flickerknickers
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Posts posted by flickerknickers
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you are soooooo right, alix! the old board was so much fun. The way it was set up just seemed to make it irrisistible not to jump in and gossip. I hate this new board. it's so akward and tedious and sometimes i can't in for a day or two. i want the good ole days back!
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punkkitten, I, too, absolutely love "My Best Friend" with Mary Pickford and her future husband, Buddy Rogers. He simply knocked me out the first time I saw him in this sparkling gem. To me he symbolized that clean-cut All-American young guy from the Jazz Age. I wish he had gone further in movies. You might really enjoy Clara Bow's movies, especially "The Wild Party", which is among her first talkies. Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino were both love gods of the Silents. I've seen several of them at revival houses here in NYC, along with big symphony orchestras and these glamorous stars of old simply thrilled everyone at these revival showings. On the big screen, you can really understand how they became our first 'Love Gods' because their millions of fans literally worshipped them, as if they were real deities.
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There's already a folder called "Scandals and Tragedies" or something that has lots of juicy input on all of Hollywood's old scandals. There's another related folder called "Fallen Stars," that also mentions these scandals of old. There's many, many messages contained in these folders from over the past two years from us die-hard silent loving, pre-code addicts.
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"Young Romance", starring Edith Taliaferro, is the added feature on a terrific DVD restoration of Raoul Walsh's masterpiece, the l914 "Regeneration." Edith and company are delightful. "Regeneration" starring the incredible Rockliffe Fellowes and the stunning Anna Q. Nilsson, is a must-have. I got my DVD version through either Buy.com or Amazon. Rockliffe looks incredibly modern--a real, brooding hunk, of the Montgomery Clift school. Edith Storey was in the Thomas Edison compilation of First Ladies of the Screen. I adore her in "A Florida Enchantment." I'd love to see Marie Doro, too! I've seen many black and white pics of her but never a film. I watched "Affairs of Anatol" (1921), made by Cecil B. DeMille and was knocked out by Wanda Hawley! She stole the movie from gorgeous Gloria Swanson and Wallace Reid. No one has even heard of her today. What a tragedy! I want to find more Fannie Ward's works. Her "The Cheat" (1915) is one of my all-time fave movies.
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Buster Crabbe as Tarzan is a sight never to be forgotten. Wooo, those blonde curls, that glorious bod and his natural charm. Clara Bow in "Parisian Love" is another stunning vision who takes your breath away. Garbo in "Mata Hari" and as "Queen Christina" are also images that have burned themselves into my feverish little mind. There's one more: Don 'Red' Barry in 'Adventures of Red Ryder,' a Republic serial in l2 chapters, takes my breath away. Even though this serial was made in l940, that handsome Barry blazes across the screen, his two six shooters killing all the bad guys.
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Fans of Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Fatty Arbuckle, etc. rejoice! Kino International has released a whole bunch of beautifully restored DVD's, starring some of our silent faves. One must-have double-feature is Clara Bow in both her very first movie, l922's "Down to the Sea in Ships" and the very rare "Parisian Love," l925. Bow is an absolute joy in both. As Dot, in "Down to..." she's a tomboy who stows away on a ship. But her magical image is already there. Also fascinating about this movie is the on-location shooting in New Bedford, Maine and the recreation of whale hunting. "Parisian Love," made just three years later was long considered lost until a print was found five years ago. Bow is fabulous in this one. She looks gorgeous, her charisma and charm are red-hot and the movie is total fun. Bow looks amazingly mod, with her page-boy hair-do, her make-up. Gloria Swanson can be seen in yet another beautifully restored classic, the l921 "Affairs of Anatol." The restored hand-tinting, stencils, is a knock-out. Wallace Reid, the 'Adonis' of the Roaring Twenties, is her co-star but the gal who really steals the show is the forgotten flapper, Wanda Hawley. She's cute, charming, natural but today nobody knows her. She reportedly ended up a call-girl in San Francisco. Kino also has a whole series of Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand comedies on DVD. Go to their website: www.kinointernational.com and rejoice.
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I've also stopped even checking to see what AMC is playing these days but I was intrigued when they showed and showed and showed "Rose Mary's Baby"--as if it were one of the biggest movie telecasts of the year. Well, I've watched this one many a time on my video tape, I've seen it in revival houses here in NYC and I wanted to see if AMC would censor it. They DID! I noticed several cuts here and there but the one that really made me scream out loud was when the end comes and Rose Mary goes to the rocking cradle to see what the devil of a baby is in there. In the original movie, a brief close-up of a demon's face with yellow eyes and snake-like pupils and devil features are shown on the screen. In this dismal telecast, those images were completely deleted. I assume the AMC executives decided that those l978 images were simply too horrific for today's tragically ultra-sensitive viewers. As if they've never seen true horror in MTV's Jackass episodes.
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Yes, yes, we demand that 20th Century Fox release all of Betty Grable's great Technicolor delites on DVD! My first picks would definitely be "Moon Over Miami" and "The Dolly Sisters." I have worn my video tapes of these two goodies out. But Betty made such a great stream of incredibly beautiful Technicolored marvels: "Coney Island," "Pin-up Girl," "Springtime in the Rockies"--and all those fantastic costumes! Carmen Miranda was a perfect parter for la Grable.
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"Citizen Kane" is a great movie but that an even greater one predates it by nearly ten years. This is Universal's l934 masterpiece, "The Black Cat." Cameraman John Mescall does a magnificent job lighting and photograhing all the bizarre proceedings in the Art Deco castle of Boris Karloff. Director Edgar G. Ulmer also uses his camera like a real person--it glides and peeks and captures everything in magnificent black and white. One curious factoid: before Orson Welles died, he told one of his votaries that there was one silent film that he watched repeatedly before shooting Citizen Kane. The silent movie? Louise Glaum's fabulous "Sex", made in l920 and featuring stunning photography by Charles Stumar with knockout sets, costumes, lighting and an amazing use of shadows and lights. Louise, by the way, is a knockout. I brought my copy through Grapevine Video and watch it regularly.
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"Bride of Frankenstein" is a real delight but I love "The Black Cat" (1934) even better in some ways. All that great art deco in that huge mausoleum of a castle where Lugosi lives. I believe the decor and furnishings is known as "Bauhaus," a German name given sharp, gleaming lines, glistening floors and walls and minimalist furnishings. Another great goodie is the l942 classic, "Night Monster," starring some Hollywood's greatest B actors. The musical score is great, too. It's a combination of the original Paul Sawtell, H.J. Salter and Charles Previn score for "The Wolf Man" and Frank Skinner's score from "Son of Frankenstein." You'd love it!
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Harold, I would do anything to get my hands on anything with the fantastic Edith Storey in it. I've also got compilation of famous early movie actresses with Storey in "Atalanta." And there's another short I've seen of her playing an Egyptian princess. I was totally enchanted with her in "A Florida Enchantment." She was natural, adorable, charismatic. No wonder she was Mary Pickford's biggest competitor back in those early silents!
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I loved Pert in "Bed of Roses" but I've read where in real life, her personal life was anything but. Although she was a successful vaudeville star and made lots of Pre-Code flickers, she was blackballed in late 40s and early 50s by the McCarthy Hearings. Director/ Snitch Elia Kazan gave her name as being one of Hollywood's most active communists--which was later proven to be absolute and total bull. She lost numerous roles and opportunities to continue on in movies and on stage, the same fate suffered by Gale Sondergarrd, Larry Parks, etc. Pert managed to squeeze in a comeback of sorts in the 60s with "Music Man" but she died Oct. 30, 1968. "Bed of Roses"? Not for the adorable Pert!
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I've got a l932 "Motion Picture" mag that shows this sexy, sultry spread of Pert Kelton as the "up and coming challenger to Jean Harlow." She does look like a hot little dish, with wet looking lips and half-closed eyes and provovative clothes. What a chance of pace--going from a prostitute in "Bed of Roses" in l932/33to American Grandma in "The Music Man" l962.
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Nick, Lee Tracy can be seen in color and at his peak in Warner Brother's terrific fright-fest, "Doctor X," l933, starring the gorgous Fay Wray at her screaming peak. The movie is filmed in beautiful two-strip Technicolor and gives the fright scenes a dream-like fantasy quality. In one early scene, he goes into a brothel to make a telephone call. Hard-talking Mae Busch--what a shock--swivels through the room in an open robe, her hair bleached white, and she deadpans: "Hey, didn't I know you in Havana?" This must have been a familiar code word to audiences back then and probably got lots of yuks from the knowing public since Havana at that time was famed for its bordellos. Lee does his famous double-take and nasal laugh. I've got to admit, though. He became a little tiresome as the forever wise-cracking reporter in this one.
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Zeker, "Lady in a Cage" is a terrific movie that gets better with each passing year. AT the time, it was ignored because it was released during a deluge of "Old Actresses Playing Horror Roles" flicks like Joan Crawford in "Trog" and Talullah Bankhead in "Die, Die My Darling." I think the ambiance of this movie is unforgettable: the sterile, stuffy house, that dripping air-conditioner, the crowded streets. Olivia De Havilland was great as the paralyzed victim. And that last scene of James Caan getting it in the eyes--whew! A real black and white masterpiece!
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Thelma Todd, that magical 'ice cream blonde,' was fabulous in everything she was in. She could do comedy like no one else back then. The Marx Brothers adored her because she would do anything for a laugh. In some of their scenes, those huge eyes of her's were so very expressive--perfect for dramatic roles. Not only that, she was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood who truly deserved the title, "Beautiful." Her strange murder is still fascinating. In an excellent biography, "Hot Toddy", one theory is that she was strangled and left behind the wheel of her huge touring car. The underground wanted a cut of her large profits from her successful Thelma Todd's Roadside Inn. She had just signed a new contract with Warner Brothers to do "Grade A Roles"--meaning, she was being groomed to weave in serious roles along with her comedic ones. What a loss and what an electrifying talent!
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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"?
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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."
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Vickler, you might really enjoy getting started with those daring, racy, bawdy pre-code treasures from the l930s--before the censorship board took control of Hollywood. "Baby Face" with Barbara Stanwyck, l932, can still leave you gasping with its blunt story of a prostitute on the rise. "Tarzan and his Mate, (1932) is another sexy, no-holds-barred treasure, beautifully photographed, that shows lots of early 30s male and female flesh and a great story line. There's also the must-have classics from that fantastic year l939: Dark Victory, Son of frankenstein, Gone With the Wind, Intermezzo, etc. And way before all of this happened,you've got great entertainment from the Roaring twenties and before--like "Our Dancing Daughters,"(1928) "The Cheat" (1915), "West Point" (1928) and "A Fool There Was," (1914).
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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."
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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.
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The new biography of Rudolph Valentino, Dark Lover, by Emily Leider, is a must have for any addict of the silent movie days. The author spent years of research and it shows. There's all kind of goodies that have never been revealed. He really was America's first pin-up boy and eagerly appeared in nothing but tights for many photo shoots when Hollywood was still ambilavent about showing the male body. Now, I've got to go out and find all of Rudy's movies on DVD that I can. Another fun read is "The Women of Warner Brothers," by Daniel Bubbeo. The jacket features a beautiful Glenda Farrell, one of Warner's workhorses. Everybody from Kay Francis, Priscilla Lane to Andrea King are featured. Fun and juicy.