flickerknickers

what a downer! i was all psyched up to catch "murder at the vanities" and--nothing hoppened! But, I figure that the NYTimes also employs such fabricators and plagirists as that notorious Jayson blair (who confessed to making up most of his storeis) so I guess we can't believe anything the old "Gray Lady" says anymore.But "Murder at the Vanities" is one pre-code antique we simply must watch! What a treat this one would be! And wouldn't it be great to have it as a double-feature with Tallulah Bankhead in "Tarnished"?

I believe Nicholas Ray directed "Rebel Without a Cause". In a new book about Ray and also in the bio on Natalie Wood, Ray reportedly had affairs not only with Wood but with James Dean and Sal Mineo. Elia Kazan's career is shadowed today by his testimony during the Anti-Communist hysteria during the early 50s. He gave out the names of numerous actors who he said were communists. But--he did make some great movies. Esp. "streetcar named desire," and "splendor in the grass."

swngsoul, you should see Lillian Roth swing and belt out the songs in "Madame Satan," (1930) She's got a juicy, racy role as a party girl/singer and that gal had charisma and electricity to spare. She steals the movie from everyone, especially the tepid, wispy Kay Johnson, who Cecil B. DeMkille was trying to build into his number one star. There's a really risque scene where she's in bed and under the covers with another man. Lillian had a terrible life off the camera, as you've mentioned. She also had juicy role as a singer/comedy foil in a Marx Brothers comedy which I think is "Horse Feathers" where she plays a maid. She should have been a major movie star.

Maybe TCM has already featured these adorable legends but even if they have, we could always use a second dose: 1. Anita Page. Beautiful, charismatic, a genuine flapper. 2. Wiliam Haines. Sexy, cute, funny, fascinating and he could act, too. 3. Nazimova/Mae Murray. Maybe there aren't that many of their films available in the TCM vaults but both gals were major stars during the 20s. 4. 20th Century had so many glittery stars: Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda. Wish TCM could "borrow" these from the owners of the 20th Century library.

Get your blank tapes ready for tonight! Even the NY Times is urging readers to watch TCM's very rarely shown "Murder at the Vanities" tonight. This is the one that was featured so heavily in "Complicated Women" and where Kitty Carlisle posed in that daring little outfit. She's in that "Marihuana" number. Also, "MOrocco" will be shown just before that one. Oh, boy, just watching those two beautiful sex creaturesp--Marlene and Gary--is enough to melt my VCR. cholly hoo, until tomorrow!

MovieJoe, thanks for mentioning the unforgettable, the timeless "Dinner at Eight." This is one of my most cherished movies. In doing research on this at Lincoln Center (and some other old flicks) I was amazed at the original cast that was first announced by MGM. John Gilbert was originally cast in the John Barrymore role as the dying alcoholic. Anita Page/Joan Crawford were both named for the Madge Evans role (she's the one who has an affair with Barrymore). And get this: GARBO was announced as playing the Carlotta Vance role that eventually went to Marie Dressler. In the original screenplay, Carlotta is much more glamorous and younger and world-weary. Lewis Stone, MGM's perennial favorite, was supposed to play the dying Lionel Barrymore role. Whew! As you can see, fate was certainly playing a part in finalizing the parts for "Dinner at Eight."

Sandy, "Leave Her to Heaven" is a stunning treat for everyone with that incredible Technicolor photography and didn't you love those great houses they lived in? I loved the lake house, the big fireplaces and Gene Tierney! What a fantastic female monster. That scene of her's in the boat, putting on those white-framed sunglasses and watching the kid drown! I've read where the production designer, costume designer, etc. all spent weeks planning the color scheme for each scene--so that everything from the women's make-up, nail-polish, costumes, etc. matched the color scheme of the sets. It paid off in spades. This is a must-have movie in any old-movie buff's library. Just wish this was on DVD.

There should be a festival of Grade-B horrorthriller flicks. My definite choices would be: 1. Night Monster. (1941) Marvelous ensemble acting by Hollywood's greatest character performers and dig that knock-out photography and lighting. 2. Topper Returns. This is actually an A-Class ghostly fun fest with Rowland West, Billie Burke, Rochester, Patsy Kelly, etc. turning this into a comedy to savor for every decade. 3. Hold That Ghost. l941. Another comedy/horror classic with Joan Davis wiping everyone off the floor with her hysterical "waltz" with the tin bucket stuck to her posterior. 4. Weird Woman. (1942) Evelyn Ankers and Elizabeth Russell battle each other for top acting kudos as they try to drive poor little Anne Gwynne insane. Ankers is terrif as the vicious villain--a big change from her usual "good girl" or "screaming heroine." 5. Sherlock Holmes and The Voice of Terror." Another l941 black adn white beauty from Universal with yet again, the marvelous Evelyn Ankers portraying the street walker, Kitty, who saves England during WWII, along with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock. Hip hip hooray for Universal!

It's a real shame that the Betty Grable musicals are rarely seen today. AMC showed many of them during AMC's glory days. 20th Century Fox used its brightest, most brash colors to make these ice cream sundae concoctions so delectable. My favorite: "Moon Over Miami" and "That Night in Havana"--the over-saturated Technicolor was mesmerizing and Carmen Miranda always knocked me outta my chair. Travis Banton designed all those fantastic gowns and headpieces for his gals. Also, I love watched the furniture and the decor in the camp 40s classics. Everything was so art deco and over=the-top. A real goodie is "The Dolly Sisters" that starred both Grable and June Haver in a terribly cleaned version of the real-life Dolly Sisters who in real life lived wild, hedonistic lives with many lovers and many fortunes. Grable couldn't stand Haver in real life but Haver was a mogul favorite and with almost no buildup was suddenly thrust into A-plus productions as a so-called threat to Grable. IT never worked. Haver's voice was dubbed and she could barely dance. The blonde who inherited Grable's gold crown was none other than the magical Marilyn Monroe.

I loved the blaxploitation movies when they first hitting the screen in the 70s. I worked as entertainment editor for a newspaper in Montggomery, Alabama and was lucky enough to interview nearly all the starsa and see nearly all these flicks. They were great fun--both the movies and the stars. They were funky, cool, funny and oh, boy, those styles. My favorites were Pam Grier and Fred Williamson. Both were gorgeous looking people. Pam wore her hair in a huge afro, sexy halters, long earrings. Fred was sex incarnate. Handsome, impish, virile and very charming. HIs "Godfather of Harlem" is a must-see. "The Mack" is still a fascinating pick. "Shaft" is still very watchable. I've got most of these on DVD. Fred was also dynamite as "Hammer" where he plays a boxer. He was definitely the bronze Adonis of the 70s and stil looks great today.

I second Alix's nomination of Fatty Arbuckle. He must have had something going for him to be named as the Number one Box Office King for several years before la scandal. Also, how about Mable Norman's comedies? She was also a top favorite for many years. And instead of the steady showing of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, why not pop in a John Bunny short from the l900s and Harry Langdon? At one time, John Bunny was named the most famous man on earth--even more recognizable than the king of england and the US president. Give us a chance to see what made these long-gone legends so incredibly popular.

Nick, you hit the nail on the head about that sweaty, ****-up fat guy in "Baby Face." And how that guy could leer! Babs STanwyck one-word reply is a classic. "Plenty!" I would love to have seen them prepare this scene and how they were coached into spitting out those classic one-liners. And oh, boy, I'm dying to tape the Tallulah Bankhead gem. I interviewed her for a gay magazine way back when and this woman was something else! She drank straight vodka and smoked through two packs of cigarettes in four hours. Most of the stuff I wasn't able to print--even in a gay mag. It was all juicy dish on people she had known--especially the divine Bette Davis. Miriam Hopkins came off even worse.

From everything I've read about the making of "Guys and Dolls", it was one hell of an ego trip for the male stars. Frank Sinatra loathed passionately Marlon Brando and called him "Mumbles." He aped his mannerisms and when Brando demanded retakes, Sinatra blew up and walked off the set several times a day. Sinatra became famous for never ever doing a second take for anything. Talk about giant egos, old blue eyes had one. Brando called Sinatra the "Human Noodle" or "Noodles" because he was so skinny. When Sinatra had to film a scene, brando got behind the camera and belched and made faces. He was also into his "mooning" phase and mooned everyone sooner or later. The women and the gay guys didn't mind this at all since Brando was at his peak of beauty. Brando also flirted heavily with Jean Simmons who managed to keep peace between the two hams. Brando initially began the movie in high spirits. He wanted to prove he could do anything. He later said "old blue eyes Noodle Man" killed his interest in ever becoming a musical star.

Yep, those daring but oh, so classy frocks for Claudette in "Torch Singer" fitted the main character perfectly. I just wonder if Claudette really sang or was that her real voice? I think it was since she sang in several of those early efforts. Have any of you noticed how differently Travis Banton designed his creations over Orry-Kelly at Warner Brothers? Orry wanted a gaudy, flamboyant look for his gals. You certainly saw that in Barbara STanwycy's "BabyFace" after she's gotten some money. There's one part of the flick where she has huge collars and cuffs and buttons and her hair's all marcelled. Also, in those "Gold Digger of___" movies, he seems to have caught the fleshy, naughty, gaudy flavor in his wild costumes for Ginger, Aline McMahon and all the others.

I was always glad when Gladys Cooper, who played Charlotte Vale's vicious old mother in "Now, Voyager" had her fatal heart attack. Bette Davis was much too kind to her. Instead of going into depression,I think I would have celebrated.

In 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,' there's a whole big sequence about building a house. As noted below, "The Fountainhead," is the ultimate 'construction' movie. Also, I believe that Buster Keaton had a famous scene where he's built a house and one wall falls down on top of him, but he escapes unscathed because it was the empty "window" portion that fell over him.

In the flapper movies I've seen, the dresses and gowns worn by the women are beyond fabulous. That beaded, sequined gown worn by Anita Page in the big party scene at the end of "Broadway melody" is an absolute stunner. Remember, she wore that one with a stunning white ermine cape. Also, in another flaper movie, "Bare Knees," Virginia Lee Corby wears unforgettable flapper fashions. Light, chiffon gowns way above the knees, with trains behind them. In "Diary of a Lost Girl," Louise Brooks wore silk frocks and hats that really made the character. In "Our Dancing Daughters", Joan Crawford and Anita Page also wore adorable hats and flapper gowns.

From what I've read, in the l900s, heavy men and women were in style. This extra weight meant they were supposedly "wealthy" and had money to buy food. Theda Bara looked fleshy and plump in l915's "A Fool There Was" as were the other femme cast members.The men were big and fleshy. When Mary Pickford became a sensation, there were countless clones, in particular, Mary Miles Minter. So an army of child-like women, with enormous manes of curls, and tiny little features became the vogue. I wonder what these old pioneers would think of today's stick-like women who often resemble robots. Liz Taylor was the last of the full-bosomed, full-bodied screen divas.

I've mentioned over and over again that I think Gloria Swanson's memoirs, "Swanson on Swanson," has to be among the best autobiography ever written by a genuine movie legend. This book is big, packed witht thousands of details, from the clothes she wore in a l918 movie to the perfumes she wore. She was fabulous in "Queen Kelly." I checked the Kino video from our library and what was salvaged is a knock-out. Marvelous photography, lighting, ambiance and of course, Gloria at her apex. When I went to her auction here in NYC several years ago, everyone was absolutely floored by the thousands of personal items she preserved. Hobble skirts from the l900s, flapper gowns from the 20s, perfume vials, leopard turbans, capes, shoes, walking sticks. By the way, another Silent Movie must-see is the l920 Louise Glaum extravaganza, "Sex." There's no sex in this Thomas Ince work but marvelous costumes, camera work and the fascinating Louise Glaum--suppossedly Theda Bara's hot competition back in those good old days.

Swingsoul, I also mentioned in another folder, "Precodes" that I was struck by the meaty roles the black women played in at least both "Torch Singer" and "Babyface." They didn't just hang around and act as maids. They were treated as close confidantes of Claudette Colbert and Barbara Stanwyck. One memorable scene in "Torch Singer" is when Colbert visits one of her radio listeners, "Kathy", who Colbert hopes is her lost daughter. The little girl turns out to be black and she's treated very warmly and humanely. In fact, she asks: "Is your Kathy a little black girl like me." You can tell this was decades before Political Correctness would have deleted this scene. Colbert acts completely natural and warm as the mother. "Torch Singer" was, indeed, a real eye-opener. There must be hundreds more of these pre-code beauties, gathering dust in the vaults of film archives.

i'll never get over the incredible beauty of robert stack as Deanna Durbin's love interest in "Nice Girl?" That dazzling smile, those chiseled good looks, his sweetness. poor deanna must be about the only one left of her generation who appeared before a universal studio camera. anne gwyne, one of Universal's most over-worked B-gals died just a month ago.

If you watch any of the l900-1923 movies, women really looked big! In the beginning, they wore soooooo much camaflogue. huge picture hats, bustles, corsets, long dresses. then, when the "flappers" came on the scene, they began to shrink in appearance because their attire was lighter and boyish. they also strapped down their bosom to look "boyish." and again, looking slender and mannish was all the rage, hence the rigid diets. it's rare you saw a heavy flapper. also, i still think movie moguls wanted a certain femme type: slender, feminine, almost skinny.

Shelly Winters could also play a first-class b****. As i've mentioned in another folder, it would be hard to top this gal as bleached-blonde B-girl in "A Patch of Blue." When she slapped the blinde Selena, you really felt it. Also, Ida Lupino was a fabulous meanie as Lana Carlson in the l940 "They Drive By Night." Somehow, she made her mean side sympathetic because she just happened to be a psycho **** who had the hots for George Raft (why? this guy was such a cold clod)and she finally goes nuts on the witness stand. She has this one great line, among many, that I've never forgotten. When the attorney asks her about herself, she says in a dazed, numb way: "I brought some clothes--they were pretty. And then he (her murdered husband) used to tell these stupid jokes. And he laughed at them. He was always laughing."

I know that this nugget of info has nothing to do with the exact topic of "There'll always be an England..." but at the end of the Deanna Durbin classic, "Nice Girl?", she filmed an alternate ending for her rabid British fans back in l941. This ending showed her singing straight-on into the camera, "There're always be and England..." Universal had just filmed her final scene where she gave a rousing rendition of "Thank You America!" that she sang before a military crowd. You want to stand up and shout, God Bless America. In the video I have, this final scene fades beautifully into her English tribute. I've read where this beautiful touch by Universal and by its fabulous song bird had British audiences cheering and weeping everytime it was shown. In fact, "Nice Girl?" and Durbin's second greatest classic, "His Butler's Sister" have been cited as two of the most requested movies to play on British TV--even today!

You asked a good question. I think there was definitely a different type of movie woman up until the seventies. Movie moguls in the 20s and 30s liked petite women, girlish, delicate/refined, and if they were under contract, they were kept to a strict diet. If you think about all the superstar movie queens, bette, joan, mae, bow, etc. all of them were almost midgets. I've seen their movie costumes here in NYC and it looks like these creations were designed for junior high girls! Vivien Leigh's costumes in GWTW were so little that some people asked the curator of the Metropolitan Museum if the gowns had shrunk. He said nope. That was her actual size. Also, women back then had different diets and nutritional habits. They dieted madly for the cameras. Also, super legends like Mary Pickford, Swanson, Bow and Colbert were so little that every studio wanted clones just like them.