coffeedan1927

Thursday's question: What film takes place aboard Trans American Flight 209? Good luck!

Feaito, you got this one! John Barrymore said this about Katharine Hepburn in A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT after he had seen the finished film.

Larry, belated thanks for the info on Louise Fazenda, Laura LaPlante and Theda Bara. You've added a lot to my impressions of these fabulous women -- thanks again for sharing! I'm dying to hear your take on Betty Blythe. I just found a picture of her in a 1924 issue of Liberty I recently bought, and she looks LUSCIOUS!

Wednesday's question: Which of his co-stars did John Barrymore say "could be the greatest actress of her generation"? Good luck!

Good job, moviejoe! You are correct! And Peter Sellers was brilliant times four in that movie -- if you know what I mean.

-- Vincent Sherman, who is still with us and still full of pep and ginger at the age of 98. He has recorded several audio commentaries and a seperate interview for the upcoming Bette Davis and Joan Crawford box sets that Warner Home Video will release in June. Maybe there we'll find the answers!

Sorry, folks -- had to remove some troublesome software from my computer this morning, and it took WAY longer than I thought! Tuesday's question: What is the name of the ultimate weapon that Tully Bascombe (Peter Sellers) and his army capture in the 1959 film THE MOUSE THAT ROARED? Good luck!

No other takers? Yesterday's answer: All three of these gentlemen were film critics who became screenwriters. Pare Lorentz (THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS, THE RIVER) reviewed films for Judge, Vanity Fair, and McCall's magazines. Robert E. Sherwood (REBECCA, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES) reviewed films for the humor magazine Life. And Frank S. Nugent (FORT APACHE, THE QUIET MAN) reviewed films for the New York Times.

Not quite, hillspan -- but you're on the right track.

We better brace ourselves right now. There's a Mexican film festival on TCM next month!

Well, I have a foot on both sides of the issue at hand -- I think Holly has contributed some good posts, but at the same time, I've wondered if she might have too much time on her hands. When anyone posts an average of 14 times a day on these boards, showing up just about everywhere you click, it's pretty hard to ignore. But having been in Holly's shoes at the same time in life, I can also understand her enthusiasm. In my late teens, I loved old movies so much, I scared some people to death! After reading your posts, Holly (if I may address you personally), I can sense that not only do you love old movies, but you also love to write. And you can find outlets for both those loves on these message boards. Speaking from a writer's viewpoint, you should write as much as you can. But as a writer, you need to put down the writing instrument every once in a while and refresh yourself by reading good writing. That's how you get good at it -- alternating those periods of writing and refreshing. And in this case, you should also be educating yourself by watching more old movies (that shouldn't be too difficult!). When I discovered the TCM website four years ago, I spent about three or four weeks just reading everybody else's posts, feeling out the currents. I wanted to make a unique contribution to the boards, so I paid attention to what they were saying, but more importantly to what wasn't being said. Then I chose a catchy but appropriate username, started posting, and . . . well, I'll let my work speak for itself. I don't want to chase you off the lawn, but I don't want you tearing it up, either. Enthusiasm can be like live steam -- suddenly released, it can do great damage. But contained within the right channels, it can do wonderful work. You've picked a good place to let off steam here, but just a little at a time -- otherwise, you might hurt somebody. I'd also liken the experience to playing jazz. You have to learn the standards and how to blend in with other people before you introduce your own variations. That way, the conversation flows, and everybody involved plays better. In any conversation, it's just as important to listen as to speak -- perhaps more so. I've spent a lot of time listening here; you might have noticed I don't post as frequently as others who have been here as long as I have. I probably fret over my posts more than anybody else does, due to my writing and editing background, and I listen carefully to what other people are saying. I don't always take their advice, but at least I listen to them. Go and do likewise.

Monday's question: What singular cinematic career arc was shared by Pare Lorentz, Robert E. Sherwood, and Frank S. Nugent? (Hint: It has to do with going from one job to another.) Good luck!

Greetings, everybody! It's a beautiful spring day in the Queen City, and unfortunately, the allergy season is also getting under way. So far, I haven't had anything more serious than an occasional sneezing fit (I'm doing much better than in previous years), but the season is still young. More old Liberty magazines in the mail this morning, and here's a brief early profile/review of one of our TCM favorites from the issue of April 16, 1927: "While on the subject of optical recreation, it is easy to consider Joan Crawford, another member of the younger set getting along in the films. She is the Charleston and Black Bottom champion of Hollywood, and has more prize cups than Big Bill Tilden and Gene Sarazen put together. "Miss Crawford gives San Antonio, Texas as her birthplace. She reached the East by easy stages, going to school in Kansas City and one or two other Middle Western cities. In New York she worked in the chorus of several Manhattan revues. She was for a time a chorine at the Winter Garden. Then her name was Lucille La Sueur. "The movie magnates gave Lucille her chance, but they frowned upon her native name. They decided to hold a contest for a new one, and the person who thought up Joan Crawford got a trip to Hollywood before being lost to immortality. However, the new name seems to have been a help. Today Miss Crawford has a Hollywood bungelow, a motor, and a police dog. "She has the leading feminine role in a new Metro-Goldwyn effort, THE TAXI DANCER. Here is the perennial yarn of the country girl who comes to Manhattan, is beset by all the regulation evils, but wins the right man after all. The right man is Owen Moore, who just now seems to be the most employed upright young hero in the Hollywood films." Now, on to this week's movie trivia . . .

No, TCM and its library is owned by Time Warner. The library includes the pre-1986 MGM film library, the pre-1949 Warner Bros. library, and the entire RKO library of films -- a total of about 3,500 films. When Ted Turner bought MGM in 1986, he got in a little over his head financially, and gradually had to sell the MGM studio and its other assets so he could keep the film library. What Sony bought recently was the current MGM assets and their post-1986 films.

Friday's question: In the 1943 film SAHARA, what was the name of the tank commanded by Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart)? Good luck!

Thursday's question: Which of her co-stars did Bette Davis describe as "basically a nice man, and very honest about the fact that he knew he didn't have much talent"? Good luck!

Not quite, feaito, though I can see why . . . Yesterday's answer: Eddie G. did the Big Apple in I AM THE LAW (1938). Keep on truckin'!

TCMprogrammer, you got lucky again . . . The Three Stooges aren't missing. I saw them singing in Lee Tracy's wedding in the movie TURN BACK THE CLOCK this morning! And by the way, TURN BACK THE CLOCK needs to be rediscovered. In its story about a man who relives his humble past life and takes a different path to wealth, fame, and ruin (almost), it somewhat resembles IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but was made 13 years earlier!

Wednesday's question: In what film does Edward G. Robinson do the Big Apple? Good luck!

Good guesses, guys, but you need to go back just a little bit further . . . Yesterday's answer: The first James Cagney film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar was HERE COMES THE NAVY (1934).

Tuesday's question: What was the first James Cagney film to be Oscar-nominated for Best Picture? Good luck!

Correct, feaito! Helen Hayes won the first Sarah Siddons award for her work in the play Mrs. McThing in 1952.

Larry, after seeing Loretta Young referred to as "Attila the Nun," I had to pass on this story. Loretta would keep a silver platter on the set of every movie she worked on, and any time she heard a curse word from anyone, they had to put a quarter in the platter. She donated the proceeds from this "sin tax" to charity, but many actors loathed this practice. She even had the platter out when she was working on a CBS radio show with actor William Conrad, and he wasn't crazy about it either. So one day, Conrad came up to her and asked, "How much would it cost me to say, 'Why don't you go **** yourself, Loretta?'" With that, he dropped a $50 bill in the platter, and walked out without saying another word. "Best $50 I ever spent in my life," he said later.

Since today's question was answered so quickly, here's a follow-up -- Monday afternoon's question: What actress, also a two-time Oscar winner, received the first Sarah Siddons award in 1952? Good luck!

Good job, allycat1920! You are correct! The Sarah Siddons Society was only fictional when ALL ABOUT EVE was released in 1950, but it inspired a group of Chicago theatre-lovers to create a real Sarah Siddons Society, and they have presented an annual award for the best work by an actress on the legitimate stage since 1952.