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That's it! You know, the image of this movie has been in my mind for decades since I saw it on TV. I remembered Cary Grant being in it, but I thought, no, that can't be, it's not his kind of film - but it looks like he was in it, after all. I don't remember the title at all, even now that you've told it to me, but I still can hear the harmonica. Thanks Fred!

I don't remember if this was a movie or a play I saw on TV: A boy (or boys) has a caterpillar in a matchbox. The caterpillar dances when it hears music. Someone plays "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" on a harmonica, and the caterpiller dances, to the amazement of the neighborhood. You never actually see the caterpiller in the box, but people pay to take a look. I seem to remember this as an old movie, rather than a something produced for TV. I think the action takes place in a poor, urban neighborhood. Thanks.

I believe they are supposed to be using their native language word for "Sister."

Oh, I don't know: A lot of what I'm seeing now on TCM in this genre isn't all that hilarious, but I still enjoy seeing them for their historical value. If you are interested in classic film and in American culture in general, it's good to see a historical record of what people considered entertainment in the past. For me, it's especially interesting, because I live not far from a former Vitagraph studio in Brooklyn. The main building is now a girls' school, but there is still a very tall smokestack standing there that says "Vitagraph." I pass it every day on the way to work. I like to see the comedy shorts that I can speculate may have been filmed there. I think we're lucky to have a palpable record of the past, as represented by these old comedies. I do enjoy seeing them, even if they aren't the world's funniest.

Hi Metry, I've been busy this weekend, and haven't really had time to research your imponderables. My first reaction to the mailman with a portrait in Phila. is Mailman who might rate a portrait - Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin - Howard Da Silva That's as far as I've gotten. Where are all the experts on this thread? I need you. The Newbie

I agree, Tergasso. Now I'm going uptairs, to do science.

I vote for "Million Dollar Legs," one of the funniest, and earliest screwball comedies ever! Viva Klopstockia!

So NOW I know who she is. I've seen at least one of those teen song & dance films of theirs. Thanks.

Thanks, Kitsy, but I'm no expert. The short with Lucille Ball has been shown several times since the Stooges have been broadcast regularly by -- hmmm -- is it SpikeTV? I wasn't a big fan of Joe Besser as a Stooge. I liked him better as the little boy Stinky on Abbott and Costello. I know the answer to one of your questions: it was Dan Blocker who appeared in a Stooges short, under the name of "Don" Blocker. Our local daily Stooges TV show host, Joe Bolton (a/k/a "Officer" Joe Bolton), always pointed it out to us, every time that one was shown. I remember also that one of their shorts had the phrase "hoi poloi" in the title, and Officer Joe told us what that meant, so the next day we could sound really erudite in school. Thanks, Officer Joe.

> Yes, they were Miss Withers. I would have loved to > have seen that Crawford movie. If you think of the > name let us know. Anything James Gleason is in I > like and watch, sometimes just for him! I liked > Keenan Wynn, too. When you were talking about him, > Jesse Ralph popped into my head! The Joan Crawford/Edna May Oliver film was "No More Ladies" (1935). Also starred, I think, Robert Montgomery.

This is great, Larry, and sure, why not - we'd love to see photos so we can put the name to the face. I have seen listings in the credits for most of those you've named, but except for Dan Tobin, who did a lot of TV when I was younger, and Van Cleef, who was quite well known when I was a teen, I can't identify the others. Did Peggy Ryan dance? Daddysprimadonna, thanks for the photos. This is very helpful for a thread like this, where we generally know the face, but not the name. Keep 'em coming, friends. There are plenty more 'characters' - and you know you love 'em.

Well folks, this is one of those riddles of language. The term "flapper" predates the 1920s, and several of the English language history and derivation websites I read regularly can't agree on just where it came from. It indicates a young woman of rather carefree and immoral behavior, and since after WWI more and more women decided that was the way they were going to behave, the term became the popular way to describe them. I came across the term in a 1902 English novel that I read a few years ago, and it may be even older than that. Betty Boop was already something of an anachronism when she came on the scene. But what would we do without her?

> Well, yes, Eward G. definitely had IT. But, you're > right, I don't think he was sexy. And, as far as I > know he was only married once, then divorced and > single for almost twenty years before he died. Gee, > I wonder if he were all alone during those last > years. I guess IT doesn't save you from loneliness. > > Norma was such a flirt! That is why I liked her. > Dietrich, too! But, Marlene was maybe a little more > subte (don't know if that is the exact word); Norma > was right in your face! Loved her! > > Oops! Gotta run, back later. GM, I don't think EGR was too alone in his bachelor years. He once came into my father's grocery store in Manhattan (late 1950s/early 1960s) with a very pretty young woman, who was very flirtatious with him. (I sold him an apple, a high point of my young life!) As for Dietrich, maybe the word you are looking for is "insidious," but in a good way.

Your sentiments are wonderful, GM. TCM should reprint this on the main website - you have, I think, put into very eloquent words the thoughts of most of us who love the classics. And specifically, I think you are on to something when you say that the new crop of films doesn't stay with us after we've seen them. I don't think most of them are intended to do so. It's the use it once, throw it away mentality. I can remember very little from current movies after the first few weeks, but I can still get shivers, or be saddened, or laugh, about films I saw thirty years ago. Whatever its evils or economic drawbacks, the studio system had its good points, and making terrific movies was the primary good point. Also, this current mania for tasteless publicity and childish and objectionable behavior among film actors would never have been permitted back in the day. The people in charge are a different breed (most seem to be in various states of arrested development), and therein lies the difference in quality.

This puts me in mind of a television series I saw long ago about the Hollywood movie industry. It was narrated by James Mason, and it dealt with all aspects of movie making. I still remember things I learned from it. Anyone remember the name? Was it called simply "Hollywood?" That would be worth seeing again.

About Paul Douglas: When I was a girl and his movies were new, I didn't like him. I thought he was so plain, and he wasn't funny like William Bendix, and he seemed hardly to be acting at all. Fortunately, I'm now old enough and an experienced enough movie lover to appreciate his excellent work. What really turned me around was seeing him in "Clash By Night" a few years ago. He was terrific - so true, so moving. Then I reassessed him in "Letter to Three Wives" and "We're Not Married." How could I have been so blind? He's great. On Donald MacBride: Can't put the face to the name - I'll have to research him. James Gleason - I forgot about "Come Fill the Cup." Yes - the man had range. We need to deal with more of the ladies now - let's not slight them. How about the great Eve Arden; Fay Bainter; Agnes Moorehead; Brooklyn's own Thelma Ritter ........ keep 'em coming, posters.

That's a good question, but I think the answer will prove as elusive as the quality itself. There are so many actors/actresses whom you can't take your eyes off of, and yet they may be distinctly lacking in what one would think of as Hollywood good looks. Edward G. Robinson and Shirley Booth are examples. It's the same quality you can find in real life - there are some people who instantly dominate the attention of the room - it's just something they are born with. Some just go about their business, and some go to Broadway and Hollywood and capitalize on it. So we can say that IT can be a case of fabulous good looks, a great energy, or just a quiet magnetism. And, at the same time, this whole concept of IT can be entirely a matter of personal taste as well. I like who I like, maybe you don't, and that suits me fine.

So you did. My apologies - I read too fast! I remember on this talk show I saw - it may have been Mike Douglas - remember him? - McQueen sang "Tico, Tico." That was really something.

Ouch, ouch. I'm trying to learn this game. It's like learning chess - you have to play with open moves to get the hang of it. I think there are a dozen or so sci-fi films mentioned in one of the songs . . . The Day the Earth Stood Still It Came From Outer Space The Invisible Man King Kong Forbidden Planet Tarantula When Worlds Collide I think Flash Gordon's in there as well, and some others These would comport with your "all hell breaks loose" clue. If you have no patience with me, I'll leave it to the experts to complete this game, and I'll just watch. I know this stuff - I just don't yet know how you all like to formulate your clues. If someone else will participate, I'll humbly appreciate it.

Some voices used to comic effect: Eddie "Rochester " Anderson Oscar Levant Ned Sparks ZaSu Pitts Virginia O'Brien (is that who I'm thinking of? She had a very flat, expressionless way of speaking her lines) Joan Davis Mary Wickes Joe E. Brown Bert Lahr It wasn't just what they said, it was the voices they used to say it.

Douglass Dumbrille (G. Washington in "M. Beaucaire" and Buffalo Bill (Pony Express) in "The World Changes") Frank Morgan as the charlatan (Wizard of Oz) State prosecutor --- William Powell in Manhattan Melodrama This would put them all in something called "The Emperor's Candelsticks" of which I know nothing. As Woody Allen said elsewhere - it's about Russia. "Hell" being the Russian revolution? Given the "slip" - ??? A slip of paper hidden in the aforementioned candlesticks? ??? I'm not finding this easy at all, Metry. Should I be thinking in more obvious terms?

You've made me remember that I think Ann Sheridan had an usual speaking voice. There was a quality to it I don't think I've heard in other actresses. I don't know how to describe it - maybe metallic, though not unpleasant. Perhaps it was the way her voice recorded electronically, since I never heard her speak in person. But I always know it's her speaking, without seeing her face. Theresa Wright was another who is instantly recognizable to me - a sort of throb in the voice. Mary Steenburgen has it, too. No one has yet mentioned Butterfly McQueen. I saw her on some talk show when she was much older, and the voice still had that little-girl sound to it. And what about Tallulah?

George Washington (a reference to the Gilbert Stuart portrait)? G. Washington AND a mailman. Hmmm.

I appreciate your quick response. Thanks very much.

Those Miss Withers films are great, aren't they? It was an inspired pairing, those two! There was a movie on TCM a few months ago, a real antique comedy with early Joan Crawford (of course I've forgotten the name). Edna May played her aunt, and she was not the rigid, spinster school marm, but a wise-cracking, cigarette smoking, tough old bird type, and actually rather attractive. I had never seen her play anything like that before. She was really good. I wonder if there are any more like that where she played against type. James Gleason played characters who are like thousands of men in New York - I've known many of them in my lifetime. I think that's part of the allure of the character parts for us in the audience. They often (depending on the role) bring a sense of familiarity and grounding to a film that may have some dazzling big names in it. Would you like to talk about, say, Keenan Wynn? His little bit as a drunk in "The Clock" was so funny, and rang so true. Loved him in "Without Love." I never found him a particularly handsome man, but I thought he was an attractive one. And I found him absolutely shattering in '"Nashville." That performance was really terrific. Feel free to name your faves, and why.