mrroberts

James Stewart in *Vertigo* . Can he climb the stairs to save the girl? Does he ever really love her, or does he just want to possess her?

To Mr Dobbs: "Rules? We have NO rules! Ah, we don't need no stinking rules".

I fondly remember seeing George make his many appearances on talk shows back in the 60's/70's. His songs were always entertaining, you have a gem written here. They say George could always get Benny to crack up, poor Jack never stood a chance.

Esther could have had a role in "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" or "Jaws" . Lets see how fast she could swim Anyway, while I am not a big fan of "swim" films , Esther was a major star, had lots of fans, and deserved a tribute. No problem here.

Mark, I always look forward to your previews, you should get a job with TCM. But you made a slip up on *Manpower* , its Eddie G not Bogie in that one! (I had to look it up to double check for myself, but was sure it was Eddie). Still its a great flick for those who don't know, and right after TCM has *Conflict* , a much overlooked Bogie film where he does the slow mental breakdown routine, just like Fred C Dobbs or Capt Queeg. Both films get a big thumbs up here.

Not to mention that Basil Rathbone played some of the most despicable villains of all time.

Hey Finance, your gal Drew is the first Carson interview, how about that? By the way on ebay there is a picture of two of your other favs, Esther Williams and June Allyson together.

Sylvia Sidney could have changed her name to "Ruby Stevens" . Barbara Stanwyck wasn't going to use it.--- I always thought "Stanwyck" was a strange choice to adopt for a new name.

Trying to pick just 3 is very tough for me , yet alone putting them in any sort of order. I can definitely say that William Powell is my number one actor, probably Edward G Robinson gets the two spot. Then tied for third would be Cagney, Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, Basil Rathbone, now I'm getting brain overload

You wouldn't happen to be a "strawberry" blonde? That is my favorite Cagney film of all

I want TCM to do a marathon of Noel Francis films (44 listed on IMDb). I think Noel had more of a career then Virginia Vale (any relation to Vicky Vale?)

Has it been eight years or more since TCM aired *Dracula* ? What year was it that TCM aired both versions of *Dracula* , the English and Spanish language films made at the same time (1930)? I know I saw them on TCM and RO did an intro for both.

Back in the early nineties A & E channel did an excellent documentary on the Titanic, *Titanic Death Of A Dream* . Very through in its coverage, and nicely narrated by David McCallum (who played wireless operator Harold Bride in the 1958 film A Night To Remember).

GAD, I can't believe that its 1 whole year since the last posting on my favorite of all actors, the great *William Powell* . But on this Saturday nights' Essential film we have one of Mr Powell's more memorable performances in *Libeled Lady* . Much is made of the four big name stars in this film (Myrna Loy , Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, and you know who) and they all have their moments but William Powell clearly is the stand out performer. He gets to have some fun scenes with Miss Harlow but he ends up with Miss Loy (just what the public of the time expected). And the fishing sequence is classic, and has often been imitated since. If you've never seen this film it is a must see.

I love Burt and Kirk, hammy or not!

I just watched the beginning of *Titanic* (I have seen it a number of times and it is an entertaining film, very good cast) . Clifton Webb wants to get on board at the last minute and has to buy a ticket from a poor immigrant (how distasteful was that?) In reality the Titanic was not close to being fully booked so he would have had no problem getting on board. That scene just underlined Webb's upper class scorn of the "common folk" , a typical additude of the times.

WIDMARK, WIDMARK

As soon as I saw this thread the very first actor that came to my mind was Charles Laughton. But he is one of my all time favorites and I believe he knew when to ham it up and when to back off. So I really don't have a problem with Laughton (or anyone else) hamming it up, when it is appropriate. I like Steiger in *No Way To Treat a Lady* , when I am not watching Lee Remick.

*Titanic* 1953 is a decent Hollywood film, with the factual story serving as a backdrop for a fictional soap opera type script. So that film plays fast and loose with Titanic facts. The British 1958 film *A Night To Remember* is done in a semi documentary way, a very well done movie (a favorite of mine) and is the definitive telling of the Titanic story. So I agree with you 100%

Carole Lombard, circa 1936, as in *My Man Godfrey*

Love That Brute , 1950, starring Paul Douglas and Jean Peters. I am a big Jean Peters fan. Edited by: mrroberts on May 12, 2013 10:53 AM

Some of my earliest memories are seeing some of the Jack Paar Tonight Shows (I was VERY young) . My dad was somewhat of an insomniac and he liked watching Paar a lot (he never liked Carson as much as Paar). Some nights I would wake up and sneak downstairs to see why Pop was laughing so much. Often Pop would let me stay and watch, and both he and I would then get in big trouble with Mom. Johnny Winters was a frequent guest on Paar's show, and I can remember his "old lady" Maude Frickert. Carson later did the same character as lovable "old Aunt Blabby".

I'll swipe Dobbs' goods if someone will toss my Captain's palm tree overboard.

Whatever William Powell lacked in the "handsome" department he more than made up for in the "class" department. I can understand why the ladies liked him. As a guy I admire his confidence and his wit, the characters that he usually played and the way he projected those qualities in his acting.

William Powell is No 1 for me.