VP19

I love Barbara Stanwyck -- only Lombard and Loy rank higher on my list of classic Hollywood actresses -- but I think the better question is, why no Ginger Rogers centenary tribute that day? (Ginger and Barbara were both July 16 babies.) Stanwyck's 100th was celebrated in 2007, though since it fell on a weekday it was far easier for TCM's programming logistics; nevertheless, Rogers deserves something.

> Also, William Powell. I love his humor, and he'd be great to buddy around with, but he lacked a lot in looks. He had enough to win the affections of Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow, both of whom would rank near the top of any list of cinematic goddesses, so he must have had something.

GlamAmor, what do you think of '30s fashion designers such as Travis Banton at Paramount, who worked with the likes of Lombard, Dietrich and Colbert; Adrian at MGM; and Irene?

I did an entry on "Manton" today: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/411434.html

Carole Lombard played a prostitute in "Virtue," arguably her best film before "Twentieth Century" (and also made at Columbia -- Harry Cohn gave her better material to work with than her home studio of Paramount did).

On Aug. 28, TCM will air 24 hours of Carole Lombard films as part of "Summer Under The Stars," and I note one of the scheduled movies is "Vigil In The Night" (1940). When TCM honored Lombard in its 2006 SUTS, it showed "Vigil" as seen in the U.S., plus a special, different ending designed for overseas markets in which the characters in the London-based film react to the UK's declaration of war in September 1939 following Germany's invasion of Poland. However, TCM has not done likewise on subsequent airings of "Vigil." Does anyone know whether the channel plans to do this again? BTW, today is International Nurses Day (the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth), and my "Carole & Co." entry pays tribute to "Vigil," arguably Lombard's best dramatic performance: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/409847.html

Never thought I'd see the word "****" in a testimonial from Helen Hayes.

> {quote:title=JonasEB wrote:}{quote} > They're showing a bunch of movies Roger Ebert is featuring or featured at his Ebertfest festival, movies that he thinks are undervalued or not seen as much as they should be. > > http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/382998|0/A-Salute-to-Ebertfest-5-2.html > > Christ, this isn't a big deal, calm down... Agreed; relax, everybody. The films suited the Ebertfest concept.

Alice White seems to be what people who have never seen a Marion Davies movie think Marion Davies is -- a modestly talented kewpie doll. She's cute and charming, but not much more.

> {quote:title=kevshrop wrote:}{quote} > Some very beautiful actresses really lack sex appeal. Julie Andrews, Deborah Kerr...no, I don't think it's because of the accent. You've never seen "The Americanization Of Emily," have you?

> {quote:title=Jayo wrote:}{quote} > William Schallert played the put-upon high school principal Mr. Pomfret in "The Many Loves of Dobie > Gillis." That's where I first saw him. Leander Pomfret was a teacher, not the principal, and in fact his character wound up at the same junior college where the students graduated to. I interviewed William Schallert, to my mind the quintessential character actor, in 2002 when he appeared in a play in New Jersey, where I was working at the time. We talked for about 90 minutes -- a class act all the way. (Incidentally, his father, Edwin Schallert, was a longtime drama and film writer for the Los Angeles Times.) Bill still works regularly, though he'll turn 89 this July.

I'm going to guess because it's a Saturday, and TCM is reluctant to air birthday celebrations on weekends. I hope they have a Rogers mini-marathon on some day during the week close to the 16th. If it's any comfort to you, TCM didn't run any movies on the centennial day of Jean Harlow's birth, either. However, it had an excuse, since it was March 3, the finale of the "31 Days Of Oscar." (And Jean was the channel's star of the month; why TCM jumped the gun and honored Ginger in that manner in March 2010 was, in retrospect, a miscalculation.)

Chevalier learned his style in French music halls, and his personality was perfect for pre-Code Paramount. If you only know the later Chevalier of "Love In The Afternoon" and "Gigi," check out some of his early work -- not just the Lubitsch films, but stuff like "The Big Pond" and "Love Me Tonight." Pure Gallic charm.

> {quote:title=Ascotrudgeracer wrote:}{quote} > Kind of don't like stuff like this, BUT it is true. > MGM researched audience reaction to all their talent, and the report on her was: men overwhelmingly said they couldn't imagine making love to her. > Maybe it was...who knows? But I can understand it. She just doesn't seem like bedroom material. She's beautiful, but maybe "untouchable." Then MGM, or Joseph Breen's production code, is to blame. Anyone who has seen Jeanette in those Paramount films of hers, where she cavorts in step-ins and silk stockings, knows she's incredibly sexy. (How long after mid-1934 was this research done?)

> {quote:title=ziggyelman wrote:}{quote} > > {quote:title=PrinceSaliano wrote:}{quote} > > Pretty lackluster. The crown jewel is, of course, Lon Chaney. Other good choices are Ann Dvorak, Ronald Colman, Ralph Bellamy, Conrad Veidt and Joan Blondell. > > > > Paulette Goddard - where are THE CAT AND THE CANARY and GHOST BREAKERS? > > Bette Davis (yawn) - only 2 pre-Codes > > Humphrey Bogart (yawn) - only 3 1930s titles > > Claudette Colbert - no pre-Codes; where is MAID OF SALEM? > > Joan Crawford (yawn) - only 2 pre-Codes > > Gosh, I think it looks pretty good for pre codes that don't run all the time, all things considered....(didn't check the dates on the 1934 films, just assuming they are) > > *Headline Shooter (1933)* > *Unholy Garden (1931)* > > *Narrow Corner (1933)* > *West of Broadway (1931)* > > *A STRANGER IN TOWN (1932)* > > *Side Streets (1934)* > *Gentlemen Are Born (1934)* > *Friends of Mr. Sweeney (1934)* > *This Is the Night (1932)* > *The Reckless Hour (1931)* > *Central Park (1932)* > *Lawyer Man (1933)* > *Brief Moment (1933)* > *No More Orchids (1932)* > *The Racketeer (1929)* > > > Depending how badly you want to see MAID OF SALEM, it is on a Claudette Colbert set.... "The Racketeer" has been on TCM several times before, and as much as I love Carole Lombard, it isn't much of a film (and she doesn't do much with it). If TCM was going to run a Carole film from Pathe, I wish it had run "Big News" (1929), directed by Gregory La Cava seven years before "My Man Godfrey." (In fact, none of the 15 Lombard films in this year's SUTS are TCM premieres.) But it's an interesting schedule, and here's what I wrote about it: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/405533.html

Caught "Whipsaw" the other morning on TCM, and in my book on the films of Myrna Loy it said that this initially intended as another Loy pairing with William Powell, but he was unavailable for some reason (probably making a film at another studio -- "Star Of Midnight," perhaps?), so Spencer Tracy took the male lead instead. Now Powell is my all-time favorite actor, but watching this film, I simply couldn't picture him in the part -- the character is too street-smart, right up Tracy's alley (and perhaps the Warners-era Powell, too), but a bit out of touch with Powell's more sophisticated MGM persona. (Loy is pretty good as a jewel thief trying to go straight.) Your thoughts on the film?

> {quote:title=redriver wrote:}{quote} > This is my first trip to this thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating. But last night I watched something with E.G. Marshall. What a weenie! He's like a bored school teacher, just waiting for his pension. "Anyone? Anyone?" He reminds me of Parley Baer, the most annoying person in Mayberry. Parley certainly wasn't annoying in Dodge City (on radio). He made a great Doc.

> {quote:title=wdh333 wrote:}{quote} > Am I doing something wrong? Whenever I pull up the July or May monthly, I only get 30 days for either one. No 31st. The last I checked, the schedule was occasionally jumbled where showtimes were concerned. Hope it has been fixed.

> {quote:title=MovieProfessor wrote:}{quote} > Of course, there's "Fred & Ginger." They didn't even like having to be seen together out in public. It took a very, very long time for the two of them to come to grips with their differences and finally they did manage somehow to come around to each other. It was only after old age had mellowed both of them that the hatchet they both held was at long last dropped. Actually, they knew each other when both were on Broadway around 1930 or so and even dated briefly. I think by the mid-1930s, when both had reached RKO stardom, they had become so identified with each other they probably believe it threatened to stifle their careers when the team's popularity waned (particularly for Rogers, whose stardom pre-Astaire hadn't really been sustained). I've never sensed either had any personal antipathy for the other.

Between the World Wars, when modern, urban American society as we know it (radio, talking pictures) came to be.

That weekly is based in Washington (where I used to live). What is its name?

> {quote:title=clearskies wrote:}{quote} > Debbie Reynolds evidently has quite a collection of movie memorabilia & had been trying to establish a museum but has given that up now. She has said that she has Audrey Hepburn's Ascot Race outfit from MFL among lots of other stuff. More on the auction at http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/400142.html

Interesting to see Roland Young, Billie Burke and "Mr. Atlas" (Asta) pictured in the "Topper Takes A Trip" ad...but not Constance Bennett! Was something up with Connie's ectoplasm, courtesy of Hal Roach special effects whiz Roy Seawright?

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > I just saw ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS again last week, and it's hard to believe that the perky damsel who graced the screen could EVER be 89...... By the way, I think that "It's Magic" is the best song she ever did. My favorite is "Pretty Baby," recorded in that same period (1947). A splendid arrangement by George Siravo -- who, ironically, is best known for his uptempo arrangements for Frank Sinatra that were credited to Axel Stordahl -- along with Doris' sensual (yet simultaneously maternal!) vocal creates the definitive version of a song that dates back to the 1910s.

> {quote:title=1968B2 wrote:}{quote} > Julia Roberts. She has ruined the close-up. I guess men like her, and that's what she's all about. But the close-up of the mouth, that has to go, of course, from one yard to the other, has got to be the only reason why men like her. It's embarrassing, and I'm sure men have to be bored w/it by now. Pre-"Erin Brockovich," I felt much the same way about her (of course, back then, People magazine jammed her down our throats in much the same way they do Jennifer Aniston now). Since then, I've come to respect her as a decent actress. And the close-up -- "what she's all about"? In Julia's defense, she's always had good legs.