JackBurley

Lana Turner was a honey baked ham, from her earlier hamlet Ziegfeld Girl ("I'm counting my blessings!") to her driving skills in The Bad and the Beautiful and to her later diva turns in Imitation of Life, Peyton Place and Madame X.

"...great ladies, such as Lynn Whitfield and Lonette McKee,just to mention two,get lousy or no-roles at all... I was wowed by Lonette McKee when I first saw her in Coppola's The Cotton Club. I saw this on the huge screen at San Francisco's [long gone] Northpoint Theatre. She was luminous and I thought "a star is born". Then I've barely seen her since. She's worked steadily, but her career wasn't given the spotlight that she deserved.

Thanks; and that Ann Miller movie was Small Town Girl. This scene is featured in one of the That's Entertainment movies. The movie, which also features Jane Powell and Farley Granger, played on TCM just a couple of weeks ago. Anyone know more about Sunnie O'Dea?

This is probably the most macabre post I'll even enter here, but from Moliere to John Ritter, there's a long history of people struck down in the midst of a performance: Alexander Woolcott- heart attack during a radio show Tyrone Power- heart attack while filming Solomon and Sheba Harry Parke [who was featured this morning on TCM in Strike Me Pink!]- better known as "Parkyakarkas", died at the Friar's Roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Leonard Warren- Great opera basso, had a massive stroke while performing in Verdi's La Forza del Destino at the Met. Paul Mantz- Hollywood stunt man killed during the filming of The Flight Of The Phoenix. Nelson Eddy- Massive stroke while performing in Miami. David Burns- Heart attack during a pre-Broadway performance of 70 Girls 70 in Philadelphia. Irene Ryan- Stroke during a Broadway performance of Pippin. She actually died some weeks later. Sid James- Heart attack during a performance of The Mating Game. Cyril Ritchard- Heart attack during a performance of Side By Side. Karl Wallenda- One of the "Flying Wallendas", died while suspended 123 feet above San Juan, Puerto Rico. Arnold Soboloff- Heart attack during a performance of Peter Pan. Vic Morrow- Killed on the movie set of Twilight Zone. Jon-Erik Hexum- Handsome actor accidentally shot himself on the set of the television show Cover-Up. Jane Dornacker- Treasured San Francisco comedienne went to NY to become a traffic reporter where she died in radio station's helicopter (crash). Edith Webster- After singing "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" at a performance of The Drunkard she actually suffered a heart attack during her scripted death scene. Dick Shawn- Struck his head during a performance at UC San Diego. Audience assumed it part of the show and let him lay there for minutes before coming to his aide. Redd Foxx- After years of performing fake heart attacks on television's Sanford and Son, he suffered a real attack on the set of The Royal Family. Brandon Lee- Another accidental gun death, this time on the set of The Crow. Tiny Tim- Heart attack while singing "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" in Minneapolis. Antony Wheeler- Forgot to fasten his safety harness for the hanging of Judas scene in Jesus Christ Superstar. Giuseppe Sinopoli- Heart attack while conducting Verdi's Aida in Berlin. What is it about Verdi?

Hi Terrence, 'Twas Hugh Marlowe (not "Beaver"'s father, Hugh Beaumont)... Rod Taylor provides some beefcake too (before he was attacked by The Birds). The movie's selling point at the time was that it was in CinemaScope. Enjoy!

I imagine Deliverance would be too obvious to be correct?

So true, Ms. Ayres! Movies, like other art forms and will continue to be enjoyed as long as we preserve them. [Note: Dancing en pointe began in the early 19th century...]

I haven't seen anyone mention this year's festival, so thought I'd post it. [Please forgive me if this information is repetitious.] This year's festival will take place July 14 - 16, 2006 at San Francisco's Castro Theatre. Following is the schedule: Frank Borzage's Seventh Heaven (1927) with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer. Miss Gaynor's son, Robin Adrian, will introduce the picture. John Ford's Bucking Broadway (1917) with Harry Carey and Molly Malone. Michael Mortilla on the stately Steinway. Harry Carey, Jr. is the special guest for this one. Julien Duvivier's Au Bonheur des Dames (1930) with Dita Parlo and Armand Bour. Accompanied by The Hot Club of San Francisco. William Beaudine's Sparrows with Mary Pickford. This showing will include the original trailer and outtakes. Michael Mortilla on the stately Steinway. G. W. Pabst's Pandora's Box with Louise Brooks. Newly struck print presented by artist/filmmaker Bruce Conner. Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer. A free program: Amazing Tales from the Archives. Archivists and preservation experts share tales of films rescued from oblivion. Patrick Loughney of George Eastman House, Mike Mason of The Library of Congress, Mona Nagai of the Pacific Film Archive and Peter Limburg of Haghefilm. Laurel and Hardy's The Finishing Touch (1928), Liberty (1929) and Wrong Again (1929). Michael Mortilla on the stately Steinway. Boris Barnet's The Girl with the Hatbox (1927) with Anna Sten accompanied by the Balka Ensemble. Tod Browning's The Unholy Three with Lon Chaney, Mae Busch and Victor McLaglen. Jon Mirsalis on the stately Steinway. Introduced by Patrick Loughney of the George Eastman House. King Vidor's Show People with Marion Davies and William Haines (including cameos by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and John Gilbert). Dennis James on the Mighty Wurlitzer.

I think it's Mr.Write's turn. Inglis was my emissary and Write knew "it was the key". Please feel free to post the next query Mr.W.

The Judy Garland stamp is part of the Legends of Hollywood series of U.S. Postage Stamps. The Garland stamp is only the twelfth of this series. So far, they have included: 1. Marilyn Monroe 2. James Dean 3. Humphrey Bogart 4. Alfred Hitchcock 5. James Cagney 6. Edward G. Robinson 7. Lucille Ball 8. Cary Grant 9. Audrey Hepburn 10. John Wayne 11. Henry Fonda 12. Judy Garland

Anyone familiar with this Eddie Cantor/Ethel Merman vehicle? It's playing on TCM now and they just played a big musical production number called "The Lady Dances". Was the lady dancer Sunnie O'Dea? The dancer was vivacious and very pretty, but had a strange style of dancing. Anyone know who she was?

You might try asking at the TCM feedback page: http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/TCMCFA/feedback.jsp

The original "rules" read: "The one rule I do ask is that only one guess may be posted per hint: so if someone posts a hint, and another user makes an incorrect guess, please do not post another guess. Just wait until the next hint is posted and then make your guess." But this isn't strictly followed. And sometimes it's a long wait until the next clue; so it's difficult to restrain ourselves from attempting an answer...

The appearance of his daughter?

It was definitely done on purpose to add exoticism and suspense, which apparently worked.

IMDB is pretty good with complete credits, and they don't show Mantooth in this movie: http://imdb.com/title/tt0057298/fullcredits

Maybe not my life story, but episodes of my life... I greatly related Scorsese's After Hours about a word processor (Griffin Dunne) who couldn't seem to escape the wilds of SoHo. That was pretty much me, back when the movie was released. I had a neurological scare a few years back, and immediately bought the DVD Dark Victory to remember how Judith Traherne dealt with her situation. Fortunately, my scenario had a happy ending; though I like to think that when my day comes, Max Steiner's music will be playing as I ascend the stairs...

Oh my! When I was a kid, I went and hung out on the Klansman location. I was starstruck and it was a dream come true when the film crew and all those stars arrived. Thanks for bringing back those memories...

Yes! Moochie! I can picture him, though I cannot remember what the series was. I thought it might have been The Life of Gallagher, but checking the cast list on IMDB shows no "moochie".

Christina Crawford?

Holiday Inn?

neuilly: "There was actually a biographical piece on her as one of the extras for "Dinner at Eight." Um, are you pulling neuilly's leg? I believe he meant that there was a biographical piece about her as supplemental material on the Dinner at Eight DVD. The "extra" was referring to the additional material, not to her role in the movie. But you're right, the sentence can be interpreted either way. Ah, the English language...

Everyone sharing their knowledge makes this a great message board. I've only been here a little over a month and have learned so much already from all that I've read here. I'm truly humbled by some of the participants here. And I'm glad that you've joined us. Welcome!

What a unique case of type-casting!

Actually, the MGM musicals were in great decline when Silk Stockings was released in 1957. The cut-backs had started a few years earlier, and soon the musical production staff would be in a tailspin. They tried 3-D (Kiss Me Kate) and Cinemascope (It's Always Fair Weather, Silk Stockings among others). The Freed Unit, which once was given carte blanche was now tightly budgeted. Brigadoon, which Vincent Minnelli had planned to film on location, was ordered to shoot the entire movie on the lot to save money. The Pasternak and Freed Units used to make up to four movies a year (each!), were now down to one a piece. So it was cheaper to remake a product that MGM already owned. In the context of the times, I think what's interesting about Silk Stockings is it was released when the U.S. was reeling against communism. The Hollywood blacklists were in effect and the country felt as if it were in direct competition with the Soviet Union. Silk Stockings was released two months after the death of McCarthy. And here was a movie that made fun of the Soviet Union and confirmed the American dream. As a musical, it's flawed. But "All of You" is one of the sexiest songs ever written ("I love the looks of you, the lure of you, I'd love to make a tour of you...") and Miss Charisse is exquisite.