CineMaven

...His story about getting his scholarship taken away from him seems to be "the story of his life." He's blaming others for being wronged. He didn't get any breaks. To him, he was born a bad break. Poor Webb. Have a pity party, Garwood. Doesn?t he say to Susan near the end when they were going to take a walk in the desert that he hoped his son would be ?man enough to blah blah blah?? That's a very good point. Those two couples are able to appreciate the simple things in life and love. They don't have the money to live a fancy life. Susan feels neglected by her husband. Her husband is the star and you get the feeling he doesn't treat her as his star. It felt possessive and ?Sleeping with the Enemy? controlling that she HAD to listen to his radio programs. But honestly, we don?t get enuf first-hand information on the Prarie Home Companion husband. Poor Webb! He was actually very patient with his partner and his rocks when you consider he's looking to meet up with the woman he's crazy about. I would feel the same as Webb. Remember Dixon visiting Brub and his wife. A little role playing would have done Webb some good. He sure did high-tail it outta there. Miss Goddess writes: Of course, they kind of downplayed Evelyn's looks in this, I thought. I didn't even recognize her at first, she looked so dowdy. Frank Grimes responds: I really liked her. I certainly felt as if she was a lonely housewife. She wished to be appreciated, but, mostly, to be desired. I liked how the talk of a school dance awakened her. She was back in high school with young girl thoughts. I honestly want to know why they made Evelyn Keyes a blonde for this part. WhY?? By the way, do you believe Susan lied to the court about ever meeting Webb because she knew she was pregnant with his child? Good question Grimesy. Good question. She might have lied b?cuz he testified first. He?s the Police. She felt guilty about having an affair with him. Recognizing him is tantamount to getting the D.A. To speculate all nasty things. Perhaps even implicate Susan herself in the crime (SEE: ?BODY HEAT.?) Susan is who fascinates me in The Prowler. What had me shaking my head was how she could slap Webb three times (like you do!) and tell him to get out and then invite him back in and start dancing with him and then kissing him. Women! But I think I get it. I believe she was slapping herself even more than slapping Webb. I think she was interested in him and she was doing all she could to push him away. She hated that she was tempted. Frank Freud Jung Grimes...very good deduction. Did you she how she smacked him? Told him: ?You?re a real cop aren?t you? You want everything for free!? She orders him out of her house and then clings to the door. It took ALL her strength to get him to leave.

You have absolutely and positively astounded me!!

Isn't "Skyscraper Souls" a fun one? Well, it's rather serious and tragic, too. But I love the banter between Maureen and that guy who played Tom and was chasing her, I don't know the actor. I'm starting to watch my recording of it. Is it my imagination or does Anita Page remind you of Kim Novak? Everyone looks young in the early 30's...look at Gregory Ratoff and Wallace Ford. Oh the banter's flying furiously left and right. Norman Foster's some guy who starred with Ginger Rogers in "Rafters" which has been on TCM. He looks like a slim attractive version of Tom Ewell. I loved the clipped accent of Veree Teasdale and Warren Williams. (He's reminding me of John Barrymore. What's going on with me?) Maureen O'Sullivan's like a delicately beautiful China doll. I love the 30's.

Can you imagine what people would put in their psycho profiles on dating sites? The same sort of answers. And still they'd find themselves sitting across from Jeffrey Dahmer. Whoops!!! That had me bust out laughing!! Ofttimes this Message Board seems like some kind of demented Rorshach test.

:-) Hi there Miss G. - I wonder what CineMaven thinks of Winter Meeting. I know she's a big Bette fan. I am. That I am. But I totally forgot it was Bette's birthday, and didn't watch a lick of TCM this morning. Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Bad TCM Fan! Bad girl! I think I might've passed on "Winter Meeting" though. Yeah, in fact I know I would have. I think I saw it once so many many years ago. I have a sinking feeling that I stick to just a core group of Bette films, even though I am a big fan. Want to see more of her 1930's films. I start getting scared of Bette 'round 1948. (Please don't make me watch her and Robbie Montgomery. Please??) I have always liked this oddball film, with the oddest thing being Jim Davis' casting yet I really LIKE Jim Davis here. Who cares if he can't act very well, he looks so good in that uniform and I love his voice so I'm happy. Hmmm... I know THAT's right! I wonder if he crossed paths with Barbara Bel Geddes in those days. I'll give Jock Ewing this, he certainly was a big hunk o' handsome in this film. And later as a more mature gentleman as well. ..Janis Paige who is so delightful. I adore her character. She's so beautifully transparent in her shallowness. Awwww. I like the sound of that. :-) Jackaaaaay Favell, hi there - Of course, I missed Winter Meeting, but I was impressed with all the little eddying smaller stories of In This Our Life - Hattie McDaniel and Ernest Anderson were GREAT, really superb, as was Charles Coburn. I'd never seen this one before and I really liked it. I thought it was more pot-boiler than it actually was. I've decided that Olivia de Havilland is a very fine actress. I've seen "In This Our Life" many a times since I was a teenager. Sorry I didn't have it on in my background this morning. So glad you enjoyed it. You & I were just singing the praises of the great Olivia DeHavilland, weren't we? She never seems to go over the top. Well modulated voice, and such quiet beauty, sweet eyes and smile. Bette without a doubt is the queen. I bow to her. She burns up the screen, chews up the scenery and all - round relishes her bad girl role in this. There's a scene in a roadside bar that I've read had a lot of stars doing cameos in it. But what always struck me is Parry (Ernest Anderson) quiet, wanting to be a lawyer. Not a stereo-typed role for 1942. And you know what else struck me? Well...if you look at the last ten minutes of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" when Bette (Baby Jane Hudson) is cracker- jacked out of her mind on the beach while Crawford (Blance Hudson) lays dying, Bette goes over to an ice cream truck to buy an ice cream cone. And the man who serves her the ice cream, is Ernest Anderson. That's no accident. That's Bette Davis being a friend. Ooooh, I'm so glad you liked that movie.

Whew! I loved your write-up and description on William Wyler and what he elicits from the four sides of a frame of celluloid. You have just succinctly reminded me of what I need to study in order to half way touch Wyler. As for my future, que sera sera. I loved what you wrote and how expressively you write it.

Oh my goodness. When I was a kid, my father used to send me and my sister to the store on Sunday to buy him a pack of Kools and the paper: the Journal American.

(WOW.. when that record started playing when they were holed up in their secret hideway waiting out her delivery.. I KNEW what was coming at the end of the recording.. ha. BOY they could not get in to that shack fast enough to try and shut it off, could they? Talk about an awful reminder...) That voice blaring out from the past was kind of eerie. Susan might've lost the baby right there on that sprint back to the shack. OH I can't even believe the things he said to her (at her house after the coroner's inquest) making her feel guilty for suspecting him of doing just exactly what he really did. I say again... WHAT a piece of work he was. That?s what I call shoving in the knife and s-l-o-w-l-y twisting it. Bosses do that alllllllllllllllllllllllllll the time. As it turns out I think he really DID want that baby... though he saw the timing of it all as the major problem (rather than the child itself) I might be wrong.. but it just seemed that way to me. I think you?ve got something there, Rohanaka. He seemed so proud that his kid will have the breaks his old man did not have. By the way, WHAT did you think of the BROTHER in law being so dadgum GOOD natured about Webb? (Oh gee.. you killed my brother but it was only an accident.. now you are marrying his wife.. let's be pals. HA! That would have to be the OTHER "plausability" issue I had with this movie) You?re so right. That kind of was one of the dips in my roller coaster ride of the film. These are the thing writers have to be careful of when crafting their stories. We?d have had to see the folksy hus-band belittle people first. He strikes me as on of those people who will NEVER have enough to make him happy. Once he gets what he thinks he wants.. then he finds one MORE thing to want.. and then all he can do is try and figure out a way to get it.. no matter what. What a selfish (and sad) way to live. (and VERY dangerous to the people he comes in contact with as well) Ooooh, I loved how you put that Ro-Ro. I have a friend like that. He?s all tangled up with a crazy wife, and insane noise from neighbors, and a bit of credit card debt. And deep down, I think he?s happy having all those things to flail about and try and figure out how to fix. Me? HA! Give me the easy life. I worked for 34 years towards my retirement and am enjoying it: traveling, taking classes and staying up all hours reading pages and pages of Rambles. Cobras...stay away from my door!! I sound like I am judging her awfully harshly.. but really.. he was only successful in all the things he did because she allowed him to be. She was a victim, but she was also very much to blame) I am glad she came to her senses.. although I wish for her sake it had been a little sooner rather than later. (but THEN we would not be able to sit around here and gab about her.. ha. And what would be the fun in THAT?? ha) We in the audience DO sit in judgment of the characters we see in these films, so I think that?s okay. And Susan DID allow much of what happened to her TO happen to her. But I?m with you Ro...this slick sick city slickin' cobra got taken in by a woman who just gave birth to a baby. If she couldn?t protect herself, she was sure as heck going to protect her baby. The hand that rocks the cradle...hits you up side the head WITH that cradle! But wouldn't it have been fun to have just the tiniest bit of a shadow of doubt about whether Webb really WAS telling the truth or not... and then we he makes his big revealing comment about how some men kill for millions and he did it for (was it?) 62 grand... that would have been all the more shocking. I like that Losey opted for suspense (letting the audience know something the character in the film doesn?t know) and not surprise (WHAT??? He DID cold-bloodedly killed the husband? Oh snap!) Oh well.. who am I to say.. I am NOT the one getting paid the big bucks to figure all that stuff out and write it down. ha. Now that?s where I come in. Can anyone spare some change for a struggling screen writer?

Thanx so much Miss G. I have a couple of comments on what you said earlier before the conversation totally wanes. In some ways, the movie kind of points up some mockeries people make of the whole institu-tion of marriage. Because it's real value is neglected by BOTH of the principal characters. An excellent point. I knew that these two sides of the coin was showing marriage.[/b] Oh boy, but weren't you afraid Webb was going to kill him? I really thought that's howthat part was going to end up. It's really sad, because look here's another area whereWebb was so fortu-nate and didn't appreciate it: his partner REALLY cared about him,just like Jim Wilson's partner in "On Dangerous Ground." But it didn't reach him. Oooh, that would have been more tragic than Susan biting the bullet. Did you get the feeling that his partner?s wife sensed something about Webb...you know, during that after-dinner scene? Hey, even Webb's apartment was a lot like Jim Wilson's. Dank, dingy, and HOW SCARY is it that he had that marksman poster up over his bed...showing his ability to, um, hit the "target" every time? Each bullet hole went somewhere fatal, from what I could see. You?re right about that. I caught the target silhouette hanging up. I kind of chuckled about Webb reading the ?muscle? magazine. I remembered Dirk Bogarde was reading that type of magazine when he was trolling for his next prey in that Margaret Lockwood British film. This is where I give Heflin credit. Robert Ryan, listen, NO PROBLEM believing any woman would flip her girdle for HIM (especially in a uniform) but Heflin has to ACT attractive, hahaah. You know...you are soooooooo right here. That's very true. As I watched that dance scene play out, I (the person [ibehind[/i] the name CineMaven) really had my eyes opened about Van Heflin again. I think I must give ?The Strange Love of Martha Ivers? another tumble with my new found appreciation for the charms of Van Heflin. According to imdb, Louis B. Mayer told Heflin that with his looks "he?ll never get the girl.? And I felt sad when I read that. A Hollywood reality, but sad. Now my question for YOU (and anyone else), is, do you believe Webb was being straight when he said at the very end there, he really did love her? Or was he so far in denial of his true self and feelings that even if he meant the words, they weren't based on reality? Movieman writes - I think for a split second he did. As soon as he realized the timing was all wrong that was the end of it. I couldn't make out whether he was crying because he was going to be a father or he realized he couldn't be because of the timing. I believe with all his heart he WANTED to love her. I think being with her those last five months of the pregnancy made him actually love her b?cuz of the baby. But all his years of (imagined) victimization, he just could not UNlearn the way he felt. "Harder to close than it was to open.? Oh! And his death scene...classic. He was trying to get to the top of the mountain. Here is where I really, REALLY felt for the man. He looked so pitiful, scrambling and flailing and by setting the camera up really far, where the cops were and having him die...how? By a marksman's bullet. Nice. But check out HOW he was scrambling up that hill...legs splayed like a crab. How ignomi-nious. He was a coward after all! She acts frightened so much of the time, that I couldn't always tell if she was really falling for Webb or just sort of psyched by him into believing she was in love with him. She looked like a frightened rabbit being charmed by a cobra. His type has found his ideal psychological "prey" in such a woman. It makes her character very vulnerable and touching to me. Everyone looks for their type don?t they? And it doesn?t necessarily have to be the looks, or the money. But something more psychologically amorphous: vulnerability, assertiveness. E-harmony and all those cyber match making sites should have some type of psychological profile done too. Maybe that is deep down what we human beings are responding to in another human being. I kind of mostly felt annoyed with her. But I didn?t want anything bad to happen to her either. I felt her desperation. Didn't she say something about how a delay getting something sometimes caused you to lose interest in it? Rohanaka responds - I am not sure why but for some reason I am remembering that exchange differently. Because I am remember thinking she was implying that "delay" or " getting slowed down" was something that would enable a person to catch you when you were doing something wrong. (sort of like.. she was warning him to not get caught in the trap her husband had set) Susan actually said "Sometimes a little delay does the trick.? You see how it worked for Webb, he kept pushing her back until she just HAD to have him. A little delay and you get the thing you want. That just opened up a whole new line of thought, dadgum, HA! Call me insidious, but you started me thinking maybe the brother was secretly envious of his "celebrity"sibling, with his radio show,fancy house and young, pretty wife....perhaps he was secretly glad his brother kicked the bucket, lol! He did seem rather gleeful! Hey...heyyyyyyyyyyyy there?s a thought. Why did the father popped into my head from ?Shadow of a Doubt??? (I forgot the character actor's name). His partner liked him and all his fellow officers seemed to cheer for him when the inquest was over. That's why I think he had it made all the time but didn't know it. He never seemed to get over his background...remember how he went on about their childhood with Evelyn? He kept pointing out the differences in their level of privilege. Astutely observed and expressed. ...And both of Evelyn's marriages were ultimately based on shifty reasons. Security only in the first one, and passion only in the second. That?s why MY plot would work. Susan and Steve Cochran. Girl, can?t you see it?

"I really hope you two ladies can see Secret and Prowler eventually because I'm dying for your input. I think you'd enjoy them for different reasons." - < ( MissGoddess - 9/24/2010 > SPOILERS GALORE! SPOILERS GALORE! :-) WHEN FIXATION MEETS DESPERATION = YOU HAVE "THE PROWLER". :-) ?What?s her angle?? From the moment that Van Heflin says this (especially since we didn?t see her do anything to warrant his conclusion) and we see those Heflin Eyes scan and probe everywhere, he comes off as Mr. Creepy Guy in ?THE PROWLER.? I have never heard of this film before. And I learn much from many of the Ramblers on this Message Board. This deceptively simple film had me on such a roller coaster ride, it made my head spin. Clearly Heflin as OFFICER WEBB GARWOOD is fixated on the lovely SUSAN GILVRAY, played with jittery nervous energy by almond-eyed Evelyn Keyes. Yes, playing ?Scarlett O?Hara?s young sister? might be her epitaph, but I think Keyes managed several good performances throughout her career. Susan?s skittishness kind of kept me off-kilter I have to say. She acted so suspiciously and ill at ease that I began to wonder if this ?husband? of hers was not a figment of her imagination. She even started to make me wonder: ?What?s her angle??? The music on the radio served as an off-beat counterpoint to the action on the screen as Officer Garwood starts to spin his ?web(b)" around Susan. I had an uneasy feeling as I waited for the other shoe to drop during the first part of this movie. When Mr. Snoopy Guy goes into a drawer to search for a carton of cigarettes, the die is really cast here at his glancing at a Last Will and Testament. His eyes earlier surveying the house and it's 'moneyed' look is confirmed by that will. I liked the metaphorical banter that played out in this scene: WEBB: ?Does he keep everything locked up?? SUSAN: ?Mostly.? WEBB: ?You too?? Did he mean, does her husband keep her locked up or did he mean does she keep her emotions locked up. When Webb tries to close the desk drawer: WEBB: ?Harder to close than it was to open.? Yes indeed. I think of ?Bluebeard.? (I saw the Richard Burton movie six times). Actually, I harkened back to the great ramble on ?Secret Beyond the Door? and all those curiousity-seeking cats movies. Once a door is opened...once you learn a thing, you cannot unlearn it. Webb?s path is set, and he cannot un-set it. That dancing scene in the living room was kind of steamy, no? I confess it made my pulse race a little. What manner of magic is this: Van Heflin becomes sexy right before my very eyes??? Webb was so soft and gentle and silkily persuasive. Who knew Hoosiers had it in ?em. (Under those not-quite-leading-man-looks, Monsieur Bovary?s a real smoothie. G-r-r-!) See, now Susan?s starting to annoy me and I now wish for Audrey Totter: blonde, almond-eyed. (In my next life I?ll be a casting director). Why can't she just be relaxed? I?m starting to be annoyed with Susan b?cuz she?s so jittery. Webb?s so easy, breezy and his matter-of-factly manner is so easy to take. But I know underneath it all, well..pretty much right under his skin, Webb is a bitter and disappointed man. HE is the Victim (or so he thinks). His real fixation is Status. He wants to be respected, financially set. Her nervousness and sidelong glances don?t read as unexplored desire to me. It smells of desperation. I kept thinking: ?Girl, if you?re that unsure about him, let him go. Walk away! Follow your first mind!!!? But what heroine ever listens to me?? I'm a voice in the dark sixty years later. :x REJECTION AS APHRODISIAC: Please --Sir-- Webb, May I Have Some More? :x That?s not quite how I roll but its a convention often given to our movie heroes and heroines. Webb plays his hand well and Susan falls for the ye olde ?push-pull.? The rejection is catnip to her. His breaking things off makes her seek him out more. Her desperation is fairly palpable in those phone cons. And it?s during those phone conversations that we enter Webb?s lair. Not much of a lair as --liars-- lairs go...one-room. Cop?s salary? Maybe...but we see his partner?s living a comfortable lifestyle on that cop?s salary. I loved the scene with his partner and his wife. Trust, togetherness, comfort. Traveling ghost towns together. I liked how he smacked her on the fanny. Riddle me this guys: Why is it that the partners always seem to have a better private life (?On Dangerous Ground?) than our heroes??? Inside Webb?s world we see there is more to him than meets the eye. He enjoys tormenting Susan. (I think I saw that cruel glint in Heflin?s eye when he dumped Joan Crawford in ?POSSESSED?). The flatter affect he has, the more he pushes her away...the more he pushes her away, the more ominous the musical chords get...the more ominous the chords, the more desperate Susan gets. D?ya see the vicious cycle? Ladies, don?t let this happen to you!!! He?s stoked that fire in her; she?s chasing him now and he?s acting like the cat that swallowed the canary. I MARRIED A DEUS EX MACHINA (From Outer Space). A-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa! So there IS a husband. See, that surprised me. NOW I see why she's so jittery. She's a married woman with a little sumthin' going on the side. But not to worry...he?s not important. Naah. He?s just a means to the end of the plot of this movie. We never see his face, we never engage with him. In fact...we only have SUSAN?s side of the story of what a bad husband he is. Frankly, I never thought he?d harm her like she said he would. I would have written things differently: "THE PROWLER" Written by CineMaven. * Still have the trial * After a couple of weeks Webb tries to get back in Susan?s good graces * Hat in hand and flowers in his arms he goes to visit Susan * The audience sees Susan in the clinch with hunky Steve Cochran or George Nader. Or Casey Adams (if you wish...but you won't get a job as casting director) * As Webb walks up the street with the flowers, he spots Steve and Susan kissing at the door * Steve takes the car to get some toothpaste for their trip (She has to get away from it all, the notoreity of the trial, you know) * Webb and Susan argue: WEBB: ?I killed your husband for you!? SUSAN: ?Who asked you too. I could never be with you, you?re a cop!? * Webb lunges for Susan. She kills him. She calls the police: SUSAN: ?I need the police. I?ve just killed a prowler.? * Then we beat up FrankGrimes. (Too late, I already quit my day job!) See, with MY plotting, Susan?s the engineer NOT the Victim. She plays Webb for a sucker. He thought he was a victim before? HA! Now he really IS the victim. Gosh where's Kathy Moffett when you need her? But that wasn?t to be. THE STORK BRINGS A BUNDLE OF JOY: A --Dingo-- Prowler Killed My Baby!! :-( Well I didn?t see THAT coming!!! And I enjoyed that twist. Looking back, I liked how the marriage getaway scene was shot in a long shot. We never got up close to that either, didja notice? Why?d the director make that choice?? Interesting. EVERY one sings Webb's praises too. Well you've seen a lot of movies. You know what THAT means. When Webb gets the news about the baby, OMG! His reaction was so great. He cried at the news. It was like his inner thoughts were screaming: DRAT!!! FOILED AGAIN!! Foiled by a little unprotected dancing in the living room with the radio on. I believe those tears were from being torn as to whether he'd carry out his plan or not. But initially I thought this news might calm him down. He?s got access to her money; he's got his motel on the highway. Isn't this the easy street he wanted? What more does he want? Ohhhhhhhhhh, he still... When I saw Webb take Susan out to the desert town neighboring Bette Davis' and Mary Astor's stay out west in the desert in ?THE GREAT LIE?), his isolating Susan sent bells off. But I never thought Webb would plot the baby's demise as well. He winds up being desperate in the end as he runs smack dab into his old partner. Did Susan have strength after all? It felt unseemly to me to put her in such a sadistically vulnerable position throughout the whole movie. She was always in a vulnerable jittery position. Policeman - prowler - fancy dancer - murderer - midwife: Van Heflin could pull it off. Robert Ryan too or Dana Andrews. (But we'd need to see Robbie and Dana as detectives). I enjoyed the roller coaster ride of this movie I've never heard of. Now...does anybody need a good casting director???

Grimesy, you're looking for another Mitchum film? Why not go for Mitchum Lite: breezy, sophistica- ted like "The Grass is Greener" where Deborah Kerr has to choose between Cary and Mitchum. Or want him a little more rugged but not heavy: "The Sundowners" where Deborah Kerr plays his wife.

Wow this is fantastic news!!! This'll be good news for those who missed the recent screening out in Knoxville: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=154544&tstart=0. Welcome to the Board!

Nice to hear that "Wild River" has been restored, anytime I ever saw it on tv it looked rather poor. One of the local Philadelphia tv stations used to show it late at night quite often. Even when I was a kid I thought it was a neat movie and as I got older I started to fall in love with Lee Remick. I have seen it on FMC recently, when a DVD comes out, I will buy it. It would be great to see it on the big screen, but I can think of a hundred or more films I would like to see on the big screen. - < mrroberts > Well you're in luck Mr. Roberts. See this new poster's announcement here: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=155906&tstart=0

I really enjoy Steve Harvey's reviews. He loves classic films. And "THE HEIRESS" is a good one. I kind of have to be in the mood for it b'cuz it's so devastatingly triumphant for Catherine ultimately. Olivia DeHavilland was perfect. In fact, it all was so perfectly cast. (I hang in Greenwich Village a lot - Washington Square Park ) and don't think everytime I'm in that area, I don't think about the film. I'm not so much into the British stage actor thing...but without a doubt Richardson is one of the theatre's towering giants: Olivier, Gieguld, yes Guiness. Masters. And a little competition is a healthy thing. I'm sure Monty and Ralph's brains were on fire when the director quietly yelled "ACTION!" I could relate to Wyler with something I shot a few weeks ago for my web series, (on an extremely smaller scale than a Hollywood motion-picksher). One actress was SAG and the other was not. Very very thin layer of chill between them for a scene that was about two adversaries. I love Hitchcock and I'm having a growing appreciation for Fritzie after the Rambles I've read on "The Secret Beyond the Door." But if I could be another director besides Hitch, that would be William Wyler. He too was a Master. Next time I watch it...I mean really sit and watch "The Heiress", I shall try and focus on Ralphie boy. (Ha! Switching my focus helped me with "THE LETTER" when I focused strictly on the briefly seen Gale Sondergaard and thought of the events from her perspective. Ah-HA! Two movies in one). But for "THE HEIRESS" I admit my laser beam is trained on DeHavilland. I watch, with ill ease, the subtle sledgehammered dissection and transformation of her character. Her shining good looks dulled a bit for the role, you can't hide DeHavilland's voice. That sweet dulcet voice ends her experience in the world of love with an edge of harshness when she zombies out and reveals: "I can be very cruel. I have been taught...by masters!" :x - :-(

But aside from physically being so compelling in these noirish westerns, Mitchum's graceful minimalism, a brevity with words that isn't stoicism but seems born of a hard learned wisdom that staying alive means choosing your words carefully and using them but seldom. Whoa! You have phrased that beautifully! Just beautifully. That fight scene was good. The testosterone was fairly palpable. Aaaaah, when men were men. Today's choreographed fare is...meh. I think Robert Mitchum was one of the greatest under-rated actors of his time.

- A review of "The Heiress."

Director Vincent Sherman enjoys Ann Sheridan's company on the set of "Nora Prentiss." I love Ann Sheridan's outfit in that shot. Oh...and Lew Ayres looks soooo adorable.

If you're in New York City, Jayo - http://www.filmforum.org/films/moguls.html

Yes, I'm talking about you! Dorothy Parker, eh? Wow. Merci. But the only person I want sitting at my Round Table is Robert Taylor. Uhhhhh, seriously...YES. Robert Taylor ey? I'm going with Samuel S. Hinds (even though Robert Benchley would keep me in stitches!!!) I'll be safe with my Sammy-kins. But will he be safe with me?? < Muah-ha-ha! I make no promises. > ;-) I haven't seen anything else with Lewis. Now, for some reason, I could see the puppy-ish Marcello being interested, but only if he discovered that under her sensible-teacher clothing, Miss Branding sported black lingerie and a dominatrix attitude... Black lingerie??? Ow!! I need some white - out. Anybody got a bucket of Mental White-Out?? But for the less shallow and more mature Rossano, didn't he appreciate the bony, spinsterish charms of Jane Hudson in "SUMMERTIME"? So I feel fairly certain he might consider Miss Branding pinch-material if time and circumstance allowed. I wish that for her very much! Get her out of the lab. Let the world save itself. Say, will she still be wearing that amulet?? Talking about warped, I actually enjoyed Raquel Welch in MYRA BRECKINRIDGE, heaven help me. I confess, I have never seen "MYRA BRECKINRIDGE" in its entirety. I always liked Raquel; seems like today's Eva Mendes could be a direct descendant. Edited by: CineMaven on Oct 2, 2010 10:08 PM - I think the security guard could use a few more lessons in his Stanywck mimicry. He sort of...kind of sounded like Missy. But then again, I've been drinking tonite! Really? Oh, I thought he looked and sounded just like her from "DOUBLE INDEMNITY." But I was only drinking diet peach Arizona iced tea. Dorothy if you're going to sit at a round table with Sir Robert Taylor (he dumped Ava for you, ey?) then you're going to have to quit your tee-totalling habits and get rid of the Diet drinks. Sheesh! Hey....who pinched me??!!

"I'm going back to my comedies. Life is simpler there!" "Easy To Wed" is on this morning... < hint! > ( ;-) ) < hint! >

I will ma'am. I will. Thank you. I will say this for right now, the movie took me on a wild roller coaster ride. I didn't know WHERE it was leading me and with most movies I usually know where I'm going...or where it's taking me. Van Heflin...he's a wonder!!! - Janie Maven.

Helpless or hopeless? She survived...barely and endangered her unborn child. I've got to get my notes together, and then explain how I saw the film. I'm glad I did see it, (thank you fairy godmother), b'cuz anything YOU guys are talking about is worth me seeing and discussing. Sorry to be so --Johnny-- -Janie-Come-Lately.

"Somehow a little delay does the trick." - Susan in "The Prowler." Does it? Does it now. This film is easily one of the most unsettling motion pictures I have ever seen; and Evelyn Keyes' character, one of the most masochistic.

"...I must stay that Maven has great taste in character actors!"- < ( Bronxgirl ) > Thank you. And I'm generous too. I shall share my Sammykins with you gals, even though the Ben Johnson club is a little possessive with him and will scratch your eyes out if you come near him. Re: the uniform...doesn't he look commanding??? :x

"...but everyone who enjoys and looks forward to your inimitably passionate, descriptive, funny, bristling, lively writing." Pardon me, are you talking about me? Me? Well, I sit here humbled that you would say that. Thank you. If I am Nancy, then YOU are Dorothy Parker. Your rapier wit cannot be touched. (What the hell, let's just keep this mutual admiration society going, shall we?) I loved the creepy Miss Branding. She was a genius in low pumps and an odd little hairstyle. I'll have to imdb Louise Lewis to see what else she's done. Rosanno Brazzi? I'm quite sure Rosanno Brazzi & Marcello Mastroianni would have passed by poor Miss Branding with out so much as a 'pinch.' I think she was just misunderstood...until the last five minutes of the movie. I'm so glad you enjoyed my warped view of this warped movie. Edited by: CineMaven on Oct 2, 2010 10:08 PM - I think the security guard could use a few more lessons in his Stanywck mimicry. He sort of...kind of sounded like Missy. But then again, I've been drinking tonite!