VP19

I was thrilled when they colorized "My Man Godfrey." I have always loved the art deco style of decorating back in those days and the colorizing just emphasized the beauty of the decor. Believe it or not, a few years ago, there was an eBay auction for a DVD of "Godfrey," retrofitted to 3-D. Why anyone would want to convert "Godfrey" into that format is incomprehensible, aside from that it's in public domain, but here's what I wrote about it at the time: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/130264.html

I went to your Photoplay link, I looked at the 1929 issues, and I found that I could copy each page like a photograph It's become a wonderful resource for me in doing research for "Carole & Co.", and one thing I love about it is that, unlike microfilm, these images can sometimes be seen in color...not just the magazine covers, but sometimes advertisements for movies, particularly in trade publications, where studios would advertise their upcoming attractions in order to entice distributors or theater owners. For example, look at this stunning image, part of a two-page spread from Paramount in Film Daily of Feb. 3, 1936 to promote the first three-strip Technicolor feature filmed outdoors, "The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine": http://ia700704.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/15/items/filmdailyvolume669newy/filmdailyvolume669newy_jp2.zip&file=filmdailyvolume669newy_jp2/filmdailyvolume669newy_0245.jp2&scale=6.039130434782609&rotate=0

Smart comment regarding the condition of the magazines. In lieu of using a scanner and risking damage to the magazine, either get a hand-held scanner or take a photograph and convert it into an image...a much safer method. There still aren't that many classic Hollywood film magazines available online, but one source I use for my research is the Media History Digital Library; it has a variety of classic movie-related publications (including color covers, photography and art work), and it continues to grow. At last check, their inventory now includes: *Fan magazines* Motion Picture Story Magazine -- part of 1913 Picture Stories Magazine -- parts of 1913 and 1914 Photoplay -- all of 1929, 1930 and 1935, and parts of 1917, 1920, 1925-1928, 1936-1938 and 1940 Motion Picture Classic -- all of 1920 Cine-Mundial (Spanish) -- all of 1920 *Trade publications* Moving Picture World -- all of 1913 and 1914, and parts of 1912 and 1915-1918 Film Daily -- all of 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926-1932, and parts of 1918, 1921, 1924, 1925 and 1933-1936 Exhibitors Trade Review -- parts of 1921 and 1922 Exhibitors Herald -- parts of 1923 and 1924 Motion Picture News -- parts of 1928-1930 Motion Picture Daily -- parts of 1931, 1933 and 1934 Hollywood Reporter -- parts of 1933 and 1934 To see the entire holdings, go to http://mediahistoryproject.org/collections/

I was checking out your post and I scrolled down to look at the pictures of Lombard. I saw a photo that I had posted that USED to be Lombard. Now it's some little girl's birthday photo. I am SO fed up with tinypic.com. I'm assuming they recycle links to pictures - anyway, I am going to ask Michael to remove it. It's not like the picture is controversial, but I want it gone so other people don't think that I'm completely out of my mind (well, any more than they already might...). I'm hoping that it's instead some celestial spirits at work, and that many of Lombard's traits have been magically transferred to that little girl -- in which case she should consider herself blessed.

Betty grew up in Los Angeles (you can see where she lived in 1930 by checking http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/betty-white-in-the-1930-census), and in one of her books, she writes that her Hollywood idol was, of all people, Jeanette MacDonald! (I'm guessing that was from Jeanette's mid- to late-thirties MGM period, not her Paramount-Lubitsch "lingerie queen" days.) Betty, with her splendid comedic sense, would make a great guest programmer, and I wonder what films she would choose.

Colorizing older movies makes them far more accessible. Fans of classic movies have built such a mystique around older movies that many people feel they can not enjoy a black and white movie without having a wealth of esoteric knowledge about the director, stars and genres. To say: "You have to watch this movie even although it is in black and white. It is the director's initial use of outre nihilism so you can see how it all began. It is given subtle humor by the star using the same accent he did in another movie the year before when he played a character who was insane. You also get to see the sets from twenty other movies because the studio was having financial troubles and they had to reuse all that they could" is dooming any possibility that it will be watched and that is exactly the type of thing most fans do. Having the film in color removes at least one barrier and makes it seem mainstream so a potential viewer is more likely to give it a chance. Change some words, some terminology, and you have much the same argument that was made for "reprocessed" stereo versions of original monophonic records made before 1958. The "fake stereo" effect (Capitol called its process "duophonic") never improved the original recordings, and in most cases substantially weakened the sound. Eventually, reprocessed stereo went to the junkheap of history. Good scripts, acting and direction work equally well in black-and-white or color.

Some perspective on her passing, and the time that's elapsed: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/478079.html

If you can print any Carole Lombard stories, it would be appreciated -- especially those in magazines other than Photoplay. While some of the articles written about her were trite PR fluff, she occasionally discussed women's roles in these articles, showing her to be very much the feminist and in many ways ahead of her time. (For proof, visit http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/157005.html and http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/111181.html.)

Anyway, my pool playing friend asked who was in COLOR OF MONEY, I told him Paul Newman & Tom Cruise. He'd heard of Tom Cruise but didn't know who he was. He had no idea who Paul Newman was. I guess the fellow doesn't do much grocery shopping, considering the wide array of "Newman's Own" products, from tea and coffee to popcorn, salsa and salad dressings. Regarding "groovy" in pre-sixties lingo, didn't Anita O'Day say "groovy" or "groovin'" in the classic 1941 recording of Gene Krupa's "Let Me Off Uptown"?

I have never seen this film nor am I familiar with Anna Chang, but one would think against all the non-Asians in the cast (and Myrna Loy is not among them!), she would stick out like a sore thumb.

Let us hope a few featuring the teenaged Carole Lombard, made relatively late in Sennett's tenure, are included in the mix. I'd love to see a restored "Run, Girl, Run," and the four-reel "The Girl From Everywhere" is supposedly plenty of fun.

A few other films that come to mind: * "Virtue" (1932), where Carole Lombard plays a streetwalker who tries to reform...but her past catches up to her. Probably her best performance before "Twentieth Century," though it's a drama, not a comedy. Made at Columbia with a feel similar to Warners pre-Codes. * "Bed Of Roses" (1933), starring Constance Bennett and wisecracking pal Pert Kelton as riverboat hookers on the Mississippi.

I love her. In my opinion, she's the inventor of the screwball heroine. One of filmdom's best female clowns. She made it possible for Carole Lombard and Lucille Ball to do what they did. I have no idea whether Ball ever met Davies (I would think it was likely), but Lombard and Davies were good friends, and Carole had long admired Marion for both her comedic skills and her generosity to those who were less fortunate. However, it should be noted that other comedic actresses of the silent era influenced Lombard and her peers in the '30s. Clara Bow is probably the most remembered of the bunch, though like Jean Harlow, she tends to be known more for her sex appeal than for her comic skills (both were considerable). Colleen Moore and Constance Talmadge were big stars in the '20s; each had a number of hit comedies. Unfortunately, more than a few of the comedies made by Bow, Moore and Talmadge are now lost, giving us only an incomplete view of their accomplishments.

It is indeed her birthday (the 115th anniversary of her birth), and watching these films, static as some of these early '30s vehicles may be, Davies' vivacity rings true, even in these talkies (which, for the most part, aren't as good as her later silents). For more on Marion, visit http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/474159.html.

VP19, Two additional in this case Silent MGM films with-held due to copyright are SALLY, IRENE, and MARY (1925), and MAN, WOMAN & SIN (1927). Possibly THE GARDEN OF ALLAH (1927) as well. Being that it is the year of the Paramount Centennial, maybe they will finally be able to get a hold of some rare stuff like STAGE STRUCK (1925), OLD IRONSIDES (1926), CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927), and Von Stroheim's THE WEDDING MARCH (1928). Not to mention the new restoration of WINGS out on Blu-ray and DVD later this month. Almost forgot, the 1923 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS has yet to pop up on TCM either. MANTRAP (1926) is out on DVD part of the new Treasures From The American Film Archive 5 set. So that could potentially be shown as well. Hope that happens -- I saw "The Wedding March" in the late '80s, and it's an exquisite film, with a splendid performance from the young Fay Wray. And who wouldn't mind seeing Constance Bennett and Joan Crawford in a film together (with Sally O'Neil) in "Sally, Irene And Mary"? (And just to clarify things, Sally does not play Sally -- that's Connie. Joan is "Irene" and O'Neill is "Mary.")

May I suggest a resource for anyone wishing to do another snapshot of film history? It's called the Media History Digital Library, and it has a variety of classic movie-related publications (including color covers, photography and art work), and it continues to grow. At last check, their inventory now includes: *Fan magazines* Motion Picture Story Magazine -- part of 1913 Picture Stories Magazine -- parts of 1913 and 1914 Photoplay -- all of 1929, 1930 and 1935, and parts of 1917, 1920, 1925-1928, 1936-1938 and 1940 Motion Picture Classic -- all of 1920 Cine-Mundial (Spanish) -- all of 1920 *Trade publications* Moving Picture World -- all of 1913 and 1914, and parts of 1912 and 1915-1918 Film Daily -- all of 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926-1932, and parts of 1918, 1921, 1924, 1925 and 1933-1936 Exhibitors Trade Review -- parts of 1921 and 1922 Exhibitors Herald -- parts of 1923 and 1924 Motion Picture News -- parts of 1928-1930 Motion Picture Daily -- parts of 1931, 1933 and 1934 Hollywood Reporter -- parts of 1933 and 1934 To see the entire holdings, go to http://mediahistoryproject.org/collections/

At one time, *Storm Center *had rights issues surrounding it. I don't know if those issues have been worked out but it is worth noting that just because a film is in a studio film library does not always mean that it can be shown. *The Story of Temple Drake*, *The Constant Nymph *and *NIght Flight *are recent examples of films that were kept in the vaults for decades due to rights issues and only recently were those issues resolved (a big thanks to TCM for the major assist they provided in helping those films come back to us). Other films in the MGM/RKO/Warners film library still unable to TCM because of rights issues include *Letty Lynton*. I believe that may also apply to "They Knew What They Wanted," an RKO property TCM has never aired, even during programming honoring co-stars Carole Lombard or Charles Laughton. (I remember a UHF station in Philadelphia carrying it in the late 1980s.) Apparently there are now rights problems with the estate of Sidney Howard, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning play was adapted (and bowdlerized) for the film.

One of the classic stars who appeared on "The Twilight Zone" had already been gone for 20 years... http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/247414.html

This has been a superlative effort. Thank you.

We've arrived in the new year here in the Eastern time zone, and I wish a great 2012 to everyone at the message boards. You folks are wonderful!

Love the idea! Pre-Code is the type of theme that could spread itself over two nights a week throughout a month (a la TCM's "blonde tribute" in November). It could further be broken down into specific concepts -- one night, focus on the "complicated women" of pre-Code, the other on the "dangerous men" (both nights with Mick LaSalle, who wrote excellent pre-Code books of those titles, joining Bob for intros and outros); other nights, examine several pre-Codes from various studios: Warners, RKO/Pathe, MGM, Columbia, Paramount, Universal and Fox (the last three would have to be coordinated with Universal, which owns many pre-Code Paramount titles, and Fox, which has worked with TCM in presenting Will Rogers and other early talking stuff). Wait -- those would total up to nine nights, so make sure one of those days of the week occurs five times during the month (as was the case with the blondes). There's a lot of pre-Code product out there that TCM hasn't gotten to yet, so something like this would be plenty of fun.

You're obviously a huge fan, if the size of that pic is indicative. Personally, I prefer the more natural Monroe, when she wasn't consciously trying to be a "sex symbol."

Yes, a merry Christmas to all at TCM, and to all who post on this board!

If you liked the Nick and Nora films, wait till next Thursday, when you see Powell and Loy in their other collaborations. Wonderful stuff, and they had incredible chemistry. Nice to see all the Loy love on this thread. Myrna is my second favorite actress of all time, trailing only Carole Lombard (and it's too bad they never starred in a film together, particularly in a comedy; their styles would probably have complemented each other's beautifully).

The Kino HD DVD of "Nothing Sacred" (also available in Blu-ray) will be available for purchase tomorrow (Dec. 20). Some screengrabs from the new version (with two comparisons to earlier public domain versions) can be seen at http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/470398.html.