MissGoddess

Oh wow! Love the caps from A Personal Journey...and Jackie, I had a couple of books as "guides" too and like Marty, I had to look at them in the Library only and like him, I was tempted to take some of the pictures out. I don't remember if I did...maybe not, I was boringly ethical at that tender age. I now wish I had that dvd. Was it expensive, Frank?

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}*Eew! You are!* > > Don't you dare try to clean me up! > I don't attempt the impossible. > *The Hammonds are like the Clantons and Cleggs.* > > > Minus the father. Elsa is suffocated by her father while the Hammonds run wild without any kind of parental guidance. Again, the extremes are shown. > That's a good point. I was thinking that both families suffer because of the lack of a mother/wife. Interesting that Hester was 40 when she died. How did she die? I forget. Did he kill her?

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}*It is. I wish it were a "theme" for more than just westerns.* > > I can't help it that I'm a Hammond! Eew! You are! The Hammonds are like the Clantons and Cleggs.

> It's annoying! Even more so than me! > I wouldn't go that far. > And that's a big reason why I felt the film ends on a disappointing note. But, for some reason, this is a time where it didn't bother me much. I really enjoyed the ride up until that point. I just loved the entire mood and the stars delivered. > You loved it?? That's interesting. I have my own predilictions for movies I know are not first rate yet I prefer them to some that are. > That's a great question. I'm not sure if I really know the answer. I suppose it was something to do with mental health. > At least with Bogie we got to see what kind of "art" he was interested in. > A Greer Garson film?! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! > Ha! No worries, I'm not recommending you watch it. I saw it once and that was enough. Flynn kept me interested, his character is a puzzle. so much to despise about him, yet.... > > *I like The Whole Town's Talking ! I also like two of the Will Rogers flicks.* > > > *Alright.* > > > You don't sound convinced! > I'm not, much. > > The entire Sturges vibe rather fascinated me. I'm not sure if Jackie has seen the film or not, but I think she'd enjoy it. Corinne Calvet is excellent. > I'm not sure she would. I prefer Corinne in *The Far Country*, but I figured if this movie hit with you at all it was going to be because of her. She's very minxy. > > That's an astute observation. I would have never picked that up. The film certainly doesn't feel "Fordian." > Many agree. I'm not familiar enough with it to say. I think he wanted to do it, but then again it was a Zanuck assignment. I thought this was interesting, about When Willie Comes Marching Home: Those back home can only make believe, and so paranoia steadily increases. The elder Kluggs (William Demarest) assumes the Germans would go to the trouble of spying on his kitchen. And the gruff MPs who show up clubbing and pounding their way into his home resemble the Nazis seen earlier. That scary suggestion culminates Ford?s satire...Ford presents the platitude that today we name ?Middle America,? how those who live within this platitude are uncritically conditioned by it, how innocent they are, and how dangerous. Despite humor, the portrait is distinctly melancholic and would be overtly cynical, were the characters less affectionately drawn. I also think it's interesting that the name Cluggs sounds so much like Cleggs (the sadistic father and sons in Wagon Master)

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}*That is one of the great lines of western film. Love it.* > > It's all about self-respect. That's definitely a strong westerns theme. It is. I wish it were a "theme" for more than just westerns.

That is one of the great lines of western film. Love it.

*Rey*, I really like your list of suggested films. I've seen many of them, and a few are unknown to me. Thank you for your mini synopses, it helps a lot with the unfamiliar titles. One thing I might venture a different opinion upon is Heston in *Will Penny*. I think it's a great film for non-Heston fans. It's almost impossible to dislike him or this movie. Sure, Douglas or Burt could have played it, or any of the great western stars in an earlier era, but somehow I'm glad Heston did it. He's very good. *Frank*, I agree with Rey that the 007 films should be in your sights when you consider more 1960s films. Your love of "superheroes" ought to endear them, as well as the beautiful women. *From Russia With Love* and *Goldfinger*, on Rey's list, both feature blondes and Connery at his most comfortable not to mention wonderful villains. Happily, they've finally released Connery's films together in packages, so if you don't get the complete collection, you can at least procure them in some semblance of order.

> > No, but everyone's name is being shown in the middle of their post. > You're right! I didn't notice it before. > Barbara starred in two other "woman in danger" films during this period: *The Two Mrs. Carrolls* and *Sorry, Wrong Number*. I suppose *Jeopardy* could also be classified as such a film. > I thought about *The Two Mrs Carrolls* and of *Witness to Murder*. > > And that's exactly what I loved about the film. I loved all the distrust. It really kept me guessing as to who was on the level and what was going to happen next. > I still feel unsure whether he did all he did out of love for his neice and nephew or to save the family (and the senator) from disgrace. And what kind of scientist was he? They were kind of vague about that. > Interestingly enough, I've only seen two of his films now, with the other being *The Sun Also Rises*. I have liked him in both. I prefer him in *Cry Wolf*, though. > His character in *Cry Wolf* reminds me a lot of his character in *That Forsythe Woman*. > I like *The Whole Town's Talking* ! I also like two of the Will Rogers flicks. > Alright. > > *I'm not an expert on what makes Sturges unique, so I can't really say whether or not I agree about the comparison.* > > > The idea of a goofball getting caught up in something way bigger than he reminded me a lot of Sturges. Plus the entire community rallying around his cause and then starting to turn on him is very "Sturges." Also the presence of William Demarest as the father was a big factor. > Demarest sends a big signal there. You're not the only one who compared this to Sturges, though I forget who else did. It was some critic or biographer. The most "Fordian" thing about it I've gleaned is that it is about people's perceptions, especially their perceptions of "heroes".

Your ranking of *Brief Encounter* after *Cry Wolf* doesn't bode well for Jackie's favorite. Because in no way is CW in the same league. So what sank it for you? You can answer this when you respond to Jackie's eloquent post, I don't mean to interrupt.

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}Whoever is in change of the design and functionality of the board is doing a bang-up job. > Are you having trouble posting? > The first number in parentheses is how you guessed I'd like the film and the second is how you liked it. > Thank you for the explanation. > Franchot Tone plays Gary's "thorn in the side" comrade. He's sensational. The film is somewhat similar to *Wee Willie Winkie* and a little similar to the father/son story in *Rio Grande*. It's about the son of a colonel (Richard Cromwell) joining the base despite his father's (Guy Standing) disapproval. The son wishes to do right by his father but his father is afraid to show any feeling towards his son. That part of the story is okay. What I really liked was the pairing of Coop and Tone, as both ended up being "bigger brothers" to the colonel's son. This is a " 'brothers' in arms" kind of film (ala *Beau Geste* ) that I liked. For me, Tone is the best part, but I also enjoyed Coop. > Boy, I have no recollection of any of that. I'll try to rewatch it soon. Jackie will be delighted you liked Tone so much. > I enjoyed them both. I thought they proved to be great adversaries. It seems like the mid-to-late-40s featured many of these "don't go in that room!" films with women in the lead. I know of *Jane Eyre*, *Dragonwyck*, *Secret Beyond the Door*, *The Red House*, and *The Spiral Staircase*. Even *Notorious* features this. > I really enjoy those movies, too especially as they are done at this time. The emphasis is often on setting a mood, and that is something I respond to. I thought Barbara was especially pretty in this movie, too. What was interesting to me was that just as each of them was unsure of the motives of the other, we are kind of unsure too, at least to begin with in Barbara's case. Her explanation of her marriage was rather unconventional. You're right that they are well matched. Even the characters are both brainy types, it's like they are excited by each other's grey matter. One of the things I like about Flynn is he could play intelligent characters as well as men of action. > I've liked some Ford comedies! It felt like Ford was playing Preston Sturges. At first I was annoyed by it, but then I started to enjoy it and I ultimately came to like it. > Liar! You don't like any of this comedies! I'm not an expert on what makes Sturges unique, so I can't really say whether or not I agree about the comparison.

I don't even remember what the young guy looked like at all, and I saw this movie twice this year. But that's my memory more than on him. Each time I watch this movie it does get better for me. I like the moment when Joel (was it Joel?) excuses himself to read the telegram privately...with his glasses. There's definitely older generation vs. younger commentary in many scenes, like the saloon scene when Joel and Randolph are with the kid. Will he measure up, etc.

I'll have to disagree about Hartley's skills as an actress, though she's personable enough. I don't know why she was in so many westerns on TV, too. Reading a brief bio at IMDb.com about Marriette, it seems she may have had a similar background to her character in real life, with a controlling patriarch. I seem to remember from a Peckinpah documentary that his parents were very religious...maybe he was commenting on that via Armstrong's character. I too thought his relationship with Marriette unhealthy. There's a similar episode of "Gunsmoke" with Katherine Ross and George Kennedy. In each case the men are widowers or their wife left them, and they seemed to project all their anger and frustration on their daughters. Funny how good women seldom make much apparent impact on men but let a woman hurt them or die on them and they never recover or forgive them for it.

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}*I didn't think you were such a fan of "Jennifer Hart".* > > Oh, yes. I still have a bit of crush on her. She's very affectionate. My brother got me the first season of the show for my birthday. It had long been on my list. > She's a lovely woman, I should have had her on my list, too. And I would have included Lionel Stander as "Max" as well. I wouldn't mind having season one on DVD, too. I actually visited a resort in Palm Springs that's featured in one of the episodes (I'm not sure what season). I thought it looked so cool so I looked it up and booked a trip there a few years ago. It was very "old Hollywood" in feel. > > *And where is "Rowdy"?* > > > He just missed my list. I barely had 40 names for the women but I had about 60 for the men. > I know, I had to think hard on the ladies after ten, whereas I could still keep going with the men (Kojak, Jim Rockford, etc).

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}It looks like we think completely differently about these films! That's rare for us. > > Here is how I liked them: > > > *1*. Ride the High Country (3/8) > *2*. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (10/9) > *3*. Cry Wolf (5/5) > *4*. Brief Encounter (1/7) > *5.* Soldier of Fortune (9/1) > *6*. Flying Leathernecks (4/10) > *7*. When Willie Comes Marching Home (11/11) > *8*. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (8/3) > *9*. The Captive City (6/4) > *10*. The Killer That Stalked New York (2/6) > *11*. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (7/2) > > The closest we come to liking something is *Cry Wolf*. And, yet again, I like a Ford film more than you! And I like Coop way more than you! > I don't understand those parentheses. Anything that has to do with math has to be explained as if to a two year old child because my brain doesn't compute. --I thought you hated Bengal Lancer or is this a list of movies you hated in general? I remember liking it better when I first saw it long ago. This time I felt it dragged on too long but I loved Brian Donlevy, he's one of the best villains I've ever seen.-- I just realized we're talking about two different movies. I am thinking of *Beau Geste*. I haven't seen *Lives of a Bengal Lancer* recently enough to even rank it, so you can just remove it from my list altogether. What did you like about it so much? Who's in it, besides Gary? See, it's a complete blank for me. Conversely, I enjoyed *Cry Wolf* more after seeing it again than I did the first couple of times. Errol is bit too muted and the twinkle in his eye is missing, but Barbara is great and it's a fun mystery. Light. As for *When Willie Comes Marching Home*, I've only seen it once and I'm not a fan of Dan Dailey or service comedies in general. I'm surprised you didn't bottom list it since Ford + Comedy usually sinks for you. Edited by: MissGoddess on Oct 27, 2011 11:28 AM

The one thing that seems to prevent me from rating *Ride the High Country* higher is Marriette and her story. I would like to watch it again to see if there's a purpose (beyond plot) for them. Maybe Peckinpah was trying to say something about the generations? I have no idea. I get the feeling he hadn't much use for "kids", since most of his movies seem to focus on mature characters, ones with life experience. I get the impression in movies like this, young people serve as foils, emphasizing the competence of the experienced, older characters. Or maybe the studio that financed the picture wanted to guarantee some younger audience participation, like so many pictures in the 1960s, Insisting on scripts that accomodated young actors, etc. I like the way Scott and McCrea play off of one another, it's one of the most interesting screen partnerships in westerns and makes me wish they'd done another movie together, perhaps sooner. Edited by: MissGoddess on Oct 27, 2011 8:41 AM

The one thing that seems to prevent me from rating *Ride the High Country* higher is Marriette and her story. I would like to watch it again to see if there's a purpose (beyond plot) for them. Maybe Peckinpah was trying to say something about the generations? I have no idea. I get the feeling he hadn't much use for "kids", since most of his movies seem to focus on mature characters, ones with life experience. I get the impression in movies like this, young people serve as foils, emphasizing the competence of the experienced, older characters. Or maybe the studio that financed the picture wanted to guarantee some younger audience participation, like so many pictures in the 1960s, Insisting on scripts that accomodated young actors, etc.

I didn't think you were such a fan of "Jennifer Hart". And where is "Rowdy"? P.S. Matt was a U.S. Marshal.

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}And how do you like those movies, Miss Gun for Hire? 3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 7. Brief Encounter 4. The Captive City 5. Cry Wolf 10.Flying Leathernecks 6. The Killer That Stalked New York 9.The Lives of a Bengal Lancer 8. Ride the High Country 2. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 1. Soldier of Fortune 11.When Willie Comes Marching Home

*8*. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes *1*. Brief Encounter *6*. The Captive City *5*. Cry Wolf *4*. Flying Leathernecks *2*. The Killer That Stalked New York *10*. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer *3*. Ride the High Country *7*. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror *9*. Soldier of Fortune *11*. When Willie Comes Marching Home

*The Razor's Edge* is a favorite of mine. Gene is sensational as Isabel, in fact the whole cast is great.

Favorite Female TV Characters: 1. Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore, The Dick Van Dyke Show) 2. Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake, Gunsmoke) 3. Pepper Anderson (Angie Dickinson, Police Woman) 4. Samantha Stevens (Elizabeth Montgomery, Bewitched) 5. Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas, That Girl) 6. Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy) 7. Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) 8. Jeannie (Barbara Eden, I Dream of Jeannie) 9. Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) 10. Fran Fein (Fran Drescher, The Nanny) 11. Sally Rogers (Rose Marie, The Dick Van Dyke Show) 12. Milly Helper (Ann Morgan-Guilbert, The Dick Van Dyke Show) 13. Flo/Florence Jean Castleberry (Polly Holliday, Alice) 14. Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance, I Love Lucy) 15. Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) Favorite Male TV Characters: 1. Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke, The Dick Van Dyke Show) 2. Paladin (Richard Boone, Have Gun, Will Travel) 3. Morse (John Thaw, Inspector Morse) 4. Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith, The Andy Griffith Show) 5. Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors, The Rifleman) 6. Matthew Dillon (James Arness, Gunsmoke) 7. Barney Fife (Don Knotts, The Andy Griffith Show) 8. Lou Grant (Ed Asner, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) 9. Anthony Nelson (Larry Hagman, I Dream of Jeannie) 10. Pete Malloy (Martin Milner, Adam-12) 11. Jerry Helper (Jerry Paris, The Dick Van Dyke Show) 12. Seth Adams (Ward Bond, Wagon Train) 13. Chuck Wooster (Frank McGrath, Wagon Train) 14. Columbo (Peter Falk, Columbo) 15. Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts, Bonanza) 16. Hoss Cartwright (Dan Blocker, Bonanza) 17. Buddy Sorrel (Morey Amsterdam, The Dick Van Dyke Show) Special mention for Variety-Talk Show Personalities because they were so much fun: 1. Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show 2. Carol Burnett The Carol Burnett Show 3. Tim Conway, The Carol Burnett Show 4. Vicki Lawrence, The Carol Burnett Show

Thank you, T...that background music in "Kitty of Fear" just happened to work out perfectly, it wasn't planned at all. And yes, they both play fetch and just learned to do it on their own, I didn't even have to teach them. And thanks for straightening me out on Miss Sellars...wo8uld you believe that last night I saw her on TCM, right after having mentioned her here. She was in *55 Days at Peking* (a blonde, again). Talk about coincidences.

Oh that was terrific...I even love that format for listening to music at the TCU...that's really cool. And the Dixie Chicks video, too...the music is jarring but they are making it wed to the emotions of the characters and what they're feeling. I like that a lot. What an intriguing mix of movie and song. It makes me long to make my own video montage like that. CineMava hava you made one? I'd love to know the basic steps ....on a Mac, preferrably. And now, soon, before the Coprights Gestapo start goose-stepping on all our fun. P.S. The blonde lady mother of Hayley just showed up toningt in *55 Days in Peking*...a blonde! So I must have dreamt that she was a brunette.

I knew you must have seen it...I'm impressed you recollect the music because I've already blanked out on it...though I remember it permeated the film. I felt Hunter's glamorous touch only in the character of the mother...she was beautifully dressed and drove one of the adorable little convertible roadsters that were all the rage back then. If I had money to burn, I'd love to have one of those...white with tan interior. The actress who played the mom...I forget her name, but I am almost certain I had seen her before only as a brunette and here she was blonde. There was one moment between Haley and her father that was cute...he was giving her this severe look that I imagined he might have used on her for real when she misbehaved.

T-Mave, have you seen Ross Hunter's *The Chalk Garden* before? I'm not sure if Hunter's slick and glamorous treatment really suits this kind of British setting (it's not in the big city of London, but takes place on an estate near the coast) but it certainly is one interesting mother-daughter-grandmother-governess psycho-drama.