Arturo

jamesjazzguitar wrote: Can you explain what you mean by 'sued for better roles'? I don't think one can file a lawsuit for that. Olivia DeHavilland filed a sued against WB but that was because WB extended their contract based on the time she was on suspension. Well Joan sued to be released from her contract to Warners. She was upset because her most recent assignments were porgrammers; the more prestigious RHAPSODY IN BLUE and CASANOVA BROWN had been filmed in 1943-44. She also was upset that the studio refused to loan her to do a film at UA (THE CHASE I think). She used what I think of as the "Mary Wells Clause", basically that since she had signed the WB contract as a minor of 15 or 16, it was null and void once she reached adulthood. The court found for her, and Warners retaliated by the aforementioned demotion from star-billing to feature billing in TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE. Too bad Warner Brothers thought she had peaked by the mid 40s; maybe a change of image might have given her career a boost; imagine her as Veda in MILDRED PIERCE? I can. She was good later as the other woman, andrival to Jane Russell, in THE REVLOT OF MAMIE STOVER.

Yes it was great to get Garbo on Silent Sunday Night, and a twofer at that!

Robert Osborne's remarks at the start of MOVE OVER DARLING need clarification. While He stated that this movie is the one that had been started in 1962, as SOMETHING' GOT TO GIVE, starring Marilyn Monroe, and from which 20th fired MM, he didn't add that the studio re-hired her to finish the movie just days before her tragic death. I state this only because there is the widespread belief that Marilyn's career troubles were part of the despondency that supposely led to her suicide, when in actuality, she and Fox had patched things up.

btw, is tomorrow Gregory Peck's B-Day? Not only does TCM have several in the morning, but FMC is showing THE MAN IN THE GREY FLANNEL SUIT.

PlusTHE FUGITIVE KIND, SAYONARA, and JULIUS CAESAR.

I enjoy Day's 50s musicals, her 60s comedies not as much. My favorite films of hers from the 50s include two dramas at WB at the beginning of the decade: YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN and STORM WARNING, although she is not the main focus in either. Her best drama ever, and my favorite Day movie is LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, what a great perrmance of a great role. My next favorite of all is the musical PAJAMA GAME, one of the best adaptations of a 50s Broadway musical IMHO.

Sometimes the HBO/Cinemax channels feature classic movies. I just started a thread on Hot Topics. T96his is what I posted: On HBO Signature: Early tomorrow morning - 3:50 AM (PACIFIC TIME) 6:50 AM (EASTERN) REMEMBER THE DAY (1941) Excellent account of scoolteachers Claudette Colbert and John Payne early in the last century. Early Friday morning - 3:00 AM (PACIFIC) 6:00 AM (EASTERN) DREAMBOAT (1952) Clifton Webb as staid middle aged professor horrified to find his past coming to haunt him, namely his silent pictures when he was a matinee idol-"Dreamboat". Ginger Rogers as his long ago costar adds to the fun. Both are highly recommended. Sorry about the late notice. ometimes the HBO/Cinemax family of channels showcase classic films. I just started a thread on Hot Topics, This is what I posted: Edited by: Arturo on Mar 28, 2012 12:30 AM

I think THE SNAKE PIT would have been too harrowing, not to mention too close for comfort for her, and probably why she wasn't assigned to it. I think that once her troubles began in earnest, she wanted undemanding roles, where the intensity of her histrionics were not at too high a pitch. It was a loss for us, but as I told someone here awhile back, it was for her own mental well-being that she pulled back from her career.

That's the one. I recorded it about a year or so ago, and I'm almost certain it was on FMC. Will check my recording to see if there's a station logo on it.

LOVE NEST is on DVD, since Marilyn Monroe had a supporting role. Can't remember the name of it, but a movie that Jane Withers costarred with Gene Autry and Marjorie Weaver has been on FMC a few times in the last couple of years.

*Gene Tierney didn't have any meaty roles, with lots of dialogue, after NIGHT AND THE CITY?* Actually, her very next role offered her a great part in another classic noir, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS. After that she did musical-comedy (ON THE RIVIERA), romantic comedy (THE MATING SEASON-on loan to Paramount), westerns (THE SECRET OF CONVICT LAKE, WAY OF A GAUCHO-by way of Argentina), mother-love drama (CLOSE TO MY HEART-on loan to WB), costume drama (PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE-at MGM), cold war drama (NEVER LET ME GO-at MGM), British suspense (PERSONAL AFFAIR). I'm doing this from memory, so I may have missed one or two. Some of those roles were meaty. At this point (1953), she had an ill-fated affair with Rita Hayworth's ex-husband, Prince Aly Khan; the ending of this relationship once again left her in an emotionally fragile state. Darryl F. Zanuck once again offered her therapy in the form of undemanding supporting roles (with star billing natch) in the all-star casts of his widescreen endeavors (BLACK WIDOW, THE EGYPTIAN). After leading lady duties in THE LEFT HAND OF GOD, she was off the screen for a number of years, due mostly to the state of her mental health. She was unable to do several roles offered to her in the late 50s, and Zanuck once again got her back on-screen in the early 60s, this time in distinctly supporting parts with "special' billing.

Let's not forget THE EGG AND I, which introduced the Kettles to America, and inspired Universal to create a new moneymaking series.

*I answered my own question about Tierney's minimal presence in the film. According to Wikipedia, Dassin stated Zanuck requested Tierney be assigned to the project as her mental health was no good and he thought work would help her recuperate. (Kind of as I suspected.)* *She was terrific in what little screen time she did have.* I remember a retrospective of Tierney's career, where a blurb was called for each entry (if that), stating something along the lines of, "She went to London to film NIGHT AND THE CITY, and was rewarded with about twelve lines and half a song (dubbed)". She WAS great in what little screen time she had. You missed RO's intro, where he stated that Zanuck requested Dassin to have her written into the script. You also missed an early scene with Tierney and Widmark, and later Tierney and Hugh wassisname (the playwright from ALL ABOUT EVE-junior moment here folks). Probably Gene's longest scenes in the movie. Yes, Gene's incipient mental health problems were beginning to manifest themselves in that she could not memorize too many lines of dialogue; therefore, she requested parts that were not too demanding. Later, in the mid 50s, she had several supporting roles (with star billing), in several of Fox' Cinemascope spectaculars. Zanuck continued offering her roles into the 60s, after institutionalization and suicide attempts.

Afew years ago I saw a little curio on FMC called Slattery's Hurricane a 1949, a possible noir that is rarely discussed among us lovers of that dark genre. It also had Linda Darnell and, in one of her last films, Veronica Lake. Cinemanut, re: SLATTERY'S HURRICANE. This is a somewhat muddled melodrama; I wouldn't call it a noir. My favorite actress Linda Darnell is in it, but I she was not happy being cast in it, nor in filming it. She had just completed A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, and was hoping that Zanuck would cast her in something more challenging than SH. Furthermore, filming in Florida, she was separated by a continent from the man she was madly in love with, Joe Mankiewicz, who directed her in ALTTW. That said, SH is ok, but the script had to scrap Veronica Lake's drug addiction and make her seem mentally sick; it's not too clear what ails her. Darnell is at her most beautiful IMO, but I just don't buy how easily she is swept by Widmark's shady character into resuming their affair, ESPECIALLY since she is now married to John Russell. I just don't get Widmark's appeal to women, although I think he's a terrific actor able to convincingly play these slimebags, since he was reputedly a nice guy in person. PS-Before FMC's recent overhaul, it would sometimes play NIGHT AND THE CITY's two versions back to back. I've seen the newer one, and while it's ok, I don't like the concept of updating and remaking of classics, so I uess I'm not the most impartial viewer. Edited by: Arturo on Mar 25, 2012 9:17 PM

What I find truly amazing is looking at the schedule below and seeing how films play for only three days and they are gone, some less than that. For example, "Private Number," which was the first run for this June 1936 release was only booked for three days, a Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, not even Friday! When you think about the time spent in the studio putting such a film together, if you blinked it was gone. I guess this also shows how many films were being produced in 1936 (almost 600 films, according to Wikipedia). Filmlover, What was going on was that people went to the movies on weekday evenings as a habit; remember, there was no TV then. So with the high turnaround, a movie didn't play, and didn't need to play, on the weekend-people came out to see it after dinner, whatever the day of the week.

Rosebette; Just to clarify . . . I was responding to JonnyGeetar; his was the first paragraph on the post; the second paragraph is my reponse. For some reason my laptop isn't letting me bold or italicize, which is how I'd normally identify what I'm quoting. Sorry, I haven't read the book, but I did think that it had Gene sabotaging Anne's sobriety.

I would definitely say that NOTHING HAPPENS in The Razor's Edge the novel(la)/overlong short story, but things do happen in the movie (although nowhere near enough to validate the 2 hour plus running time.) In fact, that's where the movie tends to go really wrong with the added subplot of Webb and Tierney's characters plotting to destroy Anne Baxter by turning her back into a lush. That does not happen in the book and it does not really click with me in the film- seems like a retread of something Waldo Lydecker and Tierney's character from Leave Her to Heaven would do...In fact, after her massive success in Heaven, Tierney was often given B****-goddess type roles of cold women who do awful things to get the man they want, as if Gene Freakin' Tierney had ANY trouble snagging a man ever Actually, Webb's character has nothing to do wih trying to turn Anne Baxter back into a lush; it's all Tierney. He merely raves about the wine (or whatever it was they were drinking), and that's what gives Gene the idea. Clifton would have been opposed to this scheme had he known, since he despised Power and didn't want him and Tierney to reunite. Edited by: Arturo on Mar 24, 2012 11:17 AM

What an awesome movie with an amazing cast. Probably my all-time favorite noir. Except for the atypical London setting, this could show a novice to the subject what noir is all about, from the sets and cinematography to the femme fatale and the ultimate fate of the (anti)hero.

Why would I want to do this? The original 3-D craze of the 50s lasted approximately a year or so beforeit fizzled. The main reason for this was because of the many tedious storylines and ridiculously contrived visuals flying at you. Why would I wish that BELOVED classics be filmed in this cumbersome process. I wouldn't.

Sounds like 1950's NEVER A DULL MOMENT. Don't know if it's on DVD. Gigi Perreau is the other girl.

*Why do you think so many Mexicans are fleeing Mexico and coming to the US? And there's nobody going the other way. I've never heard of a single one of them fleeing the US and going to live in Mexico.* Actually, I personally know of quite a few, including family members. The US has great opportunity for moving ahead economically, educationally, etc. but some people refuse to put up with the recent wave of nativist xenophobia and the vilification, even criminalization of immigrants. Plus the downturn of the economy here has led record numbers to return to México. Many DON'T want to come, but see it as the only way of getting ahead. They don't want to leave their families, land and communities. If they are able to make a decent living at home, they have no reason to come, and they stay put. If I become independently wealthy, or if not, when I retire, I plan to move to central México, to one of the small to mid-size colonial cities, turn a historic building into a hotel, and spend the rest of my days there. If I am young enough, I'd like to establish other small businesses there, pay decent wages, and thereby encourage more locals to not have to emigrate. So while I'll not be "fleeing' the US, I will go in the direction that you think nobody does.

*I don't know about THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR, but MURIETA does come up on the TCM database under the keyword 'immigrant.' I composed my list that way. I have not seen MURIETA, but whether it was based on a true story or not, it seems in description at least a bit like a reworking of Robin Hood and thus a bit Hollywood-ized. Now I am curious to see this film.* The film may come up under the word 'immigrant", and that is my taking exception to this. Joaquín Murieta was a resident of California in the 1850s, shortly after it (and the Southwest) was taken from México after the war with the US. Don't remember how the story goes exactly, but a band of displaced 49ers raped and killed his wife, and beat him. So he directed his anger by committing acts of robbery against "American" persons and establishments, and giving the loot to other dispossessed Californios. Yes, this is a true story, and it sounds something like the Robin Hood legend. In fact, another movie about Murieta (it may have been fictionalized), starring Warner Baxter, was MGMs ROBIN HOOD OF EL DORADO (1936). My point here is that Murieta, and many other Mexican settlers of California and the Southwest at that time, were not immigrants, but had established roots of up to over two centuries.

So many people in American audiences automatically assume that the Mexican government has always approved of the Catholic church, but that was not true in many Mexican states during the long revolutionary period. This film probably would have been a much more well-known and much more appreciated among classic film buffs today, if it had openly stated and made it clear that it was about the revolutionary anti-church days in Mexico. That information should be told in modern introductions to this film. The Cristiada, or Cristero Revolt (1926-1929), was just one of the worst, and most recent, of a long history of clashes between the Catholic Church in México and anti-clerical governments. Ever since Independence from Spain was consummated in 1821, competing factions for governing the country were usually pro- or anti-Church. The Liberals, as they were then defined, in general were anti-clerical; the Church was seen (rightly) as a reactionary institution (the most powerful and largest landholder), that needed to be removed from being a player in the affairs of the nation. Often, though, it was just greed that motivated the Liberals' attempts to curb the church's wealth, power and influence; they coveted the vast landholdings it owned. Th Conservatives, on the other hand, saw no need to change the status quo. Throughout the first half of the 19th century, the church would grant loans to all governments (and there were many), no matter their political stripe. Early proposals to curb the Church's power were not very readical. As the Church opposed any abridging of its traditional position, the Liberal proposals got more and more drastic. The rise to power of benito Juárez in the mid-1850s led to Las Leyes de la Reforma (The Laws of Reform-1857), codified into the Constitution of 1857, which drastically curtailed the Church's power and activities. This led to the bloody War of the Reform, which resulted in the liberals winning, and Juárez' Reform laws triumphant. After the hard fought victory, their position had hardened and the anti-clerical laws were immediately implemented in 1861. In México City and other urban areas, many churches, convents and monasteries were closed (they had all become property of the government), put to other uses or torn down. The clergy could not be seen in public in their habits (the Convento of Santa Mónica in Puebla, went undergrond and incognito for over 80 years). This led to the Conservatives, which included a strong Monarchist faction, to search for a European royal to be installed on the throne; hence, maximiliano de hapsburgo. With the power of the French military might, this was accomplished in 1862, and lasted until 1867, when they were defeated once and for all. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the country was ruled by a dictator, Porfirio Díaz. he rrelaxed many of the anti-clerical provisions of the Reform Laws. While he brough a semblance of stability and prosperiy, he ruled with an iron hand, and favored foreigners over locals; the disparity in the distribution of wealth was quite glaring. many rural peasant and indigenous communities lost their lands to haciendas and foreign investors. The Mexican Revolution which broke out against Diaz in 1910, and resulted from all of these factors, lasted for nearly ten violent years. over one million people perished, another million fled the country, and only a strongman like Venustiano Carranza was able to overcome the various factions, and restore some order. he promulgated the Constitution of 1917, which among other tihings, reiterated Juarez' anticlerical provisions. It wasn't Calles' presidency in the 1920s, that they were strictly enforced; this led to the Cristero revolt, which last for three years and atrocities on both sides. After it was over there were embers of the movement; there was a flareup at the end of the 1930s, in the guise of the fascistic, Sinarquismo movement. Since then, relations between the Church and state have pretty much normalized. Despite over 90% of the population being at least nominally Catholic, this belies two centuries of often violent struggle between the two institutions.

MURIETA (1965) with Jeffrey Hunter & Arthur Kennedy. Warner Bros. A Mexican peasant (Hunter) takes out his vengeance on the men who beat him and killed his wife by forming a gang of outlaws to rob the countryside. Strictly speaking, MURIETA does not fit into the series, since it is about Joaquín Murieta, a resident of 1850s California. The same goes for THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR, about a long-standing rural community in New Mexico. The immigrants here are the invading "Gringos". Remember, the Southwest had been a part of México, with Mexicans having their settled lives disrupted, and often, their lands stolen by "American" settlers (MURIETA deals with one such true story). You can't assume that Latinos and the topic of immigrants are synonymous in all instances. As some of my friends and relatives say, "We didn't cross the bborder, the border crossed us"

*Yes, RO mentioned that at the end of the film........I missed his beginning intro.......* I didn't see it the other night, but I really enjoy this movie. Another great movie Cagney didn't do for the same reason was I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG. Of course, Muni got it and did a great job.