jakeem

Nope.

Now Jethro was the coolest thing about the sitcom. He could cypher and do his gazentas (two gazenta four two times, two gazenta six three times...). And I loved it when he wanted to be a "double-naught" spy and opened his own office with Elly May as his secretary. One of the funniest things I've ever seen on television was when Jethro the budding espionage agent put his one-way mirror in backwards. Everybody in the office could see him, but he couldn't see outside!

Try these: 1. "The Life of Émile Zola" (1937). 2. "Strange Cargo" (1940). 3. "Passage to Marseille" (1944). 4. "We're No Angels" (1955).

Scott Brady was in $ (1971) with Robert Webber. Robert Webber was in "Harper" (1966) with Paul Newman. Next: Quinn Cummings.

But Douglas always will be remembered as the fetching tomboy Elly May. She appeared in all 274 episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies," which ran from 1961 to 1971.

Actress Donna Douglas, who played Elly May Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and co-starred with Elvis Presley in a 1960s film, died New Year's Day of pancreatic cancer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her age had been listed as 81. But USA Today quoted a family member, Charlene Smith, as saying that Douglas was 82 when she died. "She's going to haunt me for that," Smith said. Before she became the animal-loving Elly May on the long-running CBS sitcom, Douglas appeared in "Eye of the Beholder," a popular 1960 episode of "The Twlight Zone" with a surprise ending. Written by Rod Serling for the second season of the CBS series, the teleplay was about a woman who had undergone several surgeries to fix her facial features. After her latest surgery, she spends almost the entire episode in bed with her head bandaged. Several doctors and nurses enter and leave the darkened room at various times, but we never see their faces until the end. Maxine Stuart played the woman in bandages. Douglas took over when the bandages were removed. She also played Elvis' love interest in the 1966 film "Frankie and Johnny." In real life, it was a pairing of Southern neighbors: He was born in Mississippi; she was from Louisiana. Unfortunately, the movie is not scheduled as a part of Turner Classic Movies' morning and afternoon salute to Elvis on January 8, 2015, which would have been the King's 80th birthday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJF4ecOpdG0 http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-donna-douglas-20150103-story.html

What a great list! I had forgotten about some of those. I seem to remember that "More American Graffiti" (1979), which wasn't directed by George Lucas, ends on New Year's and ties up plot points from the first movie. The nice thing about "Holiday Inn" (1942) is that you could just about show it throughout the year. But let's not forget about this 1974 saga, which has some key scenes right after midnight on New Year's Day in 1959: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBalU46KqKI

Marie Windsor was in "The Story of Mankind" (1957) with Virginia Mayo. Virginia Mayo was in "The Silver Chalice" (1954) with Paul Newman. Next: Robert Q. Lewis.

But you weren't wrong. Someone could have a field day adding things to movies "Zelig" style!

Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Edward Herrmann has died at the age of 71. He probably was best known for his role as patriarch Richard Gilmore on the TV series "Gilmore Girls" (2000-2007) and for his portrayals of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the TV movies "Eleanor and Franklin" (1976) and "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years" (1977). Herrmann reprised the role of FDR in John Huston's 1982 screen version of the Broadway musical "Annie." And he was the voice of the 32nd president for Ken Burns' acclaimed 2014 documentary "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History." Meryl Streep provided the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt. The narrator was Peter Coyote. Herrmann won a 1998-99 Primetime Emmy as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performances as Anderson Pearson, a law professor accused of murder, in "The Practice." He received a 1976 Tony Award for his role as Frank Gardner in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession." His award was for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html

I thought TCM's motto was "uncut and unedited."

Turner Classic Movies traditionally schedules theme movies for New Year's Eve. I believe there was a Marx Brothers marathon a couple of years ago. The past two years, the spotlight has been on rock 'n' roll stars and concert performances. If you could program a day full of movies that take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, what would be on your schedule? One of my favorites is "The Time Machine," George Pal's 1960 screen version of the H.G. Wells story. The film, starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux and Alan Young, begins on December 31, 1899. Time travel tales are always a perfect way to start a new year!

This is why he mattered: "I hated this movie. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it." -- From Roger Ebert's review of Rob Reiner's 1994 film "North." He told the truth. Even when you didn't agree with him, you had to respect his opinions based on his years of expertise in film criticism. Although he couldn't stop people from going to see a movie they wanted to see, he could call attention to a gem that moviegoers wouldn't know about otherwise. Plus, he wrote beautifully and passionately about the movies. And "Ebert & Siskel" was must-see television for cinéastes.

For her 105th birthday on January 12th, they had already scheduled seven of Rainer's movies as well as a repeat of Robert Osborne's 2011 interview with her at the TCM Classic Film Festival. They don't really need to do anything else, unless it is decided to move the tribute from daytime to prime time.

When and where did you see it?

Sadly, we lost Joan Fontaine a little more than a year ago at the age of 96. And now Rainer. This makes Olivia de Havilland -- at age 98 -- the oldest living major Academy Award winner. Sidney Poitier, who will be 88 in February, is the oldest living male Oscar winner. Rainer has become the Academy Award winner who lived the longest. What a wonderful life!

"Life Itself," a much-praised 2014 documentary about the life, career and final days of the late film critic Roger Ebert, will be aired by CNN. It will be shown on Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Ebert, who in 1975 became the first person to win a Pulitzer Prize for film criticism, reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until a couple of days before his death from cancer on April 4, 2013. He and veteran Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel brought movie reviews to national television with "Sneak Previews," which began airing on PBS stations in 1979. They eventually did syndicated movie review shows until Siskel's death in 1999. Ebert continued the "At the Movies" concept with guest reviewers and then co-hosted the show with Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper from 2000 to 2006. The director of "Life Itself," Steve James, filmed the documentary after the publication of Ebert's 2011 memoir of the same title. James was responsible for the 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams," which was championed by Ebert and Siskel. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/showbiz/cnn-films-roger-ebert-life-itself

Then there's "Shaft," in which Richard Roundtree's savvy private detective walks through early 1970s New York City as if he owns it. And it happens to the tune of Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning "Theme from 'Shaft' " (check out the wah-wah guitar work by Charles "Skip" Pitts)! Can you dig it?

I love how this movie begins with the opening chord of the title song. And major props go to Ringo Starr -- recently chosen for induction as a performer to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- for coming up with the name of the film. Be sure to notice that when George Harrison trips, Ringo goes down, too! From these examples of Beatlemania at its peak, you begin to understand Harrison's 1995 declaration: "They gave their money and they gave their screams, but the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems."

TCM On Demand for December 26, 2014 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 3 Godfathers (1948) -- John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey, Jr., Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Mildred Natwick, Jane Darwell, Guy Kibbee, Dorothy Ford, Ben Johnson, Charles Halton, Hank Worden, Jack Pennick, Fred Libby, Michael Dugan, Don Summers. Uncredited: Francis Ford. Director John Ford's remake of the oft-filmed Western tale about three bank robbers who wind up caring for a newborn while they are on the lam. Ford did a 1919 silent film version titled "Marked Men," which starred Harry Carey, Sr., who died in 1947. Ford dedicated this version to the actor and cast the junior Carey, who died on December 27, 2012 at the age of 91, as one of the three leads. "Three Godfathers," a 1936 version of the story produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starred Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan, Irene Hervey and Sidney Toler. The 2003 Japanese anime film "Tokyo Godfathers" also was influenced by Ford's remake. Wayne and Armendáriz later co-starred in "The Conqueror," the infamous 1956 film about Genghis Khan that was filmed on location in Utah, not far from a onetime nuclear testing site in Nevada. Both actors developed cancer -- Wayne died of it in 1979, while Armendáriz took his life in 1963 because of it. Although there has been no proof that nuclear fallout caused cancer, many other crew members later died of the disease, including director Dick Powell and co-stars Susan Hayward and Agnes Moorehead. Expires January 1, 2015.

TCM On Demand for December 25, 2014 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. A Night at the Movies: George Lucas & the World of Fantasy Cinema (2014) -- Written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker and author Laurent Bouzereau, this one-hour special is the latest installment in a Turner Classic Movies series about different movie genres. Other installments have focused on thrillers, epic pictures, political films, Christmas movies and tales about crime and crimefighters. This edition focuses on the creative filmmaker Lucas, whose screen projects include the "Star Wars" series and the Indiana Jones franchise. The French-born Bouzereau was the man responsible for the 2013 TCM documentary "Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck." Expires December 31, 2014. 2. Scrooge (1935) -- Sir Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop, Robert Cochran, Mary Glynne, Garry Marsh, Oscar Asche, Marie Ney, C.V. France, Athene Seyler, Maurice Evans, Mary Lawson, Barbara Everest, Eve Gray, Morris Harvey, Philip Frost, D.J. Williams, Margaret Yarde, Hugh E. Wright, Charles Carson, Hubert Harben. Uncredited: Robert Morley. This early British sound version of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" stars Hicks, who played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1913 silent film and on many other occasions on the stage. Hicks as Ebenezer Scrooge Directed by Henry Edwards, a veteran filmmaker and actor, the film is unique because all of the ghosts are unseen with the exception of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ashe). Expires December 31, 2014.

Maybe we should. It's like the Dallas Cowboys' 42-7 romp over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday -- beating dead horses! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0DxH2u4NC0 Sorry, Colts fans, but I couldn't resist.

I realize that there's a "Twilight Zone" marathon coming up on the Syfy Channel, but have we just entered a real-life time warp or something? Wasn't there a whole thread on this issue that was recently deep-sixed by the Moderators That Be?

I knew of Gardner's status as a member of the production team of Levy-Gardner-Laven, but I was unaware of his efforts during the blacklist era of the 1950s and early 1960s. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-arthur-gardner-20141221-story.html Sargent was a distinguished director who won three Emmy Awards and was responsible for such feature films as "MacArthur" (1977, with Gregory Peck as the "American Caesar") and the original version of "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974). He also directed Abby Mann's Emmy Award-winning made-for-television movie "The Marcus-Nelson Murders," which was the genesis of the "Kojak" series that starred Telly Savalas. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joseph-sargent-20141224-story.html

TCM On Demand for December 24, 2014 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Ben-Hur (1959) -- Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe, Finlay Currie, Frank Thring, Terence Longdon, George Relph, André Morell. Uncredited actors: Robert Brown, John Le Mesurier. William Wyler's Biblical epic --a remake of a 1925 silent film -- won an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards in 12 nominations, including Best Picture. The record number of wins has since been tied by Best Picture winners "Titanic" (1997) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). The Oscar wins were as follows: Best Picture (producer Sam Zimbalist, posthumously). Best Director (Wyler). Best Actor (Heston). Best Supporting Actor (Griffith). Best Color Costume Design (Elizabeth Haffenden). Best Color Cinematography (Robert Surtees). Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration (William A. Horning, posthumously, and Edward C. Carfagno and Hugh Hunt). Best Film Editing (Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning). Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Miklós Rózsa). Best Sound (Franklin Milton, MGM Studio Sound Department). Best Effects, Special Effects (A. Arnold Gillespie and Robert MacDonald, visual; Milo B. Lory, audible). Karl Tunberg's screenplay, adapted from the 1880 novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" by General Lew Wallace, was the only nomination the picture failed to win. The Oscar went to Neil Paterson for "Room at the Top." In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked the film No. 72 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. When the AFI updated the list in 2007, the film dropped to No. 100. In 2005, Rózsa's score placed 21st on the AFI's ranking of the top 25 film scores of all time. Memorable scene: No surprise here. It's the chariot race, in which Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) -- pulled by a team of four white Arabian steeds -- battles his former friend Messala (Boyd) for fame and fortune. The sequence was shot by second-unit contributors Andrew Marton (who co-directed the 1950 version of "King Solomon's Mines") and pioneer stunt man Yakima Canutt. On April 10, 1967, Canutt was presented an honorary Academy Award "for achievements as a stunt man and for developing safety devices to protect stunt men everywhere." In George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" (1999), the Podrace -- won by young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) -- was inspired by the chariot race. By the way, Ben-Hur's magnificent horses were named for four of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky -- Antares, Aldebaran, Altair and Rigel. Mamma Mia!: Scott, who played Heston's mother in the film, was only 11 years older than the actor. She also appeared as his mother in another Biblical epic of the 1950s: Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956). Expires December 30, 2014. 2. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) -- Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallée, Anthony "Scooter" Teague, Maureen Arthur, John Myhers, Carol Worthington, Kay Reynolds, Ruth Kobart, Sammy Smith, Jeff DeBenning, Janice Carroll, Robert Q. Lewis, Paul Hartman, Dan Tobin, Murray Matheson, George Fenneman. Uncredited actors: Tucker Smith, Joey Faye, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Anne Seymour. Years before Morse navigated office politics as ad agency partner Bert Cooper in TV's "Mad Men," he won a 1962 Tony Award for the stage version of this musical comedy. For the movie, he re-created his role as the ambitious window washer J. Pierrepont Finch, who relies on an instruction guide, charm, guile, moxie and a little bit of luck to become an important executive overnight at a big advertising firm. Rooting for Finch all the way is secretary Rosemary Pilkington (Lee, in her screen debut), who takes an immediate liking to him. Some of the characters have names that Charles Dickens might admire. Vallée is company president J.B. Biggley. Teague plays his obnoxious nephew Bud Frump. Smith has a dual role as mailroom supervisor Mr. Twimble and Chairman of the Board Wally Womper. The film version was directed, produced and written by David Swift ("Pollyanna," the 1961 version of "The Parent Trap"), who adapted the Frank Loesser musical with its book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert. The original source material for the stage version was the 1952 book by Shepherd Mead. The songs by Loesser ("Guys and Dolls") include "I Believe in You," "A Secretary Is Not a Toy," "Grand Old Ivy," and a rousing rendition of "Brotherhood of Man." There have been two Broadway revivals of the musical -- in 1995 (starring Matthew Broderick) and 2011 (headlined by Daniel Radcliffe). As Finch, Broderick won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The latest revival earned John Larroquette -- who played Biggley -- a Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Expires December 30, 2014. 3. King of Kings (1961) -- Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhán McKenna, Robert Ryan, Ron Randell, Hurd Hatfield, Viveca Lindfors, Rita Gam, Frank Thring, Royal Dano, Rip Torn, Harry Guardino, Carmen Sevilla, Brigid Bazlen, Guy Rolfe, Grégoire Aslan, George Coulouris, Edric Connor, Maurice Marsac, Conrado San Martín. Uncredited: John Kerr. Nicholas Ray's reverential account of the life and times of Jesus Christ is narrated by Orson Welles. Hunter, best known at the time for his roles in three John Ford films -- "The Searchers" (1956), "The Last Hurrah" (1958) and "Sergeant Rutledge" (1960) -- stars as a blue-eyed Christ. He was so good-looking as the Messiah, wags referred to him as "Jesus of Malibu" and the movie as "I Was a Teenage Jesus." Actually Hunter was 33, which is believed to be Christ's age during His final year on Earth. Hunter as The Christ In addition to its Biblical aspects, the film focuses on the political situation at the time, beginning with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Roman consul Pompey (San Martín) in 63 B.C. Guardino's version of Barabbas is a leader of the Jewish insurrection against the Roman invaders. Memorable scene: It's difficult to choose only one in an epic film like this, but Ryan's final moments as John the Baptist are poignant. Bazlen, who would play a treacherous siren the next year in "How the West Was Won," appears as teen temptress Salome and performs a seductive dance before King Herod Antipas (Thring). The film's majestic music score was composed by the Hungarian-born Miklós Rózsa, who won a 1959 Academy Award for his contributions to another Biblical-era epic -- "Ben-Hur." Expires December 30, 2014.