ChiO

We love the Divine Devine! But (are you sitting down for this?) my favorite *Devine* performance is not in a Mr. *Feeney* film. Can you guess the movie? It has no Cat People, but there are many Cool Cats from Out of the Past in addition to Andy Devine, such as Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Ward Bond(!), Lloyd Bridges and that great Hoosier songwriter-singer-actor Hoagy Carmichael.

So you actually believe I'm gonna like To Have and Have Not the least, eh? What's your basis? I'm very curious to hear. Ah-oh. My basis is v-e-ry similar to MissG's regarding HIGH SIERRA. *TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT* is the least "dark" of the four. We know you're a lover of the snappy repartee, but words fade -- dark is forever. *IN A LONELY PLACE* is the obvious choice for your No. 1 -- two words, "Gloria" and "Grahame". Two more? "Nicholas" and "Ray" (even though those four words didn't get along so well). I hope you haven't set your expectations too high for it. *DARK PASSAGE* is the one I anxiously await your reaction to. That's the one I went out on a limb in predicting that high, so don't cut it off. HIGH SIERRA? Well, there was only one position left.

Rats! That was when I was planning to watch a copy of *THE CRIMSON KIMONO* that a friend made for me. So, this STAGECOACH: Who directed it, and who's in it?

Hey, you two -- no unauthorized lobbying efforts. :-) I'm thinking I'll vote for a John Ford movie in the final round.

Frank-I -Wish-the-Grimes-Was-Wrimes-So-I'd-Be-F.W. -- I have seen seven Murnau films: 1. Nosferatu 2. Faust 3. Sunrise 4. Tabu 5. The Last Laugh 6. Phantom 7. Tartuffe Please -- oh, please, Dear Creator -- don't let that be a Frank Grimes-list-in-order-of-my-preference list. Young Grasshammer, you must know that when it comes to Murnau, *SUNRISE* is first and *THE LAST LAUGH* is second; thereafter, the order does not matter.

I'm embarassed to say that *Lillian Harvey* is not an actress with whom I am familiar. Having perused the postcards, however, I am now prepared to say that I believe "I am in love." Message was edited by: ChiO

MissG -- Would you enjoy THE STEEL HELMET? That's tough. I really don't know. Should you enjoy THE STEEL HELMET? Absolutely (with an obligatory kick in the gut)! I saw it on DVD, then I saw it in a theatre. I really liked it on DVD. I LOVED IT IN THE THEATRE!!!!! (See how I take on Sam's style?) *THE STEEL HELMET* and *FIXED BAYONETS!* are two top-of-the-line war movies. There's no blood-and-guts overtly on the screen, but there is more emotion, life and reality in those nearly two-dimensional sets and backlots than in a dozen movies by most directors. A friend of mine compared *Fuller* with Douglas Sirk, which initially struck me as odd. His point was that most people are very uncomfortable with the display of raw emotion -- especially males watching emotion from males -- on the screen. *Fuller* and *Sirk* based their life's work on the display of emotion by males. And *Gene Evans* (in print, "If you die, I'll kill you" reads as a cliche; on film...oh, my!) approaches the pinnacle of acting in THE STEEL HELMET. Go. Or, GO! If you don't like it, I'll watch...THE QUIET MAN...again. I promise.

There's also Dennis Hopper's "Frank Booth" in "Blue Velvet". That's as close to pure evil as it gets. He certainly is evil, but my vote for "pure evil" (a slightly different category than "rotten to the core") goes to *John Huston* as "Noah Cross" in CHINATOWN

MissG -- You left my two favorite Cary movies off your list: my two favorite screwball comedies, *HIS GIRL FRIDAY* and *BRINGING UP BABY* (though *NOTORIOUS* and *NORTH BY NORTHWEST* aren't far behind -- as *Cary* movies, not as screwball comedies).

Frank-Under-the-Mini-Van-Grimes -- Predictions! Okay, here's a bigger test for you: rank those films in order of which you think I'll like them. Surprisingly, MissG and I are not in 100% agreement on this. My prediction: 5. *TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT* 4. *HIGH SIERRA* 3. *DARK PASSAGE* 2. *IN A LONELY PLACE* 1. *GONE WITH THE WIND* --"Frank(Grimes)ly Lauren, I don't (twitches head & shoulder, curls lip) give a (blows cigarette smoke into her face) hill of beans (walks into the night fog)." Message was edited by: ChiO

OK, be honest -- how many times did you vote? :-)

Another half-hearted Nay. His performances are generally too over-the-top and manic for my taste. Admittedly, that worked for his characters, and me, in JAWS (though I prefer the performances of Shaw and Scheider) and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. And, although I haven't seen TIN MEN since 1987, I recall his performance as being OK. Did not like his performances in AMERICAN GRAFFITI (weakest performance in an otherwise wonderful movie), THE GOODBYE GIRL, DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS, ALWAYS and WHAT ABOUT BOB?. What can one say about his appearances in THE GRADUATE and STAND BY ME? I haven't seen THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ, but have felt that I should. Someday.

At the risk of repeating (but it's so good) a story that may have been related earlier in this thread about RACHEL AND THE STRANGER: A devout Catholic, Young frowned on unseemly behavior of all kinds and particularly disapproved the use of bad language in the workplace. It was generally understood that there was to be no swearing by anyone within miles of Loretta's delicate ears, a tall order considering that in the movie business even the child actors cursed like sailors. To enforce this edict, Loretta instituted her infamous "curse box," requiring an immediate donation (to be forwarded to one of her Catholic charities) by anyone on the set uttering a forbidden epithet. ...An assistant explained to Bob how the curse box worked, with its sliding scale of penalties. "It's fifty cents for 'h*ll,' a dollar for 'd*mn,' a dollar-fifty for 'sh*t' --" "What I want to know is," said Mitchum, in a voice that could be heard throughout Oregon, "what does Miss Young charge for a 'f*ck'?" From Lee Server's Robert Mitchum: Baby, I Don't Care

MissG -- You are ever so amusing. Touche (that's Francais for "you got me now, but I will relentlessly track you down"). Message was edited by: ChiO

MissG -- Excellent choice with THE THIRD MAN. Did you know that the big guy in the pictures also directed movies and often appeared in them? And that often (some would say always) both the movie and the acting would be good? Not every director is able to do that, if you know who I mean. :-) Have you posted anything from TOUCH OF EVIL or THE STRANGER? I'm losing track. Frank-Someday-I'll-See-All-the-Movies-I-Need-to-See-Grimes -- No *DEAD END* or *ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES* or *THE ROARING TWENTIES* (!!!) or THE CAINE MUTINY? Just what exactly are you doing with your life? Message was edited by: ChiO

Kyle's list clearly points toward the need to have as the TCM Convention's climax: THE BOARD (Bored?) AWARDS. Kyle's provided a nice start to the categories. A major decision is whether the Awards would go to persons selected by the riff-raff at-large (quasi-People's Choice) or by a Distinguished Panel of Posters (the DPP).

*Also I really like disturbing movies like Freaks* Speaking of FREAKS, one of my favorite *Tod Browning* movies is THE UNKNOWN, a disturbing silent film with a typically amazing performance by Lon Chaney. A young, very beautiful *Joan Crawford* plays the tease. *I'v really gotten into the movies with tough-guy acting recently* Based on your mention of *Rebel Without a Cause* and The Wild One, you may enjoy movies from the mid-'40s through the '50s with Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum or Richard Widmark. Hard to go wrong with them as actors, and it exposes you to some of the best films noir and Westerns.

From the first time I saw it in the early- to mid-'60s to now, Citizen Kane. It only gets better each time I watch it.

*Raymond Burr* in *RAW DEAL* *Lee Marvin* in, oh, let's see, *THE BIG HEAT* and *VIOLENT SATURDAY* and *SEVEN MEN FROM NOW* and....

Intriguing topic, but maybe we should have some definitions or guidelines so that everyone is, if not in the same area code, at least the same time zone. What constitutes "modern"? What constitutes "independent"? For example, is Fox Searchlight (e.g., JUNO) an "independent" even though it is a specialty company of 20th Century Fox? Did you intend to state, as is strongly implied, that every "modern" (however defined) "independent" (however defined) movie is good? As well as the other side; i.e. that every Hollywood film is terrible. Similar questions are raised by "foreign". E.g., non-English language; every such film? And, of course, there is the question of what the intended definition of "sucks" (as in "Hollywood sucks") might be. The difference between a JUNO and SHADOWS, as examples, is arguably light-years. Are both "modern" for purposes of your statement(s)? Are both "independent" for purposes of your statement(s)?

Welcome, Good Neighbor Sam -- The earlier suggestions are excellent. Anthony Mann film noir and Westerns, Sam Fuller war and Westerns, and anything by Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, and Howard Hawks is worthwhile. The Val Lewton horror movies and films noir mentioned by Mr. Grimes are excellent choices, as can be expected. However... Also old or new artsy films are nice. I am shocked...shocked, I say, that Mr. Grimes did not mention METROPOLIS, M, or SUNRISE. I would add Von Stroheim's FOOLISH WIVES, GREED and QUEEN KELLY; and, in the "new artsy" category, I suggest trying some Robert Bresson films (A MAN ESCAPED is probably the best starting point), Jean-Pierre Melville's LE SAMOURAI, and anything by John Cassavetes. Films by Carl Th. Dreyer fit into both the "old" and "new artsy" categories. Did anyone mention Jean Renoir or Kurosawa? Aren't you glad you asked? Message was edited by: ChiO

*The Passion of Joan of Arc* heads the list, but also: *M* *The Last Laugh* *The Grand Illusion* *A Man Escaped* *The Earrings of Madame de...* *Le Samourai* *Damnation* *Bicycle Thieves* *La belle et la bete* *Wages of Fear* *Ikiru* *Tokyo Story* *Sansho the Bailiff* *Aguirre, the Wrath of God* *Wings of Desire* *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* *Open City* *Battleship Potemkin* and on and on and....

I purchased a copy a few years ago at http://5mtl.com/.

*Le Trou* *A Man Escaped* *Riot in Cell Block 11* *Escape from Alcatraz* *White Heat*

For those who enjoy reading serious film criticism, February 27 will be a sad day, especially here in Chicago. Jonathan Rosenbaum turns 65 and is retiring from the Chicago Reader. I hope that this means he'll have time to moderate more screenings and write more articles and books. An interview with JR. Put on something to protect you from the acid before reading. http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/over-out/26424/critical-care