casablancalover
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Posts posted by casablancalover
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> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> >Oh God, The Fountainhead.
> (THE FOUNTAINHEAD)- spur line..
> I've seen bits and pieces of that one over the years, but never the whole picture. I suppose I'll have
> to take my medicine one of these days. Nutty old Ayn Rand. Her personal life was right out of a Hollywood movie. Didn't Helen Mirren play her in a biopic not that long ago? Ayn got a break with that piece of casting.
*Loved Mirren, but missed that. See Calendar Girls? Ayn Rand was noted in not allowing one word of dialog be changed in Fountainhead. All that blathering is ALL HERS.*
> I should cut Mother GoshDarn a break. Since Jerry was married, he was the one who committed
> adultery, if such there actually was. CV was just the co-respondent, again if. With or without, it's still sounds icky to me, even with Aunt Charlotte's Good Time Wienie Roast open houses. Now,
> wait a minute. I subscribe to Wink magazine solely for the articles on the important social
> questions of the day. Lusting in his heart. Once again, going to stop right there.
*Wink? How has that erudite publication slipped my conscientious? Does it have purdy pictures?*
> Got to bring the blokes in somehow. Hey boys, my vocal chords are up here. Well, Colman was
> around 51 and Garson around 38, so that's not too much of a gap by Hollywood or even real life
> standards. But they shouldn't wait too much longer. Maybe Ronnie's character just has a bad
> case of gout.
*No comment. And no, I didn't have anything to do with my ex's girlfriend being run down in the parking lot. I just thought, being younger she could get out of the way faster... _and she did._*
Edited by: casablancalover on Feb 25, 2010 7:18 AM
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h5. . . .I married you because you looked like _her_.
> {quote:title=Sprocket_Man wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}
> > Random Harvest has great storytelling, but some viewers can't get past how "mature" Coleman looks. Are we to buy into a middle-aged soldier? How old do we think he is?
>
> In Britain, with its rigid class structure, a man of Charles Ranier's station in life would automatically be made an officer upon his joining the "forces' (as the Brits call them), and officers could, and would, be of almost any age (though the junior officers, who actually did most of the fighting, and dying, in the trenches and on the battlefields were, for the most part, in their early-mid 20s), so there's nothing at all unusual about a man like Ranier serving.
>
> Remember, also, that back in the period 1910-1920, a man in his mid-late thirties would typically look like a man in his fifties does today (Colman was 51 when the film was released), so it's not at all far-fetched to believe that Charles Ranier is no older than 39 when he escapes the asylum (meaning he was 35 at the outbreak of WWI).
You explained it far, far, better than I. I kept saying,
*"Pay attention to the story."*
Yet, there I was, going on and on about his voice.
My BFFs really loved the introduction of Miss Hanson. Had to pick one friend up off the floor. I love to witness these things.
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h4. I must get back to work.. But before I go...
> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> The Old Believers were always a tough crowd, here, or back in the pre-U.S.S.R. Oh, that old
> suave, slick Henreid. No sooner does Ilsa go back to their state room, and he's table hopping,
> trying to light up Bette.
*Don't mind the wifey back at house, and her sour expression either. You can tell she ain't gettin' and she'd kill for a cigarette! I would rather be Ilsa, any day...*
>The nerve of these continentals types. I didn't notice the wine on the
> table, so I guess it's after 11 am. Bette might bend some Back Bay rules, but I don't think she's
> go this far this early. Architect? This guy's no more an architect than George Constanza is.
*No more than Howard ROARK.. I do this for Jake.. Oh God, The Fountainhead. Don't get us started.. it deserves it's own thread..*
> Did Jerry and Charlotte actually commit adultery? I know we'd never see it, but there's sometimes
> the sun rose, etc. hint. I thought the dirty deed might have happened when they got stuck in the
> car overnight, but it's left unclear. It was nice that CV was going to help raise Christina and all, but
> the whole 'it's almost our child' thing was just a bit on the creepy side.
*Hum, ironically the thing that takes away the creepiness is the act. Then her discovery of Tina has a rebirth. It seems the book merely suggested, and didn't give details either. But then, this is a girl talking, and we --like-- --the-- --written--, --instead-- of --pictures-- Do not go there. But as a President once said, he had lusted in his heart.*
> I haven't seen Random Harvest for years, but you can't go wrong with a chorus girl and a
> guy with amnesia. Good old-fashioned Hollywood victuals, nice and tasty.
*Who chose the costumes for her big number in the Dance Hall? When I hear her sing, I know why the skirt is so short. Distraction. Suddenly she looks not so young. But then, neither is Coleman.*
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Yes, Henry's kind and caring, but a cuddly puppy. Trouble is, a cuddly type like that, well, you start thinking that a real puppy would be better. Henry would be a cute name for a little Yorkie. Purse dogs, so cute.
Yeah, Henry kind and caring in late '63-'64, but what is he like NOW? Tea-bagger, or Greenspan acolyte? Either way, it is a paradox.
Betty will adjust to Warhol _easy_. Remember she's seen her share of horse droppings on the Westchester Bridal Path.
Now that my internet is back, I'm thinking about Random Harvest now... just thought I'd let you know..
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Yeah, a first date involves nursing him through Spanish Influenza.
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h4. ... Or why can't get a job at Olive Garden
That's the one!
I've heard smoking increases wrinkles. To see Bette in her later years would confirm that. But I love the hat, and I love Jerry's hair. Great pic.
Wonder what they're drinking? Cointreaus, or Champagne Cocktails? I get Paul Henreid's drink orders mixed up! Hum, South America; maybe it's Malbec.
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One more birthday. *Rupert Holmes*. Neither one is The Pina Colada song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycZLZDOJlbg
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>*Serves me right for not being musical.*
Claude Rains, Casablanca (1942)
h4. Hollywood's Masterpiece
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> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> Is there something wrong, Charlotte? It's eleven o'clock and you're only on
> your second pack of cigarettes.
What are you doing over there? Pithy comments, btw, but probably not appreciated. It's hard to know the audience sometimes.
Edited by: casablancalover on Feb 24, 2010 10:30 AM, 'cuz she couldn't get the pic to post..
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> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}
> In fact, I'm loving this entire ramble and the thoughts evinced from watching Charlotte's struggle with becoming her own person. Funny, I never thought of the adultery aspect of this film. See what happens when Hollywood sugarcoats things with love and camelias and Max Steiner music. We lose our heads and our hearts. The screen caps help sooooooo much to illustrate points. And it brings the movie vividly to mind.
> Why do I keep hearing Bette Midler????
I think that is the point of NV. Charlotte Vale is on this journey.
Great thread, Maven. I don't know if I agree with the notion of sugarcoating infidelity. Charlotte Vale is the only one not being guilty about it. Jerry is downright whipped when we first meet him. Sorry guys, but he is. And he tries to make some sort emotional amends about it. The book paints his wife as a master manipulator (read Prouty's book years ago). And The Wife would Never agree to a divorce.
Life is blessedly too complicated to equate Jerry Dorrance with Tiger Woods. I think that's why this story resonants, it takes us through some pretty murky waters and points out the paths that are reality.
Think of the way the story shows her relationship with her mother.. We need Dr Jacquith there just to explain it.
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Forgot about the *Voice*. I looove deep voices. Oh yeah, I can understand her shifting gears now..
h4. NO, Wait a minute! When she first meets him, he barely speaks!!
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> {quote:title=JonnyGeetar wrote:}{quote}
> (THIS ONE IS GONNA GET ME IN TROUBLE)
> Dr. Strangelove aside, Stanley Kubrick is SO OVERRATED I CAN'T STAND IT!
>
> PS- I have not seen Spartacus or Paths of Glory but everything else, yes.
It's cute how you yell...
Kubrick was the unique style that was a fashion of the period. But when he has Eyes Wide Shut in his filmography, it's amazing he's venerated at all.
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But first, response to past reflections on another thread delightfully posted to a clever death.
>Sineaste wrote:
>Peggy's a good kid, she's just young and still feeling her way around. Twenty years down the
>road she'll be repeating the old 'When I was young and foolish, I was young and foolish' thing.
>She's just gaining experience. Ducky is definitely a detour, hope it's a short mileage one.
If I hear one more story of sexual escapades of a half-drunk 40-something, I'm telling her clueless husband. Because she's no longer young and she's still doing the foolish.
h4. Random Thoughts on Random Harvest
Random Harvest has great storytelling, but some viewers can't get past how "mature" Coleman looks. Are we to buy into a middle-aged soldier? How old do we think he is?
And Greer Garson's character. She sure does a 180 in her life after she meets him. I mean, a guy who wanders away from the *Asylum*.. not the first place for an eHarmony encounter. Or is it??
h5. Editor's note: Charlotte's glad her internet is BACK!
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Thanks for the article, HGL.
The photo is not the Roger we remember, though it appears on one level important to him that we see him. That is the most grace-filled reveal to me. It is not about pity, but about perseverance. In this entertainment biz, with the heavy emphasis of beauty holding the only charm, Ebert focuses on story.
The cruelest violence one can do to a writer is to not read and respond. Roger's life feels redeemed with his connection to his readers. I understand it completely. My internet was down for a long time yesterday, and the old paper journal was not the same. *We write to be read.* We write to be heard. Roger still has a "voice"- though it must be read. How many of us can survive with our wits intact as his has remained?
I was just musing about the nature of love with a friend concerning Random Harvest She was far more pragmatic about than I. Love is about living your life fully -it is the purpose. A full life is knowing you have as much adventure safely incorporated into your life as you can handle. I think story is the integral part of the joy. Roger's saying better than I. Read the article. It is well worth the investment of time.
To make others less happy is a crime. That is all too true. Let us contribute joy to the world. What lovely and loving thoughts.
>*I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.*
>*--Roger Ebert*
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>Willy Wonka: *But Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he he always wanted.*
>Charlie: *What happened?*
>Willy Wonka: *He lived happily ever after*
Gene Wilder, Peter Ostrum, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
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Stephen Bishop:
and of course. with the change that has happened to me:
h5. Always believe, always hope, always love.
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> {quote:title=JonnyGeetar wrote:}{quote}
> nice ideas about the airline-disaster night, CB.
> and, yes, The Quiet Man may be the ultimate "you have to see it at least twice" movie...I was just standing up for it to someone on the boards the other day but forgot to mention it here.
>
> it definitely improves with repeat viewings.
I could've been reading your posts, and that's where I got the idea to mention it here. Thanks for the jump start. I know I saw a post of The Quiet Man and I knew I had to chime in on it as well. I think I need Spring, and the photography alone is enough to get me out of my cabin fever.
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> {quote:title=HollywoodGolightly wrote:}{quote}
> I raise you one more feature - I'll throw Zero Hour! in the pot.
Oh no, now we're past midnight. I have to get my sleep!
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I like the Broken Dream you posted very much. Put it in my iTunes in fact. Thank you. I am now building my collection of classical. I do like the Drama (aka- musical thunder) a bit more. Do you have any favorites there. Here's a bit from a larger work I am certain you know.
Pictures at an Exhibition:
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It's getting near St. Paddy's day, and I am looking for my copy of The Quiet Man. I like it because it is an unexpected John Wayne movie. I find The High and the Mighty fun too, watching for the beats in the story that are repeated in Airport and Airplane! The Movie. That would be a great triple feature.
*Flying High Night:*
h4. The High and the Mighty (1954)
h4. Airport (1970)
h4. Airplane! The Movie (1980)
Who wants it for the next Programmer's Challenge. I make it a gift.
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> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> *for such a weave.*
> Hey honey, how about you and me go out and get a big old case of...lung cancer. The coffin nails
> are on me.
*I'll pass on the coffin nails. Never started them. But they are funny and amusing to mock.*
> And now that any nut with an internet connection can present their own version of events, it's
> looking a bit worse for the reporters.
*And desperate journalistas are busy as ever with their one man band stringer gigs, and for what? To be beaten to the story on youtube by a 15 year old with no writing skills, but a deep set of music tracks.*
> >{quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}
> >That shot was well-composed, wasn't it? But Jane's first scene is seriously over-acted. "Do you THINK . . . that . . . MAYBE . . I WON'T LIKE IT? Gee, just spit it out, Kate.
> Well,,,you see dear,..that's just...just Kate's inTUitive genius..well..coming to ...the FORE
> ...well.. BEcause that's...what a...nervous...well very nervous...ah SPINSter would SAAYYY
> ...you seeee
*But does she have to sound like she took her coaching from William Shatner?*
> I don't know. DD seems to have been heading toward a cliff for a while now, but maybe now
> that he might be single...He did hit a non-brick wall when he picked up the ' honeymooners'
> and things got weird and Don got beat up. Ouch. But maybe back in the 1960s day, it was
> a little more usual for the younger woman to submit to the older man in hopes of getting
> ahead, so to speak. At first, now that Peggy's on the ground floor of the new agency, one
> might think she wouldn't need to go duck hunting. But if the firm doesn't make it, well old
> Grey Ducky may be useful in the future. Still, at least in the mind's eye, Peg and Duck are
> not a purty picture, especially, as you already noted, in the harsh light of day. Makes one
> appreciate the opening scene of Psycho.
*Excellent point. You make me grateful I have no more hope for success, so I don't have to sleep to the top. I will be happy in the bottom rung. But I like Peggy, and I want her to win. This feels like a detour, not a destination.*
*And oh yeah. Watch the opening credits. The writer does a reveal to an ending. I think I know where it's going. Final redemption. But I am enjoying the ride.*
> Bizarro World Betty/Betsy will definitely need an extensive makeover, and now it's too late to
> just imitate Jackie.
*I think they missed an excellent opportunity with that one. But, hope springs eternal. Can any woman be happy with a Henry in her life? Betty's due for a change internally. Standing politically away from these guys would be a good first step. Betty always seems to keep up with the fashions. Maybe she'll meet Andy Warhol and the Left avant garde.*
> >{quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}
> > Sleep well, readers.
> Your eyes are heavy...
> Curse Sir Walter Raleigh,
> He was such a stupid get.
h5. Sigh no more, Ladies . . . sigh no more.
h5. Men were deceivers ever.
h5. One foot in sea,
h5. and one on shore,
h5. To one thing constant never.
h5. Then sigh not so,
h5. But let them go,
h5. And be you blithe and bonny,
h5. Converting all your sounds of woe,
h5. Into Hey nonny nonny!
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MM: I loved the Moody Blues, but Justin Hayward was totally off my radar. His work that you post strikes me as very much what he was about. His musical heart, so to speak. Was his *Tuesday Afternoon* from this period, or was it earlier? I wonder. Sometimes, writers will hold on to their precious stuff for years without releasing it.
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h5. And now for something completely different..
Jennifer Lopez married Ojani Noa on this day in 1997. Marriage lasted about a year.
J-Lo, Ain't If Funny:
h6. I will be back to my usual tricks tomorrow.
Edited by: casablancalover on Feb 22, 2010 7:17 AM
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h4. Who should be thrown into the canal? Mary Ann or Ginger?
> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> I've always preferred Mary Ann to Ginger, the fake small-town farm girl to the fake air-headed
> movie star. And she was very easy on the eyes, and cuter than a button. Who wouldn't
> fall for Mary Ann, especially on a deserted island.
*Then we are in agreement. I say Ginger gets the impromptu swimming lesson.*
> > Jus one cigarette? Is' for my grandpoppy..
> Oh, that's how it always starts. One Smoke, one more, and then another.
*Express you care in the universal language. Offer a Marlboro..*
> Whenever some of the old time newspaper reporters reminisce in an article, they always note
> how things changed during the 1970s and 1980s and became more professional. Out went
> the late night drinking and poker games, in came bottled water and sensible hours.
*They had plenty to keep track of then. Pentagon and Watergate, then Iran/Contra. It's not that they don't now, but the "Get it first - get it right" has been replaced with "Watch the budget" and "Did you get a severance package?" The drinking may still be there, but they keep it off-site. And they don't wear the lanyard in the bar.*
> >Late April, Early May. Sometimes a schedule in Venice seems all wrong. The incredible art. You must see that! Beautiful pictures-- ALL Painted by hand! The Grand Canal, the pace of life, the pigeons in San Marco. . . What just fell onto my gelato?
>
> Sounds wonderful. I liked the paintings underneath the opening credits, a little Dufy like. That
> was a good segue into the first well-composed shot of the train.
*That shot was well-composed, wasn't it? But Jane's first scene is seriously over-acted. "Do you THINK . . . that . . . MAYBE . . I WON'T LIKE IT? Gee, just spit it out, Kate..*
> Delighted, because old Rog is, with trivial adjustments, Don thirty years later. His wife does
> seem to have faded into the background, at least so far. Peggy spending a love in the after-
> noon encounter with Daddy Ducks during the assassination seems bad karma enough.
*Don is following in the footsteps of a Lemming. I say bring back Roger's spurned wife. Doesn't she end up with half interest in the business? Don is heading toward a cliff, we can see it coming, but he has no brakes. That Peggy/Duck pairing seems so wrong-headed to me, and I think that's why the JFK assassination happens when it does. All due respect for age, but Peggy can do so much better than old Duck out of water. He's improving his corporate structure how?*
> Evil twin or the poor twin sister to Betty. She sips her coffee from the saucer, wears
> slacks, and hair-rollers in public. Get thee to a Saks.
*Yeah, gotta polish up the image. Put away the saucer, find a clever Anne Taintor mug, get a pair of tight ankle pants, toss the rollers. To be an evil twin to Betty is pretty bad. I'll paint a better image next time.*
h5. Sleep well, readers.
Summertime
in General Discussions
Posted
> {quote:title=sineaste wrote:}{quote}
> Just when you think it's safe to get out of the canal. Well, maybe that's what Betsy wants
> right now. Safe and secure, a big change from old rover. But some years down the line
> ...um...er... things might change. Not to be morbid, just counting the years, but Henry
> might be six feet under by now, the best place for a moderate Republican.
>
> I dunno. I still can't see Westchester Betty with the Warhol gang. Horse droppings? Kid, you
> ain't seen nothing yet!! How about a dream sequence where Betty is plagued by one of those
> kids' dolls that come to life to torment somebody? She's in her bed, when suddenly it starts
> to walk toward her: "I don't like you. I'm going to cut up all your charge cards. I've canceled
> your country club membership. I've burned your last pair of white gloves.
*INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT*
*Betsy wakes startled to see Sally's Barbie race up the covers with large scissors around her small plastic shoulder. Barbie is wearing the "Nitey Night" ensemble. With her (Barbie) pouty lips and cold stare, she shrieks,*
*BARBIE*
*"I don't like you. I'm going to cut up all your charge cards. I've canceled your country club membership. I've burned your last pair of white gloves."*
> Haven't seen that one in a long time. Did you catch Ruggles of Red Gap last night? That's
> another I haven't seen in a while, and it's held up really well. Hauty mondy. Funny.
*Didn't have internet, so didn't have TCM..*