JackBurley

"These miracles of follicle engineering just can't be real, can they?" Now Ms. Finnie, I'm shocked at the very question. This is Hollywood; land of gossamer and angel hair. We don't go around asking if iconic images are "real". Next you'll be asking us if Orson Welles really sawed that lady in half, suggesting tornados are nothing more than muslin and that Anita Ellis was the real Gilda. My favorite aspect of these elaborate hairdoos was the suggestion that these working girls -- i.e., the characters of secretaries, shopgirls, etc. -- had the time to just whip their tresses into curly pompoms and chignons. It's as if the characters woke up with their hair in this manner! I saw a movie recently wherein the lead had three different coiffures in what would have been the course of one day. The character would say something like, "let me just go up and change for dinner," and then come down with an entirely new doo! How did they manage to do three hours of hairwork in ten minutes?

Really? I enjoyed it despite Tom Cruise's presence. I was charmed by the relationship of Cuba Gooding and Regina King. It was the first time I'd seen Renee Zellwegger and I was impressed by her performance and wondered where she came from. I thought the supporting characters were good; at least it was nice to see Bonnie Hunt on the screen. Often I find child actors to be cloying and precious, but I enjoyed Jonathan Lipnicki's performance and learning how much a human head weighs... I remember that I went with a friend, and we took my mother who was offended by the purple dialogue; but it seemed appropriate to the characters. One of the worst films? Oh I have a very long list of films that are worse than this one... "Have you ever gotten the feeling that you aren't completely embarassed yet, but you glimpse tomorrow's embarrassment?"

Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear is the first one that came to mind for me too. So it looks as though he's the standard in the "menacing" category. And then there's Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest...

Is it possible that you're thinking of City for Conquest? James Cagney's brother (Arthur Kennedy) is a pianist/composer who hated musicals, but ending up find his success therein? He wasn't foreign though, and though there were some musical numbers, it wouldn't really be classified as a "musical"... Can you give us any more clues? Remember song title? Was it in color?

"Btw, the hairdos found in 'New York, New York' were indeed humdingers, even though they sometimes bordered on the surreal. I think that Scorsese was re-imagining the Hollywood musical 'through a glass darkly', to put it mildly. Here's a masterpiece of construction on Liza Minnelli in that film...though who is that sax-playing fellow with the scowl like a clenched fist next to her??" New York New York's hairdoos were certainly no more surreal than the curly concoctions found atop Betty Grable's bean in her 1940's musicals, right?. Her roccoco helmets of lacquer and wave defined the aesthetic of the time for me (along with Ms. Crawford's football shoulder pads). Ms. Minnelli looked so great with the longer hairstyles that Mr. Guilaroff gave her, I was sorry that she returned to her short bob as soon as she got off the set. Oh Liza, please keep the snood! Ah, and that's Robert "You-talkin'-to-me?!" DeNiro channeling Georgie Auld on the saxophone.

Summer Stock is available commercially on DVD. I'd imagine you can buy it right here on the TCM Shopping link...

Eight posts and no one's mentioned Sydney Guilaroff? We're slipping! He was the head hairstylist (is that redundant?) at MGM from 1934 and on into the 1970's. You can catch a glimpse of him at work in Scorese's New York New York (and there were some terrific doos in that movie!). He's the fellow who gave Claudette Colbert her bangs, and metamorphosed Lucille Ball from platinum to red. It's been said that not only did he know everything about hair, but he knew everything about Hollywood; for he was the confidant of many of the big stars. He was the first person Joan Crawford would see in the morning as she arrived at the studio. It's even been reported that Marilyn Monroe called him the night of her demise. He knew all the follicles and for decades created trends that American women followed. For those interested in learning more about this hair legend, I found this interview from http://www.classicimages.com/1997/january/sguilaroff-interview.html' target=new>Classic Movie Images.

I'd love to see all of Vicki Lester's movies.

Could it be The Glass Slipper with Leslie Caron (short haired peasant) meeting Michael Wilding's "Prince Charles"?

While it's great to see your wishes on the Board, here's the place to make requests to TCM: http://www.tcm.com/suggestamovie/index/

I'm a sucker for personal appearances... Keep me updated and I'll see ya there!

The LA Times article is only available to subscribers, but thanks for the link to the Wilder Theatre information. Wish I'd known sooner about that opening; I'd have tried to get tickets to see Shirley MacLaine talk about The Apartment. Congratulations on the new theatre! Hope all y'all southern Californians will support it with enthusiasm.

"I thought that Kay Thompson also worked with Roger Edens at MGM on Garland's arrangements. Is that not true? She sure did, Ms. Pax. They were a very tight group. Gee, I wish I could have been there at that time... The parties they had were legendary. Judy and Kay singing at the top of their lungs with Edens at the piano. Where the devil is my time machine when I need it?

Thanks for the Hope Emerson spotlight, Mr. Mongo. My biggest surprise was regarding Norman Bel Geddes. I knew he was an industrial designer (and father of Barbara Bel Geddes -- Vertigo's "Midge"), but didn't know he was also a theatrical producer. What an interesting fellow!

I vote to show 'em -- score or no score. If we can watch A Star Is Born with still pictures in place of lost scenes, we can watch a silent movie without the score. Give me a taste of the film, leave the score for my imagination... In small town theatres, the films were often merely accompanied by a pianist in the corner. Couldn't they record something like this until the full score is created? David Hagerty, are you there?

"...and Paul Muni telling the mayor's manservant to 'scram' when he offered to help him into his briefs and, of course..." "Scram" is swell. There's some movie out there wherein the heroine uses its pig latin form and tells another character to "Am-scray". Now that's choice!

Indeed, it was The Gay Parisienne. It was a great opportunity to see the work of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the dancing of L?onide Massine, Frederic Franklin, Nathalie Krassovska and others from the company. Another great testament to an era gone by and it was interesting to see another example of Massine (outside of The Red Shoes).

"Do you suppose Paramount merely discovered the print in its own archives and supplied it for today's screening, even though Universal owns distribution rights?" If this is a clue to anything, the Noir City 5 program reads with regards to I Walk Alone: "Never on home video or DVD. A seminal film noir, thought lost, presented in a rediscovered 35mm archival print courtesy of Paramount, expecially for Noir City 5. ..."

I was there for the screening of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands. Such a lurid title! It was difficult for me to imagine Ms. Fontaine in a movie of that name, but it was nice to see her without the simpering trappings of some of her characters. I found the movie to be quite enjoyable. Beautiful print; amazing close-ups. Burt Lancaster's close-ups in the first scene were striking. Loved the "sickening" angles as Jane experiences her anxiety attack. And thank to Mikl?s R?zsa for the aural backdrop.

The talented and vivacious Kay Thompson was a huge influence at the MGM's legendary Freed Unit. She arrived at MGM in 1943 to take the place of another big talent, the composer/arranger/singer Hugh Martin, who'd gone into the military service. Ms. Thompson was Judy's vocal coach for Meet Me in St. Louis, The Pirate, The Harvey Girls, among others flicks and became one of her best friends. She wrote arrangements for Meet the People and Till the Clouds Roll By. Kay Thompson was a behind-the-scenes powerhouse. Oh, and she was Liza Minnelli's godmother. (Ms. Minnelli was, of course, her co-star in Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.) Little Liza was Ms. Thompson's inspiration for the character of Eloise -- the little girl who lived in the Plaza Hotel and starred in the popular series of children's books that Thompson wrote.

I suppose it's possible that Francis Ford Coppola couldn't be bothered due to some ill feelings, but I'm betting his absence has more to do with his work on the upcoming Youth Without Youth that was shot in Bulgaria and Romania. There have been rumors up here in his neighborhood regarding his elusive behavior in the past couple seasons, but he assured locals that 1) there were no unusual problems with the shooting and production; and 2) making a movie takes a lot of time. He's been working long hours on post-production on this pre-WWII drama. I believe it's his first directorial effort in 10 years and he wants it to be right.

Sounds like Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion starring Jean Gabin and Erich von Stroheim...

Well there really are about a dozen versions of this. Could be the 1930 British version with Charles Ruggles...

"Everyone's seen singin' in the rain at least once before in their life. After the movie you've sang the song (singin' in the rain)...has it every actually rained after you sing the song? I've watched it a couple weeks ago and on and off I would sing that wonderful tune and later on it would start raining! Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe that that song is magic! It's gotta be movie magic or something because it's changin the weather....I know I'm not going crazy here....Where's Gene when I need him. I haven't noticed this pattern, though I often play the song on my answering machine as my outgoing message during rainy days. The last time I saw Mr. Kelly, he was in Paris. If I see him, I'll let him know you're looking for him.

Charlie's Aunt was actually made during World War II (in 1941). It starred Jack Benny and Kay Francis. The musical version -- Where's Charley? -- was a stage hit for Ray Bolger. He brought it to the screen in 1952. Message was edited by JackBurley, who possesses second thoughts: Maybe I should have given the benefit of the doubt, for there are many versions of Charley's Aunt. The two versions that I mentioned above are the most famous, but if you're looking for a pre-war version, this play hit the screen a dozen times, and as early as the Swedish Charleys Tant in 1926.