CineMaven
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I can't speak for all Message Board denizens but I, for one, am proud as punch that you were open enough to check out *"LOVER COME BACK."* Come to Mama, my child!!! Your review was so delightfully written, It, in and of itself, should make the most ardent die-hard anti-60's comedy-hater at least a little bit curious.
*DORIS DAY & ROCK HUDSON in "LOVER COME BACK" (1961)*
I can't quite (rationally) analyze the chemistry of this triumvirate (Day-Hudson-Us) with the precision of that crazy Greenwich Village chemist. All I can say is that they are likeable, fresh-scrubbed, sexy and good-looking. Also, we are not bludgeoned over the head with actors sledge hammering the comedy. (A poor example of a sledgehammer was *"That Funny Feeling"* - a film you might've seen in your youth, and sent hoardes running and screaming from "comedy." It undoubtedly wouldn't have cracked a smile on Mother Teresa's face...and you know how she used to like a good joke. But more on that later).
I find the writing top-notch and the situations believable, rooted in some semblance of plausible reality: ( two advertising execs compete over an account ). Yes, "the Rock & Doris films" had a formula but it was gently put to work in their three films:
* interior decorator and songwriter share a telephone party-line
* a hypochondriac mistakenly believes he has months to live, tries to find a suitable husband for his wife
The formula: Competitors...the Virgin and the Wolf...False Identities... and of course, Tony Randall - best friend / Greek chorus / comic foil. They’re very likeable. There’s subtlety and finesse in the way they handle the material. And the material...boy, the material is "Mwah!!!" Oooooh, I could just kiss those scripts. I'm all about the writing in movies.
This romantic tale fits like a glove, the cogs snugly and cozily nestle together like a well-oiled Swiss timepiece. Nice bright primary colors... clothes to die for....places you want to live. (But for me it's the dialogue and how Doris and Rock and Tony play it).
*Doris was great, but I expected that. It was Rock who really blew me away. Where did this confident, breezy guy come from?*
I think Rock's confidence in comedy, was bolstered while doing *"PILLOW TALK"*
*"PILLOW TALK" (1959)*
This is the first of the three movies he and Day co-starred in, she and Randall being old pros at comedy. I think the fun and camaraderie and being at ease with Day on the set helped tremendously. (Oh, the movie being a box office hit didn't hurt either).
* I can't explain Doris' bouffant coiffure unflattened by those bubble hats. That's movie magic for you. Sheesh! It took me an entire semester in Millinery class to make a hat in junior high. Oh, if they only let me at a Moviola...I'd have shown 'em a thing or three.
* I love the explosive visits to the Chemist's lab in the Village. (I liked Jack Kruschen as the chemist). At one point, I don't think Tony even makes it out of his car when there's an explosion and his car speeds off down the street. ...And his face getting discolored by chemicals, oh my! Poor little schlmeel.
* Isn't that Ellie May Clampett as secretary? Sho 'nuff, it is. And Kelly, (Rock's secretary) also appeared in "Pillow Talk" as a telephone company inspector who falls under Rock's charms).
* And the two businessmen with droll comments on Rock’s and Doris' relationship were very funny; precisely because they didn't try to be funny.
* Tony Randall - He's so cowardly, I love him. He's the straight man, the comic foil. He tries to put the blame on others...mostly his boy Hadley: (Joe Flynn of "McHale’s Navy"). He instructs Hadley to come over by the window: "You don't have to jump. I'll trip you. Double indemnity. Your wife'll be loaded...kids'll go to college. Come on boy. Run." (Hilarious).
And when the Feds come to visit Hudson, Tony immediate throws Rock under the bus. That cracks me up, and also Tony trying to force Rock's hand to sign the confession his lawyers have drawn up.
*I had to step out just before the big blowup - at least, I think there must have been a big blowup - when Doris discovers she's been played, but I had to go put my daughter to bed.*
First off, it's so warm and maternal that you put your daughter to bed. If you want to see a bit of what you missed...please go here and check this out:
*
*There's such a lot to like about this movie and its romance & comedy, if one is open to it. In large part I think it's the attraction between Rock Hudson and Doris Day. I think Hudson and Day play at cross-purposes expertly. We are let in on the joke... and it's cleverly played out. We'll hear characters discussing something and we know what they're talking about. But when others come IN on the conversation, their mistaken interpretation about what the conversation is...is funny. Going to Alcatraz...the maids outside the honeymoon couple's window...the businessmen seeing Rock in a mink coat. All those moments and more I find hilarious. (I *wait* for the scene where the moose follows the mating call of Randall and Hudson in the canoe. Aaaah, the way Tony Randall says: "I take his picture." Funny).
As Miss G., says, it's a toss-up, but mostly for me this would be my order of preference for Doris and Rock:
*"Send Me No Flowers" ( 1964 )*
*"Pillow Talk" ( 1959 )*
*"Lover Come Back" ( 1961 )*
Jaxxxon, you gave the movie a chance and I'm really happy about that. (What can I say...we want our friends to like what we like). The comedy here *is* different from the 30's and 40's. There's a different rhythm, tone. But hey...you gave the movie a chance and now you've possibly given yourself another genre of films to appreciate. Now don't worry, I won't rush you into Doris and Rock. No no no no no! I remember you saying you like to discover films for yourself, so I don't want to spook you. But if you could find it in your heart and schedule to some day watch "Pillow Talk" and "Send Me No Flowers" I don't think you'll regret it.
*"SEND ME NO FLOWERS" (1964) Aaaah...marital bliss Day & Hudson-style*
Edited by: CineMaven on Jan 3, 2012 10:09 AM - b'cuz she doesn't have an "H" in her name.
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"Frank's right, it reminds me of the Hitch films like The Lady Vanishes or The 39 Steps or even later films like the 007 series."
Hmmmmmm. Hitchcock.
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Hey folks, it looks like we've got some visitors here. But they didn't come to torture...
I wish you all, the things you want for yourselves this new year. :x
C-Mave...
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*"...The marginalized man hated by the community suddenly is 'hired' by that community to kill the man they hired to kill him. Amazing." - Miss Goddess.*
Sort of like, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
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Thank you. You made me curious.
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*"Did you ever spend ten nights in a Turkish bath looking for a man?"*
THE T-MEN...THEY ARE SO SPOILED:
I thoroughly enjoyed *"T-MEN"* MM'57. And I've made a discovery. I think I might be becoming hooked on the procedural docu-dramas. I'm pondering why I have this new-found interest in the docu-drama. Perhaps it's because it's a kind of a...sort of a minimalistic approach to filmmaking...in a way. You use a sonorously authoritative voice (like Reed Hadley's) to tell the story...he sets up all the action and the whys and wherefores; and then you cut to the scene and just show the meat of the action. Simple...easy. And there's an element of that here. But what might set "T-Men" apart from the grand-daddy of all docu-dramas, *"THE HOUSE ON 92nd STREET"* is John Alton.
John Alton. << (( Sigh!! )) >> As a filmmaker, I want to have his baby. He is a master chiaroscurist if ever there was one. He doesn't so much paint with light as he paints with darkness. Our introduction to Charles McGraw sets the tone immediately. The silver sheen of the film made my fillings ache. Steam baths, the camera shots from the floor looking up into a lamp, O'Keefe bowing his head as the shadow of his fedora covers his face, the Schemer on the phone in the forefront with just his eyes showing and the other guy in the background; and also the shot that you described MM'57: *"In two shots one might be in the light and the other in darkness."* It's all these touches and more that makes this docu-drama visually 'arresting' while we’re going through the procedures.
The film is well-acted, populated with character actors who do what they do...and do it well.
*Dennis O'Keefe* - Never crazy about this oatmeal-faced vanilla actor. But in "T-Men" he's done an 180-degree persona switch playing a tough mobster a la Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe. Big and brawny. He sounds very natural and believable. Don't tell me I have to give him a second look?
*Alfred Ryder* - Poor guy. He's got a soft tough look. Married. He sees his wife and can’t acknowledge her. He won't give away the mission. Pathos. Very good. Faces the end with honor.
*Wallace Ford (Schemer)* - Good performance. You know the type...loser, the wannabe. I still felt bad for him in the end; trying to scheme his way out of the inevitable. With no luck. Saaaaay, when did Ford get that 'character actor' look? I just saw him with Joan Crawford looking like a blonde-haired callow youth. No match for Gable of course, but he looked thin and young. This is now about ten years or so later; he's pudgy...paunchy. Ahhhhhh, the better to Act with my dear. (*"Shadow Of A Doubt"*).
*Art Smith* - I love that guy. He's the Department Chief; gives the boys their assignment. I almost didn't recognize him. For a hot nanosecond I thought he was Harry Von Zell. Flat affect. Love that guy. Who is he? You know him...Bogie's agent in *"In A Lonely Place"* Robbie's psychiatrist in *"Caught"* and Jourdan's butler in *"A Letter from an Unknown Woman."* He's an asset in whatever he’s in.
*Charles McGraw* - Quick, where can I hide? He's the pin - up boy for assassins! Cold, unfeeling, unblinking, McGraw makes Charles Bronson look like sisssy. He makes me think of Robert Shaw in *"From Russia With Love."* He’s ice. He’s like a shark, single-minded. If he's visiting you...you're dead.
*Jane Randolph* - Is she the boss? No, but you've got to see her to see the boss. *"The nature of the business is business Mr. Harrigan. Strictly."* It was a surprise to see a woman involved in it, much less Randolph of *"Cat People"* fame. She was wonderfully haughty in this, calling on the spirits of gals like Eve Arden, Jayne Meadows and Kristine Miller. Loved that long cigarette holder and the matter-of-fact way she says: *"About Schemer...get rid of him."*
Good solid film. Thanx for bringing it up MovieMan.
...And speaking of *"THE HOUSE ON 92nd STREET”* I watched the Extras that came with the DVD and they said that the house was actually filmed on 93rd Street in Manhattan. So I went there this autumn...93rd Street near Madison Avenue. Check out the movie and then check my pix against them. (Wish I knew how to do screen caps). Two of the guys walk past this building seen here, (virtually unchanged from the 1940's) to get to the actual house.
Check it out:
*This is the actual house from the film (with a few architectural accoutrements*
*now added on like the columns). Check it out.*
And if you haven't already...check out *"T-MEN"* do yourself a favor:
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DUh4We_EtE*
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Rum cookies....sounds yummy, Sans Fin.
Hi there Ro-Ro...
Your tales of cooking, and family and holiday spirit sounds sooooo wonderful. You've painted a vivid picture I can truly see; laughing, singing, talking...and yes, EATING. Being together... warmth...love.
I wish you and your family a great Christmas!! Tradition. Yep, sometimes that's what it's all about.
Sincerely,
:x C.M. :-)
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Thank you for sharing this European tradition with us.
Our Christmas Day will be next Sunday, December *25*th. And in the Latin culture I believe their Three Kings Day is in January. (The 6th I think). But I have a question. How does St. Nick know if the kids are putting their right shoe size before him to fill with gifts. Could a girl with size 5 feet be offering up a size 9 shoe to fill?
Happy times to those celebrating St. Nicholas Day overseas.
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This sounds like fun TikiSoo. I wonder if the exhibit will travel around, and I wonder if TCM will have access to it for their film festival next April. Were you allowed to take photos?
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Thank you for sharing such a bittersweet love story. It was good you and Nancy were in each other's lives.
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*"And yes, George Tobias had the big x marked on his forehead for me - the mark of death just as visible as the sign of the pentagram....."*
- JACK FAVELL
*GEORGE TOBIAS ENTERS JACK FAVELL'S BOUDOIR.*
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This has been my song for over the past forty years:
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GLORIA SAYS...
"WHERE'VE YOU BEEN? YOU'VE BEEN A VERY NAUGHTY BOY! ...AND I LIKE THAT!!"
Well as I live and breathe!!!! Molo. MOLO!!! You ol' sidewinding sodbuster. How are you?! I hope all's well with you and your little Glo-lo'D Mo-loes!!! And you happened to see one of my favorite films. Awwww.
Well I tried on "The Tattered Dress" CineMaven. I think I look a little silly but the movie was definitely a nice find. Thanks for bringing it up.
Thank you for trying it on. Pssst! That dress looks mahvelous on you too. Tatters and all!
...I thought it all was going to be pretty lurid, and it was, but it WAS more than that too.
I thought so. I thought it was pretty luridly layered.
But what I got was a good solid very frank drama...
I agree.
Well as one Maven to a Molo...whew! I'm glad.
Exactly. Blaine isn't a crusader for justice, he's no hero. He's far more interested in gaming the system and despite his booming bravado and smug exterior, in a lot of ways he's as sleazy as the clients he takes on. He confesses as much in his final summation to the jury.
You're right. He was. But I sometimes get dazzled by the pretty packaging. He was pretty cocky. ( "I just can?t seem to lose," or words to that effect ).
He started out with ideas of becoming a corporate attorney and, once rejected because of his humble credentials, the chip on his shoulder drives him to be the best defender of the crooked, the sleazy, and the well connected who occasionally slip up and kill somebody from time to time. Oh and he gets a nice home with a sweet wife (Jeanne Crain) and a couple of kids too. He can't hold that together though.
See? He was forced to do it. It didn't matter that he had the sheepskin. It mattered where the sheep came from. Bringing home the bacon...it ain't easy.
He's a man with a penchant for vice and, like you said, he gambles, he drinks and he sleeps around. He's probably wallowed in the grime he thrives on for a bit too long and while it does make him an interesting character, it also lays the works for an incongruous battle for justice between him and Jack Carson's Sheriff Hoak.
You just put a thought into my ol? Draculean noggin. Sheriff Hoak was trying to seek justice for his dead friend. I was so taken with Blaine, I forgot about the victim. Dang that Hollywood casting! Brain-washed again!
He does pick up a few interesting allies along the way in the Platt and Tobias characters. I liked both of them here. When poor Giles gets in the car and starts driving down that desert road, I knew he was in trouble but I was still a bit surprised to see Hoak act so decisively.
Yeah. JackaaAaay, (Jack Favell) could tell George Tobias was a goner as soon as he entered the film. Ha!
Carson just made the movie for me. That's a wonderfully descriptive assessment of Carson's Hoak. He is so smooth in his deceptive, two faced dealings with Chandler.
Thank you. I was wondering if Carson had the chops to play the Willie Starks role in "ALL THE KING?S MEN." What do you think? Carson was very convincing here. And to think...he made three movies with Doris Day.
That scene where he relates to Chandler the story of why he could consider him a friend was superb, it sent a bit of a chill down my spine seeing Jack turn that situation around with such a benevolent anecdote. Hoack just got scarier as the film went on.
He might not have gone to law school. He might've been a dumb jock, but he was a one-man lynch mob, wasn't he.
There were two reasons I was looking forward to seeing this movie. One was Jack Carson and the other was a chance to see Gail Russell in a later role. I wasn't disappointed by either of them. Russell was wonderfully tragic as Carol Morrow. The scene where she meets Diane at the door, her getting slapped around in the bedroom by Hoak and her going head to head with Blane on the witness stand being broken down piece by piece, all of this was nicely played.
I wish Gail Russell's life could have turned out better. I just saw her in "MOONRISE" and find that with all her fragility and delicacy, she had a lot of depth as an actress. Yes, her Carol Morrow took quite a beating...from both men in the movie. Ugh!
I would have liked a little more backstory on her dealings with Hoak. She apparently had a good reputation in town and he was using that, and using her, but she was also in love with him. Whatever the story was, Hoak was able to drag her down with him.
She loved him; and she was shamed in front of her entire community. I'm thinking of three movies (two I saw recently) where love (or "love" or "passion" was like a drug for these ladies and they can't break away from the men in their life:
* ?All the King?s Men"
* "The Earrings of Madame de..."
* "The Letter"
He knows enough, and is ruthless enough to do his own killing. You don't want a lot of people in on that sort of thing. I wasn't clear at the end whether he was about to shoot Blane before Carol gunned him down. She certainly ended the movie with a bang!?
That brought to mind Willie Starks' end in "...King?s Men." Sometimes only a woman scorned can take out the garbage.
It really is. Jack is just fantastic as Hoak. I hit on this a bit earlier, but I really liked the way the battle between him and Chandler's Blane was so twisted. In a very crazy way, Hoak was seeking justice and Blane was seeking victory. I couldn't quite root for Blane but I certainly couldn't root for Hoak, no matter how charming a snake he was.
I was pulling for Blaine to clear his name. (Those Restons were a piece of work, weren't they? And then look how they turned on him). I enjoyed the battle between the Lawyer and the Lawman. I like seeing Jack Carson being kind of mean and surly. He?s always such a big loveable lug in so many movies, I loved his dark glint of malevolence as the Sheriff. ( "Don't let me find you!!" ) Ha!
Thank you again CineMaven for bringing this up and thank you Miss Goddess for pointing it out to me. I am definitely glad I got to see this one.
Well I?m glad you stopped by. Don't be a stranger. Here's more of the Grahame Molo?d Welcoming Committee; ...incentive:
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Watch again. Tura Satana was acknowledged in the "TCM Remembers" tribute.
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QUEEN OF THE RANGE - Ro...you would make a great hostess. The show needs someone friendly, home-y, warm, welcoming... and knows movies. And...that's...you. (Bricks, rolling pins, hat pins, frozen ropes and sawdust notwithstanding). So don't put yourself down. Who needs Rachel Ray! We've got Ro-Ro!!
I'm thinking we shouldn't have a Cook-Off and be voting people out of the kitchen. All who cook are welcomed. All who eat are welcomed. (I'm in the latter group). It'll be a Win-Win-Calorie-Inducing situation.
And when we have that big ol' cook-out with some of the dishes described in your thread...folks can all leave with a full stomach, on the first-leg of the journey of the Ford World Tour.
You've got two years to clean up. (...And I don't do windows).
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Wash pots, huh. Well...I s'pose I can put the camera on the tripod and dig into the dishwater. Sure why not. Anything for "the show."
Cleavers, huh. How many fingers does Capuchin have left? Dinner time sure sounds rough around your house S.F.
Oh I'm a vodka rum drinker from waaaaay back. Grey Goose is my vodka, but since I'm looking to upgrade my tastes, I am certainly open to suggestions. If my bar has it...I'll try it tomorrow nite. Uhmmm...just as rehearsal before shooting your segment of the show.
Filmmaking is hard. < Hiccup! > But shombody's gotta do it.
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Ro...since you're the leader of this motley crew, I'll address this to you...(but all may jump in).
Dear Rohanaka,
I think you need a TCM Cooking Show. And since I'm a filmmaker, I guess I'll fly to each of your posters' kitchens and watch them bake their favorite recipes. (Of course nibbling and sampling as I shoot).
I'll film each poster, from start-to-finish...go to the next poster's house and do the same and so on and so forth. Then when I've got one dish from each of you, we pick a specific neutral location, EVERYONE bringing their favorite dish, and we ALL sit down to a nice hearty home-cooked meal.
And of course...talk about Movies.
Yes, Robert is invited, if he can make it. What's your dish and where d'ya live??? "TCM's CHAT 'N CHEW" Sign-In Sheet is just a PM away, folks.
Sincerely,
Cine-Chef
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Thanxx guys for the clue as to where to look for plug-pullin' Monty. And I see...Sally Gray is the perfect noir dame. Caring only for herself; all that Noir could ask.Tonite, *”Fear and Desire.”* S’posed to be a good ‘un.
And then...there is Ava. -
Aaaahhhh. A chef after my own --heart-- stomach!
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Then I've got to go back and watch this. Well...maybe not the whole movie from beginning to end...but can you tell me what part of the movie this is near? He's a dear sweet little dog.
Hmmm...I wonder if cats can do the same thing? (Oooh, is my animal bias showing?)
Sally Gray looked worth the trouble, but isn't it always about the two men? (i.e. The General & the Baron).
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I hear ya. Does it do any movies in modern clothes. Or do I have to go back to Dickens' and Stephenson's day. (Ack!)
Not to be lost on us, Dymytryk did "Obsession."
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Sounds yummy. I see it slathered with butter. Too much?
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Oooh...thanx. I must've misssssed that part with Monty and the plug. (Did I fall asleep on something?) Maybe this movie can't be re-made b'cuz today's writers are not as clever. But if they used my ending...
"They knew too much about each other to want to spend any more time together."
So is that the way love ends? Knowing too much?
N. Wayne was very good. Seems like the bench is deep in British films for character actors. And that Sally Gray...hot stuff.
I saw the YouTube clips. Whoa! Newton was scary. (And had a great head of hair to boot!)
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WoW! This sounds delicious, Jackaa*A*aay. I'll take a half a loaf. Please.
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RAMBLES Part II
in Films and Filmmakers
Posted
TONY RANDALL as Pete Ramsey
"That's it. Hadley!! We'll pin the rap on him. Sure it's our word against his. Two agains tone. Let them break Hadley. He's not a Senior Executive."
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Pete: "We'll get Hadley to commit suicide. Then we'll pin the blame on him."
Jerry: "You may have a little trouble selling that idea to Hadley."
Pete: "He would dare refuse. His job depends on it!!"
*********
I enjoyed Tony Randall in all three outings he did with Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Wait till you see "Send Me No Flowers." ("It's so smooooth"). This'll mean more when you see him say it. The supporting cast in "Lover Come Back" is great. Jack Albertson and Jack Watts (the businessmen: "He's the last one I would have suspected.") The great Jack Oakie ("Just a touch...") The two maids. And didja notice the great John Litel as one of the men on the ad commission? Donna Douglas was pretty. I always wanted to marry Jethro. And then I wanted to marry Eb. Alas and alack, I still didn't get either one of them.
By the by...I love my DVD fairy-godfather!