of The Titans in the theater!) was "An Officer & A Gentleman" and the second Indiana Jones movie. Terrible disappointments. My hatred for talentless Tom Hanks is legendary and several people urged me to give Forest Gump a try. They _assured_ me it was creative and Hanks does a great job in the role. I cannot believe ANYone could make it through that movie without puking. It was the most insulting horrid excuse for exposing celluliod ever. And I gave the Hankster another try for The DaVinci Code, only because of Audrey Tatau and the kind of interesting book it came from. Ugh. Never again. The inept acting actually overshadowed the story. Recent horrors like The Matrix, 5th Element and Sin City taught me the valuable lesson that movies made today are just plotless, dark CGI violence made for idiot boys...I simply stay home. You can only alienate an audience so long before they give up and realize it's just a waste of money going to a theater. Andy M said: This was just one of those movies that are telling us to appreciate the subtle wit and charm of seemingly obnoxious New Yorkers. It worked better for the Dead End Kids than it did for the creeps in this one. Haha cute! And I'm ONE of those obnoxious New Yorkers!

Guess I'm more about TV....about 10 years ago I was the Star Trek green alien dancing girl. A time consuming make-up & cold gold lame dress. Last year the Tiki Family recycled that green make up for Herman: What was really fun was Eddie's doll. Last minute!...didn't have time to make a werewolf, so reversed blacks & whites of the eyes, fitted toothpick fangs, furred the head & put a wine bottle velvet cape on a baby doll. This year TeekKid begged, "No appliances, please!" haha (she hated her pointy ears)

>Kyle said: While far from perfect, it did emphisize the unique talent of Merman as a stage performer. The viewer was focused on the power of her remarkable voice. I just finished reading Rose Marie's fascinating autobio "Hold The Roses". She had this Merman story that took place in Hawaii for a charity telethon; "When the telethon was over we went to the hotel, sat in the coffee shop and finally went to bed. We had the poster boy and his girlfriend with us, they were named John & Joanie. John had been the poster boy ten years earlier when he was 16. He was now 26 and in love with Joanie (the current poster girl). They were to be married in October. Richard Deacon said, "Why don't you get married here in Hawaii?" They said they had to call their parents which we thought was adorable. We paid for everything. The wedding was the next day in Merman's suite. She acted like the mother of the bride, she was so excited. (snipped) Both the bride and groom wore wedding leis and while the minister said the service Merman sang "They Say That Falling In Love Is Wonderful" a capella. There wasn't a dry eye in the house." Can you imagine? It brought tears to my eyes just reading it.

>Kyle said: The challenge facing a documentary about such an era is that there are few, if any, moving images around to accompany and illustrate the content. (snipped) I understand how some would be distracted by such techniques. It is far from an ideal solution. But when the creators have little photographic record with which to work I don't know what other options there may have been You're right....I know you're right I much prefer a slow pan over a still photo that relates to the subject of the narrative than words dancing across the screen. But the meaty info contained within the episode I saw, was fascinating. Great subject, would make a lovely read.

I caught the second half of this while searching....yeah I really enjoyed the tie-ins to Hollywood part of the story...but I was completely turned off by the production-it seemed to be made by film school students. Full of insipid reinactments, cameras moving over unrelated period photos that were cooked in PhotoShop, flash animated lyrics of well known songs drifting past... If it's an interesting story, there's no need to gunk it up with silly effects.

Um, no. Sorry about the size of that last photo...it's been my desktop picture for 3 months now and think it captures Flynn's essence. Although Kline's a fine actor, I doubt he's good enough to convince me he's Flynn.

>Another fave...the 1924 Ennis House, best known from The House On Haunted Hill (1959) Also used in the forgettable "Rocketeer" movie. It's a later Frank Lloyd Wright house....his "Aztec" period after his better known "Prairie" period that made him famous. It's great seeing the location in that first photo-way up high above the city. They always seem smaller in person.

Well I too recall seeing an older movie about the Molly Maguires on TCM, just don't recall the particulars. Not the silent one either, more the 40's/50's as the OP states. I *had* to see it since one of my best friends, an historian from PA named her youngest daughter Molly Maguire (like Mary Ann) with a 3 syllable Jewish last name. 10 year old Molly-Maguire joked, "I'm the only Irish person in my family" So I know there is such a movie, but all internet searches come up with the 1970 film. And Sayle's Matewan is an *excellent* film. I visited the town soon after seeing the movie. The bullet holes are still embedded in the brick building.

It's amazing when you see this house in person....it's just a 3 sided fa?ade. You can't believe something so fake looks "real" in the movie. From my earlier post you can see visiting film locations is a big hobby of mine. Somewhere I have a great photo standing in front of the millionaire's castle used in The Fisher King. Another fa?ade dressed up to look like a real dwelling. And The Timberland Lodge from The Shining is very historic & very real, although they stupidly erected an ugly concrete block storage building in front, ruining the visual impact. The Double Indemnity house is real, as is the house the Martini's bought in It's A Wonderful Life... I think the Sunset Blvd house has been torn down.

Interesting point RMeingast. Isn't there something incredibly scary about being attracted to the guy/gal you know is dangerous? I guess the idea of repulsive vampires to beautiful vampires was originally Bela's doing. He is not only handsome, but suave and commanding...something consistent in portrayals of Dracula, until the added tragedy of Ann Rice vampires. That just goes to show you the power and impact of a great performance that simply defines the charactor forever. Has there EVER been a wicked with that's not green with a cackley voice? Please don't forget sexy Chris Sarandon as a vampire in Fright Night- or my personal favorite Frank Langella, who still turns me on in a big way-

So few film houses are real, the rooms look big & airy because they're only 2 sided! A very real house used in a movie was Jean Simmon's house in Home Before Dark filmed in historic Marblehead Massachusetts. I've taken lots of screen shots and compared them with modern shots as the town never changes, just the trees got bigger in 60 years. She lived in the circa 1731 Lafayette House: And here's me & my salty dog standing in the corner: We're still trying to figure out if the interiors were filmed inside-something about the doors & staircases don't seem quite right. But it's a gorgeous home worth over a million dollars even though it doesn't have a yard! The house I live in IS like The Haunting house....very old & creepy with lots of cobwebs, heh.

>Markfp said: It may suprise a lot of people here, but those of us who prefer to watch movies uncut and commercial free are in the minority. The vast majority of TV viewers grew up with commercials and frankly just they don't think twice about it. It's amazing to me anyone *tolerates* commercials and many people actually enjoy them! I'm often bombarded with silly catchphrases that are met with my blank stare because I've never seen the commercial it's from. People will say, "Have you seen the one...." and I reply, "I don't watch commercials" and they retort, "What about THIS one?" and I have to repeat my answer because they simply cannot comprehend the idea. And willbefree, maybe we're not ignoring you, maybe there just aren't a lot of Firefox users. Glad you found out, though....it's been going on for years. My question is, does anyone have the rights for IAWL 35mm screenings? Is that (or even DVD projection) "public domain"? I drag the family out every year for the 35mm holiday screenings hoping eventually they'll catch the bug for it!

>Dothery said: I have Frank Capra's book, "The Name Above the Title," and I would highly recommend it to any fan of his movies. It's fascinating. Yes, it is a fascinating read, but I understand that's because much of it is fantasy. Don't get me wrong-I love Capra and he led a very interesting life and accomplished many things. But as it's an autobiography, you must take it with a grain of salt. Point of view may be skewed and memories embellished over time.

I'm glad people recognise Savini & his talents. I have my own Tom Savini story: He once visited a museum I worked in. I was more interested in him as a "cute guy" than as a Hollywood special effects guy but immediately knew my disadvantage, never having seen his work. I 'splained, "I just can't watch gory bloody scary movies." So he told me to rent Friday The 13th at my local video store (yeah, that long ago) and watch it with the sound off. He said you won't get involved in the story and you'll see the effects as we do- a technical art. He was 100% right. I also realized how manipulative the special effects can be. It was my first horror film and I can brave most any of them these days. Thanks Tom!