Swithin

Station West (1948) Next: French beach

Kay Francis (was the highest paid actress and most popular Warner Bros. star in the early 1930s. My grandmother's favorite actress.) Next: Hot tempered

That's true. I actually met Vanessa, when I was working with her daughter, Natasha. I guess my real beef with that segment is that they identified so many people, but neglected to identify Beulah Bondi, although the identified the two people on either side of her (and many other people).

When they were identifying the actors in the seats, they went from Joan Blondell to Andy Devine, not identifying Beulah Bondi, who was seated between them. Also perhaps too much emphasis on the Redgraves. The 75th Oscars featured this memorable cast:

When they were identifying the actors in the seats, they went from Joan Blondell to Andy Devine, not identifying Beulah Bondi, who was seated between them. Also perhaps too much emphasis on the Redgraves.

Dressed to Kill (1946) features one of my favorite "small" performances: Edmund Breon as Julian "Stinky" Emery.

Best sentence -- or part of sentence -- on the Board today! (Merriam Webster defines "minx" as 1) "a pert girl;" or 2) "a wanton woman." Which you do mean, Nipkow?) And here's the Urban Dictionary definition: "An alluring, cunning, or boldly flirtatious girl or young woman. Has unusual seductive powers such that she could commit acts that would otherwise be considered inappropriate, while still maintaining an air of class or poise."

Gina Lollobrigida was in Come September with Bobby Darin.

My Name is Julia Ross (1945) Next: References to Babylon

Just realized I have the DVD of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, never watched it. I worked with Ismail Merchant many years ago, in conjunction with an Indian film company, and they gave me a couple of their DVDs. I will watch it. They also gave me Zubeida, which I haven't watched either.

deleted (difficulty quoting two posts from different pages). I wanted to quote both Lawrence and Tikisoo, but I couldn't manage it, and my post seemed a muddle, so I just deleted it.

John Garfield was in The Sea Wolf with Alexander Knox.

"I'm Past My Prime" -- Leslie Parrish (dubbed) and Stubby Kaye in Li'l Abner (1959) Next: Played on a banjo (where the banjo is in the scene, so not just on the soundtrack)

The thing about Speke is that the ear story is true. He was going so mad with pain that he tried to remove the beetle with a knife. It's a harrowing scene.

I've used this before, but it's always appropriate around here: Next: Song from a film directed by Ronald Neame

If you are interested in things in ears, there is a scene in Mountains of the Moon, which is on my list, of John Hanning Speke having a problem with something in his ear. It may be one of the most terrifying scenes related to ears in any movie. Here's a quote from the New York Times review: "Speke is attacked by beetles that crawl into his ear and nearly drive him mad."

My top ten (alphabetical) for the 1990s. I'm sticking to ten, which leaves no room for Gummo or Happiness, but they rate as well. The Age of Innocence Conte d’été (Rohmer) The English Patient The Last Days of Disco The Long Day Closes Metropolitan Mountains of the Moon Proof Schindler's List The Sheltering Sky Hugo Weaving as a blind photographer in Proof (1991)

I'm pleased to see that The Long Day Closes comes in at #9. One of my favorite films. Regarding #1 on the list, I will finally see Eyes Wide Shut, recorded it from TCM recently.

Noel Coward wrote an amusing poem about Unity, whose father, the 2nd Baron Redesdale, was a notorious racist and anti-Semite. Here's Coward's poem: "Note on Our New National Heroine" Unity, Unity -- daughter of sorrow, Creature of tragedy, child of distress, Read her sad tale in the Mirror tomorrow, Learn of her life in the Daily Express, Think how she publicly postured and pandered, Screeching her views on the Nazi regime, Weep with her now in the News and the Standard, Everything's over, the end of the dream. Sigh for this amateur social Egeria, Think how she suffered and suffered in vain, Caught in the toils of neurotic hysteria, Ne'er to take tea with her Fuhrer again. No more photography -- no more publicity, No more defiance and devil may care, Back to old England and bleak domesticity, Nothing but decency, truth and despair. No concentration camps -- nothing exciting here, Nothing sadistic. No national slaves. Only the freedom for which we are fighting here, Only Brittania still ruling the waves. Unity -- Unity -- Daughter of sorrow, Sad, disillusioned and pampered and rich How can she hope for a happy tomorrow? What is there left for this tiresome b_itch?

Although Peaky Blinders features several historic characters, like Churchill, Mosley, and Diana Mitford Mosley, their interactions with Tommy Shelby are obviously fiction. But a lot of the details of Mosley are accurate: his positions in government, possibly some of his speeches, even his actual parliamentary constituency (Smethwick), which does border on the constituency they've given Tommy. The Peaky Blinders gang existed in an earlier period; Alfie Solomons is based on a Jewish gangster named Alfie Solomon; and Jesse Edens, the Communist woman, really existed, although obviously liberties were taken with all of these. The evil Diana Mosley was born Diana Mitford, one of the famous Mitford sisters, two of whom -- Diana and Unity -- became fascists/Nazi sympathizers. I saw a play in London several years ago called The Last of the Duchess, about the final days of the Duchess of Windsor. Diana Mosley is played by Angela Thorne, shown in this photo at right, with Anna Chancellor, who plays a reporter.

Raquel Welch replaced Lauren Bacall in the musical Women of the Year and sang this amusing song with Marilyn Cooper, who won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. The musical was based on the Tracy/Hepburn film. Raquel Welch played Tess Harding. In this song, she's lamenting the simple things that she cannot do. https://www.playbill.com/video/marilyn-cooper-and-raquel-welch-sing-whats-so-wonderful-from-woman-of-the-year

Nils Asther was a particularly compelling and sympathetic "villain" in The Man in Half Moon Street (1945), a film I would love to see again.

It was on Svengoolie in 2017 and 2020. (One of the reasons I type out the title as well as share a poster, is that typing it out makes it searchable on the TCM site.)

On Svengoolie tomorrow, August 20, 2022: The Land Unknown (1957)

"I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you" -- Rufus Jones for President (1933) Next: Song mentioning an Asian country