Film_Fatale
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Posts posted by Film_Fatale
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Zidaric, Ranko
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Randall, Ted - Van Johnson in *A Guy Named Joe*
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CK,
I've got a feeling there is at least one person who doesn't appreciate this thread.
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*HAPPY BIRTHDAY...*
*JOHN FORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
(Feb. 1, 1894 - Aug. 31, 1973)
*CLARK GABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
(Feb. 1, 1901 - Nov. 16, 1960)
*GEORGE PAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
(Feb. 1, 1908 - May 2, 1980)
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The blu-ray of *Butch Cassidy* got pretty bad reviews when it came out. One can only hope it will be remastered at some point.
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Hayley Mills
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> {quote:title=RichfromCarbondale wrote:}{quote}
> Whoops! I guess most of the films on my list weren't made during the last 25 years. I should have read the thread title more carefully! No wonder they weren't mentioned. Sorry!
>
> Message was edited by: RichfromCarbondale
That's OK, Rich, and welcome to the boards.
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Fay Bainter
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Looked for *Cat Ballou* thread but couldn't find any - this is going to be the 1st western shown in this year's "31 Days of Oscar" - on Monday, Feb. 2 at 2pm ET:
*Cat Ballou* (1965)
A prim schoolteacher turns outlaw queen when the railroad steals her land.
Cast: Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman Dir: Elliot Silverstein C-96 mins, TV-PG
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Dolores Gray
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*Turner Classic Movies pick for Feb. 1, 2009: Bye Bye Birdie*
by Doug Krentzlin, DC Classic Media and Performing Arts Examiner
_?Bye Bye Birdie,? TCM, Sun., Feb. 1, 2009, 10 a.m. (EST)_
When Columbia Pictures first released the film version of the hit musical comedy ?Bye Bye Birdie? in 1963, it was widely disparaged by critics and theater purists because director George Sidney and screenwriter Irving Brecher made several major changes to the material.
In other words, they actually created a genuinely cinematic rendition of the story, instead of just an unimaginative duplication of the stage original. Nowadays, it looks like the filmmakers have had the last laugh because ?Bye Bye Birdie? has stood the test of time better than most of the film versions of stage musicals that were made in the 1960s. (And it?s certainly far more entertaining than the bland 1995 made-for-television remake even though it was more faithful to the stage version.)
Comedian Dick Van Dyke gave his best film performance repeating his Broadway role as songwriter Albert Peterson who dreams of making it big so he get away from his nagging mother Marna Mae (Maureen Stapleton) and finally marry his long-suffering fianc?e Rose (Janet Leigh). Just when it seems he?s finally getting a break by selling one of his songs to rock superstar Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson doing a caricature of Elvis Presley), it?s announced that Birdie is being drafted into the Army.
Rose saves the day by coming up a surefire publicity stunt in which a typical, average American teenage girl will be selected to receive a goodbye kiss on national television from Birdie on ?The Ed Sullivan Show? after which he will sing a song written especially for the occasion by Albert. The lucky girl turns out to be Kim McAfee (Ann-Margaret in her first starring role) and soon chaos erupts in Sweet Apple, Ohio as Birdie, his band and entourage and the television crews descend on the small town.
Sidney, who spend several years working for producer Arthur Freed at MGM, did an excellent job of staging the songs by Charles Strouse (music) and Lee Adams (lyrics), with ?Put On a Happy Face? and ?A Lot of Living to Do? being particular stand-outs. Paul Lynde (also from the original Broadway cast) as Kim's father Harry is prominently featured in two of the funniest songs, ?Kids? and ?Hymn to a Sunday Evening,? an ode to Ed Sullivan, who played himself in the film.
Sidney was so impressed by Ann-Margaret?s talents that, after the principal photography was completed, he asked the composers to write a title song for her to be sung before the credits, a sequence he filmed at his own expense. (I can personally attest that her rendition of the song stirred the loins of many an adolescent boy at the time.)
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KonaRose,
Hope you'll enjoy TCM's showing of *Love is a Many-Splendored Thing* - and that you'll like it here in the forums.
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Well, chip, it may not be one of the "best" football movies ever, but I do think there's no other football-related movie I'd rather watch on Superbowl Day.
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> {quote:title=fuzzgirl wrote:}{quote}
> Who's the next host? For next season.
>
Alec Baldwin
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> {quote:title=PrinceSaliano wrote:}{quote}
> One bright spot is THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER.
It's a great movie - I watched it on DVD recently. One of Walter Huston's best performances ever!
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Which version of *A Star is Born*, gingerswingtime?
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Burl Ives
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Peterson, Mama Mae - Maureen Stapleton in *Bye Bye Birdie*
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Ninotchka - Greta Garbo in *Ninotchka*
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*Turner Classic Movies tip for Feb. 1, 2009: It's Always Fair Weather*
by Doug Krentzlin, DC Classic Media and Performing Arts Examiner
_"It's Always Fair Weather," TCM, Sun., Feb. 1, 2009 6 p.m. (EST)_
Even though it opened to generally good reviews in 1955 and the witty screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green was nominated for an Oscar, this last directorial collaboration between Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen was such a mega-flop at the box office that it not only had major repercussions on the careers of everyone involved, but also turned out to be the beginning of the end of the Hollywood musical itself. In the future, the studios would only bankroll musicals that were proven successes (i.e., film versions of Broadway hits). Amazingly, even though Pauline Kael championed it in her book "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or How I Lost It At The Movies," "It?s Always Fair Weather" has yet to receive the recognition it deserves.
The consensus at the time was that the plot and dialogue were too cynical for a musical comedy. Originally envisioned as a sequel to "On the Town," the story concerns three soldier buddies who, at the end of World War II, declare eternal friendship. Before they go their separate ways, they plan a ten-year reunion at their favorite New York bar. In the decade that follows, disillusioned Ted (Gene Kelly) forgoes law school to become a small-time gambler, Doug (Dan Dailey) gives up his dreams of painting in Europe in favor of a lucrative career as a television advertising executive, and Angie (Michael Kidd) settles down with a family, opens a diner, and becomes a petty middle-class bore. When the three finally reunite, they discover, to their disgust, that they absolutely cannot stand each other. If this sounds too depressing, rest assured, the trio get their lives back on track and all ends well. It was, for all its envelope pushing, an MGM musical.
The script's satire is razor sharp, especially the barbs lobbed at the television industry. The songs (lyrics by Comden and Green, music by Andre Previn) are first-rate, with two particular standouts. Dan Dailey?s slapstick ?Advertising-wise? number rivals Donald O?Connor?s ?Make ?Em Laugh? in "Singin? in the Rain" for comic dancing, and Gene Kelly proves that gravity is a myth when he dons a pair of roller skates and tap dances through the streets of New York while singing ?I Like Myself.? Cyd Charisse?s ?Baby, You Knock Me Out? and Dolores Gray?s ?Thanks A Lot But No Thanks? aren?t too shabby, either.
Despite financial failure, "It?s Always Fair Weather," with its theme of youthful idealism giving way to middle-age regrets, was way ahead of its time. It?s an obvious predecessor to Stephen Sondheim?s Broadway show "Follies" (another box office disaster), as well as films like "Return of the Secaucus 7" and "The Big Chill."
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*Turner Classic Movies tip for Feb. 1, 2009: Ace in the Hole*
by Doug Krentzlin, DC Classic Media and Performing Arts Examiner
_?Ace in the Hole,? TCM, Sun., Feb. 1, 2009, 8 p.m.. (EST)_
Director Billy Wilder?s 1951 drama ?Ace in the Hole? was a portrait of the corrosive power of greed at its most shocking that proved to be a major flop at the box office when first released. Now, however, it is considered one of his most stunning achievements.
Kirk Douglas gives perhaps his finest performance as Chuck Tatum, a once successful reporter who is reduced to working for a small town newspaper in Albuquerque. When Tatum learns about a man named Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) trapped in a caved in mine, he decides that this might just be his ticket to the big time.
Using conventional methods, Leo can be rescued within 24 hours. Tatum needs more time to build up the story, so he convinces the corrupt local sheriff to use an alternative method that will take days. As the rescue drags on, crowds gather to gawk ghoulishly at the site of the tragedy.
Jan Sterling, who plays Leo?s faithless wife Lorraine, has the film?s best line (suggested by Wilder?s wife, Audrey). When Tatum suggests that Lorraine should show up at a church for a photo op, she replies, ?I don?t go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.?
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*Knock On Any Door*
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Walker, Helen
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> {quote:title=Bablefish wrote:}{quote}
> The Pink Panther Strikes Back to me is the best one of the series
You mean, of course, *The Pink Panther Strikes Again* right?
*A to Z of Movies*
in Games and Trivia
Posted
*My Sister Eileen*