CineMaven
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I just re-watched ALGIERS, and can't believe I hadn't truly appreciated it before. Pepe and Gaby are so similiar -- both weary and longing to escape from their "wrong dreams". I hate Inez!
Inez is really going to have to live with the fact that she was the instrument in Pepe's death. Hope she's happy. As I wrote in another post, I just had "ALGIERS" on in the background as I was busy with some other work, but I did see a very erotic scene where the camera kept cutting back and forth between Pepe & Gaby when they were talking. I'm sorry I can't really quite remember what they were talking about, but I remember seeing that cross-cutting between them for each line was quite effective. And they both had smoky eyes and the film was kind of muddy (not crystal sharp & clear silver nitrate) and remember thinking "Oooh boy, this is working!"
Oh, hello, Jackie! I was with Zita on that table. (btw, did you know she was once married to Professor Kingsfield? Talk about mummies. "Yes, we'll go on our honeymoon, but first I want to discuss contract law" And then, if she didn't live up to his idea of the perfect wife: "Here's a dime. Call your mother and tell her you're coming home")
Oh wow!! That killed me. I can?t imagine John Houseman gettin? jiggy with it, but I also didn?t know that Claude Rains played a dual role (and in drag no less) in ?The Wolfman.? I love "The Mummy." I loved...
- David Manners saying (I paraphrase): "And boy was it hot! That tomb."
- The young archaeologist laughing. And the old man saying "He died laughing."
- The other old man talking about breaking or cracking Karloff's dried flesh
- Zita Johann's look; very unconventional look; not pretty...but not unattractive (I love her name too).
- Zita sitting on the balcony looking out over the stock footage of Cairo, and the music that was playing. Love that music and I've heard it in a Woody Allen movie recently.
- Zita saying "Isis, save me from this Mummy!"
But my favorite line in the whole movie is:
"Call her! He has dragged her back to ancient Egypt. Call her. Her love for you will bridge the centuries."
What?d you do for your birthday, Bronxie? Is there a street in Boca named in your honor?
Ha! It sounds like humans are just getting in the way of the busy daily routine of Boca's creature population.
Well...anthropologically speaking...WHO was there FIRST??
:-)
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>A classy lady. I don't remember her in TBATB, though, but AIRPLANE is indelibly etched into my brain, ha! I just looked at her filmography, and she had an uncredited bit in THE ARNELO AFFAIR.
In "THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL" Billingsley is the designer in the scene where Lana has a fitting and Kirk inspects the dress, then asks everyone to leave him alone with his actor.
> I know you're a Bob Mitchum/Steve Cochran kinda gal, but as you've already noted, Donat just might surprise you!
Swarthy husky brutes. Yum! Yum!! Please ma'am, may I have sommore? Have you seen the interstitial on Robert Ryan by Ernest Borgnine? It's really nice.
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THAT VOICE...THAT FACE
I had to work on a PowerPoint presentation during TCM's Hedy Lamarr screenings. I was not fa-cing the tv but I could hear the movie while I worked. I gotta tell ya...Charles Boyer's voice was driving me crazy. He could have said anything: "Would you like to dance?" "When can I see you again?" "Hey, I need cream in my coffee." All I could hear was this low French-accented growl as his voice came from deep within his chest. Hmmm, deee-vine! (Oh please yes, let's invite him to Provence next summer). Then when Hedy Lamarr spoke at any length I had to get up from my computer and dash over to the television set to look at her. By jove, that face. I don't even know WHAT she was saying many times. I was just staring. (And as her career continued, she looked even better than she did here).
So now, it's eight in the morning and must dash around like crazy to get the work I should have done last nite...done by ten. (May I give an honorable mention to Gene Lockhart who did a
great job in this film).
LANA
"I missed the first few minutes of 'Marriage is a Private Affair' but I saw about half an hour before I had to go back to work. This is the only time I've seen her with her long, blonde hair. How stunning. I wish she'd never cut it. She's gorgeous here. And in her bunny-rabbity best. How the men must have gasped when they saw her wearing nothing but an apron over a swimsuit. If this was made during the war, I wonder if it helped speed things up."
Ha ha.
To answer this thread?s original title question: I do.
And, ?I do? or not ?do? is the core question in 1944?s ?MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR? starring John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, James Craig and the belle of the 1940?s M-G-M ball, luscious Lana Turner.
I don?t know this movie, but as it unfolded I knew what would happen. After all, it?s M-G-M. You know the old saw: boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy gets girl. HAPPILY EVER AFTER. But surprisingly ?...PRIVATE AFFAIR? took a different path towards its inexorably inevitable ending. And the traveller here is not ?Boy?, but ?Girl.? And boy, what a girl: LANA.
Lana?s gorgeous in this film and in this stage of her career. Will this make sense if I say Lana has two faces in one? She still has a hint of the cherubic face she came to Hollywood with. The baby
fat is disappearing and her now blonde hair cascades past her shoulders. I agree with you Miss G., she looks fantastic with the long hair. Lana?s a vivacious confection with lots of personality.
This is her story all the way, and I thought she was ably up to the task. In fact, what made this movie fascinating to me, was the question about whether she wanted to marry or not. That?s not usually the question movies asked their heroines in the ?Golden Age of Hollywood.? Yes, does she love him...or doesn?t she, is the question most oft asked; but 'do I want to marry or not?? That does not sound familiar to me for most movies back then. And that piqued my interest as did seeing Frances Gifford's name in the credits, (I'm about to say something heretical here...but more on her later).
As Lana?s voice-over starts the movie at her wedding, I smiled thinking of Joan Bennett getting married in ?Secret Beyond the Door." I watched Lana struggle with her self-doubt throughout the entire movie. Her character didn?t know herself, who she was. She wanted to figure herself out first. (I believe her character was nineteen years old...and nineteen in the forties is a far cry from
a nine-teen year old girl today). And for THAT she was deemed selfish. Hmmmm...where IS this movie going. I'm going to stick around and see. But for now...I must dash off and get this Power Point presentation, collated and handed out.
Oooooh....all b'cuz I went to the Casbah last night. << (( Sigh! )) >>
To be continued...
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Bronxie...It's your birthday?
Well then, many happy returns of the day for you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
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SueSue...you sound like you were the belle of the ball out in Cali. You really got the most out of the TCM experience. Great! Way to go, girl.
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Didn't Martha Stewart play the hatcheck girl in "In A Lonely Place"?
Ella Raines. Gee.
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At your location Jayo, is there an attendant there guarding the exhibit? How close is one allowed to get to costumes? Out of everything you saw in the exhibit, which was your favorite piece?
If TCM is involved in anything you know that "...a lot of time, talent, and work went into (it)." That's totally how they roll. I'm looking forward to seeing the exhibit myself. Thanx for your report.
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<<< ( Spit Take!! ) >>>
Oh boy Fedya!
...And who says there's no mileage in a thread about a thread that has been locked.
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Probably won't post any photos but I did see TCM's previous exhibit. Marvelous!
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I didn't know that. He was a fine actor with a lot ahead of him could he break out of the Nazi roles. I have the feeling in time he would have returned to working in European films, had he lived.
I believe you.
My ex-coworker says one of her favorite actors Freddie Mac is vastly underrated. I'll give MacMurray this: he was believable in comedy, broad comedy and drama. I think I'll give it
a shot later on.
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Miss G., you said this a little more than a month ago:
"Oh my goodness! The way Conrad Veidt strokes Vivien's hair is the most thrilling thing I've ever seen! Sorry for that necessary outburst. I shall resume rambling when I've collected my wits,"
...when TCM screened Conrad in "Dark Journey." Later on tonite/this morning, "Above Suspicion" will be aired (at 4:00 am). Can I expect the same treatment of him with Joan Crawford, or will he just play an ol' meanie?
"Above Suspicion" was Veidt's last film before his untimely passing and I believe released posthumously.
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I've seen that promo. Stunning. I think TCM's editors are the best on television.
G., Jack...love those mirror shots. If only that was the reflection looking back at me. Nice.
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Now look at what I learned when I turned on "Marriage is a Private Affair" to record...FRANCES GIFFORD is in this film. A double plus for me: Lana AND Frances. So Frances and Hodiak (sans mustache) worked together before "The Arnelo Affair." Interesting trivia to add to my cobwebbed mind.
Lana's quite a chameleon. Her looks seem to change from pix to pix. Soft and supple and then glammed with angles. Lana. Yeah.
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This exhibit will be playing in NYC on Monday and I intend to visit it. If you've gone Jayo, let
us know what you thought about TCM's efforts. I know I can't wait to see it, and to see the documentary as well.
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You're most humbly welcome, Miss Wonderly.
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Ya know, I've got it backwards, Grimesy. I've seen "Scarlet Street" but I think not "Woman in the Window." I'm going to talk to my fairy godfather about getting both those films into my growing DVD collection, along with "You Only Live Once." I do have "Man Hunt" and will pull it out of the pack. I have to prepare for some upcoming Rambles (which I'm hopeful you'll join), but I'll soon
enuf get to all your suggestions. (Why can't I remember Samuel S. Hinds in "Destry..." ?)
That's hilarious! You've got a quick wit. One of the fastest draws around.
Well of course I do. Only b'cuz I sit at the feet of the Girl from the Bronx. :-)
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It would be even even better if people researched the board before they posted or created a thread for every thought that dribbles out of their heads.
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That depends on what each person deems valuable. My country grandma has been a housewife the majority of her adult life and I know she's extremely valuable.
I seem to have gone down a slippery slope. I ain't touchin' anyone's grandma.
"The Furies."
D'OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
What you say is true, there is a psychological barrier for many when it comes to a woman in a dress. Or a man in a suit. It's silly, really. We've changed quite a bit as a society and culture from the 50s yet we're still very much a people who judge on appearance. We cannot shake it, completely. We see something and we make a snap judgment on what we see.When I worked downtown in the City Hall area, I had to be aggressive at a particular deli to get my order in; everyone kind of pushing and shoving...no orderly line, bum-rushing the counter. Plus I'm only 5'3". I tried an experiment. I would come in some days with a low cut 'V' neck blouse. On those days...not so much struggle for their attention behind the counter.
I hope you do give "Destry Rides Again" another look. It has Samuel S. Hinds in one of his best performances!
Gosh, I haven't seen that movie in so long, I really don't even remember my Sammy in it. It's on my list.
I'm impressed! So what have you seen of Lang's work?
These are the Lang films I have seen: "The Woman in the Window" "Clash By Night" "The Big Heat" (Gloriaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) "M" "The Return of Frank James" (but many many years ago), "Secret Beyond the Door" "Human Desire" "While the City Sleeps" "Fury" "Blue Gardenia" "Rancho Notorious" and the stunning and jaw-dropping: "Metropolis."
That made me laugh! You do know that women always have power over me. I'm the biggest pushover around.
Ha! I don't believe that for a second. You push back...but you do it in such a cogent, teasing, friendly, gentlemanly way.
Say, have you seen my mirror??
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God willing, I say TCM snap up Julie Adams, Marsha Hunt, Piper Laurie and Anne Francis for their second film festival in April 2011. Are you going Mongo? Right now, I'm hoping many agents and personal managers are ringing Darcy Hettrich's phone off the hook to book their clients for TCM's next film festival. It'd be a win-win for EVERYbody.
C.M.
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>ASIDE: Did you ever see Maximilian Schell's documentary on Dietrich? She never wanted to be >photographed for that film.
No, I've never seen it nor do I know what you're referring to.
You answered me already, but if you have a moment, would you take a quick gander at this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085905/
Yes, this is true. It's a film code. Pants on a woman means "power." In "Rancho Notorious", Altar (Marlene Dietrich) is wearing jeans at her ranch. She runs roughshod over the men. Then Vern tells her how much he likes her when she's all dressed up and this makes her feel good.
It's interesting that you say they are "less than." I guess you mean less powerful than the man. That they become submissive.
Yes, that is what I mean. They become less powerful...and I daresay, less valued as a person. Stanwyck wouldn't have fallen for that ploy. "You look so pretty in a dress. Can you put one on
for me? Oh, and wear that broach I gave my dead fiancee...uhmmm, I mean, it matches your eyes."
>I can see Crawford (Vienna) in that white dress.
Is she less powerful?
Welllllll, you?ve got me there pal...sort of. I think she?s playing the ?female? card here. (?What? Who me? I don?t know wha?cha talkin? about? I?m just waitin? for the railroad to come through.?) A far cry from her standing on the stairs in all black and promising the first person who approaches her with
a bullet in the head.
I like a woman to be a woman. And that means many things. I love a woman in a dress. I love a woman in a skirt. I love a woman in slacks. I love a woman in jeans. Each woman has their own personality which dictates what clothes they wear. A lot of it is attached to how they view themselves. If a woman believes they look good in a dress, they will wear a dress. If they don't like how they look in a dress, they will look to avoid it. Then there are the women who choose comfort over look. Same with men.
Gotcha, Frank.
I'd say Gene, Lana, Vivien, and maybe Rita are "girly girl." Grace and Marilyn are definitely this. Kim Novak was and is a rebel. She was a liberated bombshell. I'd said Joanie B. is a "slacks" girl, all the way. I adore her. Of the other girls you listed, I'm most attracted to Myrna Loy. I think she's lovely. I like Ella Raines' eyes and I like Gail Patrick's dark beauty. I believe Stanwyck is the greatest actress of all. She could be wearing a dress and baking cookies and I'd believe she was in charge. It's the same with Bette Davis.
Hear! Hear! I especially like what you said about Stanwyck/Davis being Betty Crocker. Okay, I
see the light, Grimesy. To paraphrase a hoary cliche, clothes don?t always make the (wo)man. Sometimes a cigar is a cigar and comfort is just comfort. No loss of esteem.
Lang's heart was into his work. I'm talking about his films. Some directors' films have "heart." Nick Ray is one director whose films tend to have heart and great emotion. Lang was too cynical for "heart." He was mostly about darker desires.
I see the difference. You know...I?ve really got to study this man, his body of work...in one fell swoop. I?m going to need a bigger boat.
What don't you like about Destry Rides Again?
???? It's been so long since I've seen it, I just remember not caring for it.
In fact, I just received a package today of goodies that includes this movie. I might have to give it another look-see, especially if I go through as much of Lang's filmography as I can lay my hands on.
The aspect of "Rancho Notorious" that I absolutely loved was the interplay between Vern (Arthur Kennedy) and Altar. The film is basically a "spy" film, which is completely Lang. Vern needs to infiltrate a gang. He must become what he's never been to find the answer he's looking. There have been many stories about spies falling for the one they are to spy on, but in this one, Vern absolutely uses Altar...
A good distillation of the plot. I liked reading this better than I did the film. Thanxx so much for your response. You?ve given me food for thought...dresses to wear...and socks to mend.
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"(Jerry Mathers) was on channel four's morning show saying very lovely sings about her." -
< ( C.Maven ) >
Oh my word. My bad...my bad. I wanted to say something nice about Ms. Billingsley. Ha! I wish I were that clever. Very clever, dahlink ZSue Zsue! (Uhmmm...that's not ZaSu, right?)
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CineMaven wrote:
Rene Clair goes on the menu of films to see in the Villa. With those choices of butlers...it will be tres dificile to leave the room. Tres difficile. Let me open that door from just French men to...
>It will be tres difficile to concentrate on the movies!
Mais oui.
BTW: Saw Diane Lane in "Secretariat" and she did a fantastic job. Not an ounce of "Unfaithful" in her. Oh, that reminds me to add OLIVIER MARTINEZ to our butler list. I mean, you can't have too many butlers, can you?
>Can he buttle?
Does it matter? Did you see him in "Unfaithful"?? Oh he buttled alright...
>Ollie-
>Boyer is such a favorite of mine, he's a wonderful actor and compelling is definitely the word for >him. I'm watching Tovarich tonight, so I'll check
>out his butt - ling.
Seeeeeeeeee, now you're catching on.
Oh we're all going to have a glorious time at the Provence Film Festival. Hey, we might even watch some movies too.
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Do you remember seeing the late Barbara Billingsley in "THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL"?
(Jerry Mathers) was on channel four's morning show saying very lovely sings about her.
X the Unknown and Robert's Intro
in General Discussions
Posted
At least he didn't say "nucular."