Swithin
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Posts posted by Swithin
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Didn't see it last night but saw it when it first came out. I was quite young, and it terrified me and troubled me, but as I recall it's one of the great depictions on film about a woman descending into madness.
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I would love to see Rosalind Russell's television version of the musical Wonderful Town. It was one of her greatest roles. Here's a clip of Roz singing "Swing," from the tv version:
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I remember her appearances on television. As I recall, she wouldn't really say anything very provocative. She seemed very discreet, although the show's hosts were always trying to get juicy stuff out of her.
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I don't know, probably not too much, since they usually don't want people in the regions to be short-changed, though theater considerations play into it. The original production in NYC was in a very large theater with a huge stage. The taping by the library of the original production probably used fewer cameras, since it is meant for study purposes and not broadcast.
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There is a video of Cariou's (and the original cast's) performance in the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, which is part of The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center. However, restrictions apply to viewing that tape, which can only be viewed in the department's viewing room.
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There's no such thing as complaing too much about *NBNW* being aired too many times. We've been complaining too little about it!
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*Anthony Adverse*
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I'm grateful to this thread (and TCM). I assumed that the Sweeney Todd being screened was the 1928 version. Just tuned in, in time to see/hear my favorite song from the show: "Have a Little Priest." I think it's a nice idea to show this sort of thing on occasion. I saw the original production, with Angela and Len Cariou -- and have seen it several times since, including in London with Julia McKenzie and Alun Armstrong, and at the New York City Opera.
I'd like to see a tribute to Rosalind Russell which would include the television version of her Broadway triumph, Wonderful Town.
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Nicol Williamson starred in one of my favorite television mini-series: *Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy,* in which he played Lord Louis Montbatten. He was great. In fact, I prefer the depiction of Gandhi in that series to the well-intentioned but stodgy film with Ben Kingsley.
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Here's a favorite from my very early childhood. This song and its unique sound comes back to me often. One of the singers, Sylvia Robinson, died a few months ago.
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Mr6666, please post another challenge. Sepia, we all look forward to your puzzle when you get one right.
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Dargo, I think the true test of cinema Anglophilia is whether you know who Old Mother Riley is. Just to keep this in the "Favorite Line" context:
Old Mother Riley to the Landlord: "You out vamp the vampire!"
from Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (aka Vampire over London aka My Son the Vampire )
The film featured Bela Lugosi's last full-length performance, I believe.
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My favorite pop song of the '60s sung by the Shirelles, the greatest girl group of all time:
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Mark, I agree that The Black Cat is very special in many ways and the best paring of their geniuses! And a truly great film. The design is amazing!
An Ulmer film I haven't seen in decades is Daughter of Dr. Jekyll. I'd like to see that again.
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Thanks Clore for your speedy response to a question I've been wondering about for years, but never looked up or inquired about (until now).
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But don't overlook *The Invisible Ray*, perhaps not as truly great as *The Black Cat*, but an excellent and interesting film, perhaps one of the first which deals with the misuse of science. As Mother Rukh (played by Violet Kemble Cooper) says to her son Janos (Boris Karloff) as she ensures his death at the end, "My son, you have broken the first rule of science." And Boris Karloff plunges to his death, turning to flames. The great cast also included Bela Lugosi, Beulah Bondi, and Walter Kingsford.
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Carl, perhaps you can answer a question. In one of the perhaps lesser Lugosi films, Dark Eyes of London (aka The Human Monster ), Lugosi plays the double role of Dr. Orloff and Professor Dearborn. As I recall, in one of the most effective scenes, Dearborn is seated at a long table, with many blind men. He speaks to them in an impeccable English accent. Was that Lugosi's voice, or was it dubbed?
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pt, your second scene is memorable. A boxer like a ballet dancer, dancing to an opera theme. Haven't seen that movie in years!
Regarding my choice, The Light that Failed is one of my favorite films. You are quite right to say it looks more Wyler than Wellman. It's one of Ronald Colman's best roles, but he and Wellman did not get along, probably because it's a very Colman-type film and not at all a Wellman-type. But Wellman must have loved the story and Kipling's book, because he produced it as well as directed. I think it's one of Hollywood's very best quiet, melancholy, introspective movies (if one can call a film introspective).
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pt and Eugenia, those are truly great openings. pt, your scene makes me want walk over to Tiffany's very early in the morning, about a 15-minute walk from where I live. Another favorite New York opener of which I'm very fond is The Subject Was Roses, with Patricia Neal waking up, going out in her Bronx neighborhood to Judy Collins' song.
But as a native New Yorker, my favorite scene actually lies elsewhere. Here it is, after the opening credits with Victor Young's lovely music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56TVoylPyK4
(The link actually gives the first part of the film. The opening scene runs to about the 4:15 point.)
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JG, you make me long to see The Thirteenth Chair -- I don't know it at all. I love Margaret Wycherly. Though perhaps best known for her role as Ma Jarrett in White Heat, I actually prefer her brilliant performance as Mother York in Sergeant York and her endearing performance as Mrs. Deventer in Random Harvest.
But *The Black Cat* -- it's certainly weird, but it is one of the great stylistic horror films of all time. Ulmer's masterpiece. Lots of nice touches -- the chess scene between Karloff and Lugosi may have inspired Ingmar Bergman to use it in The Seventh Seal. There is an (albeit bizarre) homage to architect Hans Poelzig: the Karloff character is named Hjalmar Poelzig. And Karloff's black mass -- it's a hoot. Look up the translation of the Latin, it's online. And so much more. All in all, one of the really great, odd films of all time. And what Lugosi does to Karloff at the end bears mentioning, but I won't mention it, to avoid a "spoiler." Anyone who hasn't seen it should try to catch it.
P.S. Look for Arlene Francis in a small role in Murders in the Rue Morgue, decades before she became a panelist on "What's My Line."
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Correct!
Your thread...
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PBS (Channel 13) in NYC shows those (same, I think) films on Saturday nights. I think it's partly a budget issue and not necessarily the best prints or the rarest titles. Just looked it up -- they showed *Shake Hands with the Devil* last night and will show *The Thomas Crown Affair* next Saturday.
Before Channel 13 became PBS, many decades ago, they had a great horror film series called Shock-o-Rama. They showed my favorite version of Poe's *Fall of the House of Usher*, a UK version made around 1949. I'm still waiting to see that again! They also showed a great little cheapie called *The Creeper,* about a scientist who can turn his hand into a cat's paw (with which he then kills). Waiting for that as well.
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Nope.
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Wireless stupefaction
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