jdb1

I'd like to see (among others): British: Sidewalks of London Hobson's Choice The Horse's Mouth Blythe Spirit The "Doctor" Series (with Dirk Bogarde) Something from the "Carry On" series The Korda films British-made Agatha Christie mysteries Swedish: The Seventh Seal Persona Italian: Open City The Bicycle Thief Juliet of the Spirits Indian: The Apu Trilogy Japanese: Ikiru Yojimbo Throne of Blood Seven Samurai The original, non-Raymond Burr, Godzilla/Gojira Mexican: A Cantinflas comedy

Did anyone see the "What a Character" filler last night on William Demarest? He was a great one. I remember being so suprised to learn years ago that he was from St. Paul, and not from the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

> I used to go to Lundy's in SheepsHead Bay Brooklyn > and the only records I can remember in the "Juke Box" > in the "Clam Bar' were "Perry Como"..Lou > Monte...Jerry Vale...Dean Martin... Julius > LaRosa...Louie Prima...Frank Sinatra.. and RoseMary > Clooney. They wouldn't dared to have played " I Love > Mickey" ( Mantle ) in Brooklyn back then! The Dodger > fans would have ate the Juke Box!!!! Yeah, those were the days! I think the Brewer thing was in the early 80s. I think also Mr. Brewer called something in the restaurant, maybe the clam bar, the "Teresa Brewer Room" or something of that sort -- as I said, I stopped going to Lundy's when the last Lundy brother bit the dust. I also think that the people you mentioned didn't just sing on records there in the old days, they ate there as well. Remember that Perry Como, for instance, did his TV show from the NBC studio in Brooklyn. I have a memory of seeing Brewer in a musical short of some sort; she was very young, and all dolled up in a very fancy prom-style dress, singing "Old Man Mos' is Dead." Someone's wires were crossed there somewhere - it looked pretty silly to have her singing that totally inappropriate song in that elaborate dress. I remember her as all energy - peppy, peppy, peppy. Put another nickel in . . . . .

> > Married twice, she is the mother of 4 daughters. > I always had a suspicion that Kathie Lee Gifford might be one of them. We have a famous seafood restaurant in Brooklyn called Lundy's, and Brewer's husband was one of the owners for a while. I didn't go there at that time, but I heard that he put in a juke box somewhere in the restaurant that played only his wife's records. Someone else owns the place now, and the Brewer music is gone.

That's right - green on a tank indicates oxygen - which is very sensitive to heat and can explode easily if not propertly handled. There was an operating room involved in this movie, wasn't there? Sim was the detective who figured it out.

"Samson and Delilah" was on some channel or other yesterday afternoon, and I watched some of it. My original opinion of Hedy is unchanged: she is gorgeous, she photographs gorgeously, she moves gorgeously, and she is gorgeous (did I already say that?) When I grow up, I want to look just like her.

> Hi. Not many people know a funny fact about this > picture: the Italian version is dubbed, and in order > to keep the ethnic interplay between Lisi and the > rest of the cast, she has been turned into a Greek! What does Jack Lemmon sound like in Italian?!?!?!? Mamma mia!!

Correct! On to you . . . .

Good topic. Since most of us were young when we saw what are now "classics," the fantasy element probably had a great impression on us. I recall that there were a lot of such films shown on TV when I was younger - "B" type movies, but most were generally very entertaining. Most of the ones I remember seem to have had leprechauns in them (generally in the form of a portly British actor). And there were lots of unlikely angels, and death, personified in various suave forms. Also, I think the fantasy elements were handled in a very matter-of-fact way - we were supposed to belive it could happen to anyone - probably to distinguish the films from sci-fi or horror. In addition to what's already been mentioned, I liked "The Luck of the Irish," "On Borrowed Time," "I Married a Witch," "The Boy with Green Hair," and I can probably come up with many more if I give it some thought.

Yes, that's the one. Thanks. I'm old enough now not to be embarrassed if I like a silly movie. This one was like a superior version of their shorts - fast paced, clever; and anything with Adam West in it gets my attention anyway.

What really got me about The Tingler was the publicity about how the seats in the theater would be wired and give you a "tingle." I was so afraid we would all be electrocuted! But, alas, my local theater didn't even participate in the effect. But the movie was pretty scary even without the "tingle."

Kitsy, I don't remember very much about this movie, but seeing your posting brought back to me that I was very disturbed by it when I first saw it (being of that young and impressionable age). I'll have to look it up to refresh my memory. I was a big fan of Castle movies (I of course had no idea at the time that they were "Castle Movies"). The Tingler - yipes! The trailer was just as, if not more, scary than the picture itself!

Thanks so much for the links, they are great! Naughty Betty is topless in "Bamboo Isle." One I don't see in this selection, however, is one where Betty goes outside into a live-action street scene. The last time I saw it was on AMC's Saturday Matinee thing. Do you know that one, and if so, what's the name?

Thanks for the link, Ayres. That is certainly how I remember Bolger's dancing - eccentric. It was a melding of ballet, modern and hoofer-tapping that had even more scope that Astaire's dancing (that is, the dancing of Astaire that we were privileged to see on the screen - I don't doubt Astaire was capable of similar dancing). Bolger made a number of films, most of which weren't very good, but it would be a treat to watch them just to see his specialty numbers.

There was a feature length Stooge movie on one of the cable channels this weekend - a western -- maybe you know the name, 'cause I've forgotten it now. Adam West, and Henry Gibson (from "Laugh-In") were in it as well. It was very silly, and the production values were virtually nil, but I found it funny, and entertaining. They don't all have to be award-winning Cinema (with a capital "C") to be enjoyable.

> I always felt that the Laughton-Morgan relationship > in,"The Big Clock",was a wee bite on the "gay" > side,so too the MacCready character,"Steve". I don't think that implication was un-intentional. Such a relationship was generally treated by Old Hollywood as unsavory, and Janoth and his assistant were an unsavory lot. Kind of a Mr. Burns/Smithers thing, only no humor. As for the comments about the wussy boyfriends stepping aside - I will point out that I've always thought, compliments of whatever shreds of my college education I have retained, that most character roles are offshoots of the commedia del'arte style of theater. The stock characters there were (among others) the hero, the damsel in distress, the blowhard, the saucy female friend, the wiley servant, the lovelorn young couple, etc. These evolved into the supporting players in more modern theater and in film to give additional substance to whatever the hero and heroine were up to.

Nope. I'll save you some time -- it's not African Queen, either. But you are in the right genre area.

> You mentioned Laughton a while back. You either love > him or hate him? Well, I love 'em! He is just one > of the greatest! There is an early film of his with > Vivien, where he plays a street performer (can't > remember the name), and he was a little awkward in > it. > And, one more comment on Brent, path mentioned > Marshall and Pidgeon. Well, the major difference > there is the VOICE! Both Marshall and Pidgeon have > unbelievable voices. They were often narrators of > the film. But, Brent was just a regular guy. Are you thinking of "Sidewalks of London" (a/k/a St. Martin's Lane)? Vivienne Leigh was in it. I saw it too, but it was a very bad print. Too bad - he was pretty cute in it. And I think so too, certainly voice has a lot to do with it. Think of an actor like Burgess Meredith, short and boyish, but he had that great speaking voice. And Edw. G, too - you might not think a man who looked the way he did could sound so authoritative and be so versitile. A finely trained voice goes a long way in getting into our consciousness. I do like the sound of Pidgeon's voice - sort of like Walter Cronkite (how do you spell it???). You have to believe everything he says. Message was edited by: jdb1

> Tim Holt, very much underrated, his problem, he was > too short. Was he short? I never got that impression on viewing his films. Did they stand him on a box? Or shoot him from creative angles?

Yes, it's sad when you remember that the WB cartoon stable was a part of our daily lives when we were younger, and today's youth doesn't know them. I wonder if they'd get them, anyway. I especially like the ones that featured WB actors in cartoon form - like the one at the night club, where the torch singer cries a flood of tears, the ones featuring Jack Benny, and the "Baby wants rabbit!" restaurant adventure. Fleischer cartoons, especially Betty, are really neat, and different from Loony Tunes. A little rougher around the edges, a little more sardonic, more New York, I'd say; the accompanying orchestra sounds like what you'd have heard at a bar mitzvah years ago. I love the ones featuring Cab Calloway, and where has Betty's Grampy gone? I think the b&w Popeyes are better than the later ones - and Popeye's asides are a hoot. I'm not crazy about the MGM cartoons, compared to the above, although I've always thought they played better in the theater than on the TV screen. What about Terrytoons? What happened to them? Is there some sort of copyright dispute there? I liked them because on the surface they seemed rather conventional, but in fact they could often be just as subversive as the WB and Fleischer cartoons. The fact is, it seems to me, that when we classic movie lovers think "cartoons," we are thinking of something radically different from what is considered a cartoon today.

> Hey there, jdb. Yup, I'll take Hedren over Saint > anyday! I have to admit, I liked Marnie. And, I > liked Hedren in it. Her vagueness worked to her > advantage in that film, and, oh yes, it had Connery > in it, too! > > > > You're right! There were so many other blondes he > could have used: Angie Dickenson, Carol Baker, Jane > Fonda, Anne Francis, Carol Lynley, Hope Lange, > Dorothy Malone, and Martha Hyer! Why didn't he take > Martha and make her a star? > > > He did use Kim, but I didn't care for that movie at > all. Something funny about it. I don't think Novak had whatever peculiar inner light is necessary to be a Hitchcock blonde. I was thinking of Dorothy Malone, one of the actors you mentioned, after I made the comment about lots of other blondes who could have worked for Hitchcock's films. She was good at sultry. I don't think Jane Fonda was subtle enough a performer in those days -- too "in your face." Dickinson seems a likely candidate, but Hope Lange - doesn't work for me. I found all her performances, except maybe for "Pocketful of Miracles," much too inhibited, with no implication of anything hidden deeper. Martha Hyer would have been good, too, I think - she had that ladylike, pale transparency that belies a steely core - perfect for Hitch.

You are all right. JackBurley, I merely listed a few of Hedy's "comedies," I don't by any means recommend them as great cinema. If you haven't yet seen them, I don't think they'll do you any harm. Actually, I think any one of them could have featured Sonja Henie instead of Hedy, with a few plot changes, and not been much different (don't get steamed -- I'm not talking about looks here). However, I don't know if Hedy was a good skater, and I don't think Henie ever invented anything useful, so maybe they aren't so interchangeable.

You have all raised very good points, folks. How do we know that the leading ladies in question didn't specifically ask for a not-so-bright leading man, to make themselve look better? Not at all inconceivable. I'm thinking, for example, of the prematurely gray hair given to Jeff Chandler, who was assigned co-starring roles with many actresses who were considerably older than he. As for Chas. Laughton - I loved him in "Ruggles of Red Gap." Talk about portly romance. He and ZaSu Pitts were adorable together. I like all the performances mentioned. My favorite Laughton performance by far is in "The Big Clock." He gives a very mannered, tic-filled performance which is entirely appropriate to the character. In fact, all of the secondary actors in that movie are terrific, especially Elsa Lanchester (Mrs. Laughton-in-name, as we all know), and one of my all-time favorite Characters, Henry (Harry) Morgan, as the menacing tough who attends Laughton's character. He is a really bad (and pretty buff) boy in that movie, and has no dialogue at all.

I agree. Kelly may not have been taken seriously by some, but when she was gone, her absence was felt through comparison. I don't see the fuss about Eva Marie Saint. She is very cool, to the point of freeze. She's like a block of pretty, vanilla ice cream. I find no energy at all in her acting, and while she wasn't bad, I don't think she deserved her Oscar. Kelly only seemed cool, when in reality she could be pretty steamy, given the right direction. Saint is much more acceptable to me roles as mother or wife, rather than as a tepid femme fatale. There were other blondes around at the time that Hitchcock could have used. I think the trouble with Hedren was that she simply couldn't act. There are a few supposedly dramatic scenes in "The Birds" wherein she is really awful. She was better when she just had to run away from the birds and look - well maybe she couldn't quite manage terrified -- let's say "concerned." However, I always found her onscreen presence pleasant, at the least. Message was edited by: jdb1

Yes - much better! Much easier to look at, and prettier, too.