MissGoddess

>>>I know Barbara Stanwyck was nominated that year as well for Ball of Fire but I think her performance in Meet John Doe was more worthy of a nomination and was a better performance than Joan's.<<< It's ridiculous that Barbara *never* won an Oscar.

>>>All I gotta say right now is... wow. I'm currently at a loss for words. I'm sure I'll find some soon enough, though. Shutting me up ain't easy to do. <<< Gee, Frank, what did I say?? lol, I can't even remember...was it the comment about Citizen Kane?

Great pictures, Kim! I take it some of those are from Maria's book about her father---I love that book.

>>>I think that the confusion about Fred Clark's position vis-?-vis Claude Rains is understandable, given the sometimes illogical shifts in tone throughout this movie. Clark seems quite subservient to Rains initially, I think in deference to his fame and his social status. Rich guys do get treated a bit differently by the cops, as a glance at the news will attest.<<< That's what threw me off, and until I saw the rather long camera hold on the door telling us he's with the cops I thought he worked for Raines. Maybe the censors stepped in late in the day and said you can't show the police being so crooked, hence Clark's about-face when he learns the truth. Double-dealing police officers appear in many noirs, but usually they make sure there is at least one who is honest so it doesn't look like they are all portrayed as being on the take.

Sorry, Red, my mistake---it's The High *Wall* made in 1947, when Audrey Totter was on a noir bender (Lady in the Lake and The Unsuspected also released that year).

Frank, I hope you feel tip-top again soon---if all else fails, homemade chicken soup with tons of garlic does the job. Or maybe this picture of Gene Tierney from *Leave Her to Heaven* will:

Hi Dan---it seems you are busy with lots of puppy loving these days, hee! They must be a handful. Have you seen *Red River* , Dan? Most western fans have it on their top ten or top five best list. It's not one of my favorites, though I admire it. I think Rio Bravo perhaps less ambitious but way more fun and El Dorado, too, is a trip with big bad Bob Mitchum. Mea culpa, if it makes me a pariah, but I have a very sentimental attachment and admiration for Valley. These things are, in the end, very subjective. By the way, 1946 has been said to be another one of those "banner years". I'm terrible at remembering what year a movie was released, unless it was 1939 so maybe you know better why '46 would be included among the best movie years. I think it may have been the year the most people attended the movies in history, before or since. P.S. Wasn't Hitch's *Suspicion* also out in '41, because Joan Fontaine won for Best Actress (I don't agree with that choice).

Thank you very much for that info, Edgecliff---I don't have any of them and have never even seen the British titles.

My choice is *The Picasso Summer* (1969), starring Albert Finney and Yvette Mimieux (and Picasso! Well, sort of.) It was never officially released in the States but turned up years ago on A&E, back when they used to air classic movies. I taped it then, and stupidly threw out the tape. I haven't seen or heard of it since but it's always stayed with me. It's kind of a story of a disintigrating marriage, a la Stanley Donen's *Two for the Road* , covering many of the same locations.

Yes, it was a terrible situation, one that still goes on in many parts of the world, sadly.

Hi Theresa---that couple who took Dana in after they found her piling rubble were running a brothel, and one way they evidently recruited unwary or desparate women was by promising them shelter and then inviting gentlemen callers over to party with their "neices". Poor Dana didn't realize what she'd gotten into until that drunk man followed her to her room. Prostitution was (and is) legal in Germany, and all of them must register with the government and submit to regular health examinations. Remember when the old man asked her to sign a "registry"? That's how her profession came to listed as "prostitute" on her legal papers. And that's why her papers were such a concern for her at the end---the United States would not grant a visa to anyone of her "undesirable" type. What the young officer did by changing her document to "profession unlisted" basically made it possible for her to leave the country and start a new life. He also could have gotten kicked out of the service so he took a big risk, but he remembered her kindess to him after her "Uncle" called him names.

Another image from *On Dangerous Ground* . Playing one of those nameless but affecting denizens of noir, young *Cleo Moore* has her biggest screen moment as the underage saloon customer, who may or may not be a prostitute.

Hi Theresa---It's funny you should post this because I caught it quite by accident! It was an interesting attempt to show what displaced young German women often faced in the aftermath of WWII and I couldn't help but feel relieved that my own Mother was actually too young to have had to face similar consquences, hard as it was regardless of her age. I thought that what the young officer did for her at the end was so very kind and touching. My only quibble with the movie is the casting of Mel Ferrer, an actor I have never thought much of or warmed to. I really liked the character of the blonde woman who played her one friend and roommate, I kept wondering how was she going to end up and wanted to imagine Dana Wynter sending for her to come to America and marry some decent guy she picked out for her. Hee!

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Moira has said everything I tried to say about this movie---perfectly as usual! Moira---I also took notice of Fred Clark and Jack Lambert in this one. Clark I was familiar with, though seldom had I seen him looking so young (he always seemed old, though!) and Lambert was a face who until now remained nameless but memorable. One thing that I may have misinterpreted about Clark's character, is that I got the decided impression in his first scenes that he was an employee or flunky of Claude Raines??? And so I figured that was the reason they made a point of showing his name and title (in Homicide Bureau) on his office door, afterward. But what was the point---to deliberately mislead or were they trying to suggest maybe he really was friendly enough with Raines to cover up for him? Another reason to see it again.

Thank you Moira! Trust you to know the scoop. That's really interesting about her marriage to the soldier boy---I like that about her. I have heard about the book you mentioned and it sounds like a very enjoyable read. I will have to add it to my list. I can imagine Connie being "imperious" and I can also imagine her being very kind.

This one sounds interesting, under the Nov. 20th listing: *Film Noir:Five Classics From The Stud - Kino* . I wonder what the five titles are.

I liked Mature's sense of humor and preferred him in noirish type movies, as opposed to the bright Fox musicals. He was surprisingly effective in My Darling Clementine.

I thoroughly enjoyed your review, Bronxgirl. You picked up on a lot of things I think I missed. I actually had expected Tyrone's character to be even darker than it was, but he sure showed he could act. I can see why his fans might not have been happy to see him play such a character, though. Ian Keith---he was just great. I "discovered" him in this role and will never forget him now. His part reminded me of a more subtle John Carradine.

Frank, thanks for supplying the lyrics to "I've Got You", now that's a song I could sing in my sleep.

I'll be interested in your impressions, Arkadin. Bronxie: I'm sorry you didn't like it better. I watched it three times over because I kept getting interrupted (and like I said, my tape runneth over toward the ending, which is kind of frustrating after the third viewing) and I liked it more each time. I think Curtiz (with a "Z" not an "X" as in my earlier dumb bunny post) showed what a sure hand he had with the language of cinema. It may be that it translates into a mish-mosh for some, but I personally revelled in it. And I am normally not one to get into stylistic touches and visual effects over character. Maybe the caustic script kept me interested along with the visuals. Maybe Curtiz sensed that the movie needed as many distracting effects as possible to camouflage its weaknesses? Anyway, I think it's way, way better than Mildred Pierce, Deception, Possessed or several other similar styled movies, though inferior to Laura. I thought Raines was great and much more controlled than in Deception, where we all knew from the beginning where he was going with that character. His behavior toward niece Caulfield was so oily-sweet, which was suspicious but I wasn't really clued into his real motives until they revealed she was the sole heiress and he was basically living off of her. Of course, she had to be rather stupid to be so easily fooled not just by him, which is understandable (he is always kind to her) but by everyone else who lied to her! Hurd Hatfield for the first time interested me (his looks have always left me cold). He seemed forever to be carrying Portrait on his back. I have yet to see him in a part that didn't allude to that movie. However, here he at least has some great lines delivered to naughty-wife Audrey Totter. This was her year, Lady in the Lake was released also in '47. The lack of big names seemed to intrigue me this time, I kept waiting for Joan Crawford to come along tell Claude to go take a powder. But then, there would be no movie. I loved it! I just want TCM to air it again (Please!) so I can record the whole thing and show it to my friends. Why didn't Connie Bennett get to do more work in this period? I don't know much about her life/career path, but I thought she was terrific and still very sexy looking. Her every line was a hoot! I don't remember any good exchanges between her and Audrey Totter's character, though...that would have been interesting.

I tried to rent the old 3:10 to Yuma on Netflix and guess what! It's on a wait list because all their copies are currently out! It would be great if this recent release boosts sales and interest in old westerns. That would be a really fine benefit to come out of it all. I wonder how the Jesse James picture coming out soon will fare next.

>>>It took an Irena to clue Ollie in on Alice. Ollie could now "see" Alice. He was blind no longer.<<< In my opinion, I think Irena became the key Alice was able to use to finally get Ollie--because she was after him from the start and so I have always thought she was the real cat in Cat People. She was also a hypocrite or lying to herself about her motives and so it's not surprising the kid seemed more like Irena's child than her own (Alice's own observation in Curse).