Arturo

I just saw FIELD OF DREAMS this past week; it leaves me totally emotional. The fact that my dad had played minor league baseball in Mexico, and that he died when I was 7, reasonates strongly when I view FOD. He is actually the reason my brothers and I got exposure to musicals, other than THE WIZARD OF OZ. His favorite movie was DAMN YANKEES (another movie worth mentioning in this thread), and he had us watch it whenever it came on tv. Coincidentally, the ball player protagonist in both movies is named "Shoeless Joe" (DY has the song "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO")......or, as.per the premise of FIELD OF DREAMS, maybe not so conicidental. Hmmm.....

One of my favorite entrances is in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, when the camera panning across the floor, John Garfield's view, following a rolling lipstick, leading up to a pair of white open-toed shoes, then up a pair of legs, then up to Lana Turner's torso, wearing a white short-short suit, with a bare midriff and turban. Quite an entrance. Or another noir, similarly set in a small-town seaside California diner, FALLEN ANGEL, when a missing Linda Darnell, tired and hungry, walks in, plops herself on a chair, taking off her heels, and demands food from a relieved Percy Kilbride, who thereupon gives her Dana Andrews' hamburger. Or Andrews, waking up, and thinking he is still dreaming, when Gene Tierney walks into her apartment in LAURA. More recently, I love the entrance of Tim Curry in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, coming down on a descending platform, tapping glittery silver platform heel to the beat of "Sweet Transvestite", and the subsequent view of him in his makeup and outfit, causing Susan Sarandon to faint.

TCM hasn't suspended The Essentials during SUTS in the past; it has incorporated the choosing of stars for August and the film Essentials, possibly even planning the two in tandem. Additionally, you may wish to plan SUTS for 2017; other than some film titles, I'm sure the honorees for this year are pretty well set. Good choices being submitted by everyone, however.

On.FMC (all times eastern): Tuesday, 4/12: 4:45 am: JITTERBUGS (1943).........................................6 am: DRESSED TO KILL (1941)..........................................7:15 am: CAFE METROPOLE (1937)..............................................8:40 am: HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941).........................................10:40 am: A FAREWELL.TO ARMS (1957)....................... Wednesday, 4/13: 3 am: WHITE FEATHER (1955)............................................4:45 am: DRESSED TO KILL (1941)..............................................6 am: HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941).............................................8 am: A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1957)................................................10:40 am: DANGEROUS CROSSING (1953).............................................12.pm: A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER (1953)..................................................1:30 pm: VICKY (1953)........................ Thursday, 4/14: 4 am: CINDERELLA LIBERTY (1973)..............................................6 am: THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND (1936).............................................7:45 am: NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947).................................................9:45 am: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950).........................................11:30 am: VICKY (1953)......................................................1 pm: THE STORY ON PAGE ONE (1959)............................... Friday, 4/15: 3 am: NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947)..........................................4:55 am: SNIPER'S RIDGE (1961).............................................6 am: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950)................................................7:40 am: SWAMP WATER (1941)...............................................9:15 am: THE STORY ON PAGE ONE (1959)...............................................11:15 am: FIVE FINGERS (1952)...............................................1:15 pm: SEVEN THIEVES (1960).................

With possibly very little.effort, TCM could.have honored.Gregory Peck for his 100th Birthday. He was under.contract.to Fox,.but it wasn't exclusive, and he made many films.elsewhere. It's a shame it wasn't done. Missed opportunity indeed.

BLACK SPURS will be.on.again on EncoreWesterns, tomorrow Monday, 4/11 at 6:30 am and 6:35 pm. So I watched one of the recent showings. It was identified as a premiere on the channel. The picture qualith was about the same.as.the streaming one I purchased.from.Amazon. Unfortunately, the picture has been panned and scanned (I think), so the heads of the players are often cropped. Guess I'll.stick to my streamed versoon.

The other day on the thread Mexican Films, I mentioned, MACARIO, an eerie 1960 film dealing with death and the supernatural. A poor Indian peasant, working as a woodcutter, has many mouths to feed. All he wants is to enjoy one meal he doesn't have to share with his children. His wife arranges this, bringing him a turkey, and telling him to go into the mountain forest to eat in peace. There, he comes upon various individuals who tempt him to share his food. Hs finally agrees to do so with one of them, who he feels is an emissary from God. In return, this person shows him a spring of water, which has magical curative powers. He is instructed to use it wisely and sparingly, to restore life to persons on their deathbed. However, not all can be saved. In due time, Macario becomes rich and famous, so much so that the Office of the Inquisition begins to investigate him, as there are whisperings that he made a pact with the devil. I will leave it there. Anyway, this film.has always been a favorite of mine, and I recommend it highly. It has beautiful.cinematography, courtesy of Gabriel.Figueroa, and directed.by Emilio Fernandez. I believe TCM has shown it at least once before.

OMG, you totally brought these I Love Lucy episodes to life, all.among my many favorites. I grew up watching reruns of I Love Lucy, and wohld also see.reruns of The Lucy Show. I caught the last few seasons.of Here's Lucy "live", and I remember thinking they were funny. While these.episodes have their moments, more recent viewings of Here's Lucy reveal how stale they had become, recycled.plots.and gags, often used in each succeeding series, and definitely no longer very funny. Her 80s series was even more pathetic. But I Love Lucy was brilliant, and I too can watch them over and over, although I'd don't make enough time for them lately. I've probably watched individual episodes over 100 times, and I laugh every time. Just a couple of comments on the episodes you mention, all favorites of mine: In the Hollywood at Last (my absolute fave of the Hollywood ones, and one of my top 3 overall), besides all that you mentioned, I love it when Ricky returns from the studio and announces to an excited Lucy that he brought home one of the biggest stars, and racing from the bedroom to the living room, she stops herself when he says "William Holden". Then when she cowers at the edge of the bed, hiding her face, saying she discovered she's afraid of movie stars up close (or something like that), and says, "Tell him to go away and I'll see him in his next picture". To which Ricky reminds her that all the way on the cross country trip she went on about "Bill Holden! Bill Holden!". To which she replies, "Yeah, well, I'm fickle!?" Of course, he forces her to go out, whereupon the putty nose. Great stuff.

On FMC (all times eastern): Saturday, 4/9: 3 am: THE TERRORISTS (1975)....................................4:50 am: BATTLE AT BLOODY BEACH (1961)...........................................6 am: DESTINATION GOBI (1953).......................................7:35 am: DECISION BEFORE DAWN (1951)............................................9:40 am: THE KREMLIN (1970)..........................................11:45 am: THE TERRORISTS (1975).............................................1:20 pm: THE LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973)........................ Sunday, 4/10: 3 am: THE LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973)...........................................4:40 am: LOVE IS NEWS (1937).............................................6 am: IT HAPPENED IN FLATBUSH (1942)................................................7:30 am: THE MAGNIFICENT DOPE (1942).............................................9 am: TALES OF MANHATTAN (1942)................................................11:15 am: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950).........................................1 pm: THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING (1955)................ Monday, 4/11: 4 am: THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING (1955)............................................6 am: THE MAGNIFICENT DOPE (1942).....................................7:25 am: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950)...........................................9:05 am: SEA WIFE (1957).......................................10:30 am: KEYS TO THE KINGDOM (1944).......................................12:50 pm: SATAN NEVER SLEEPS (1962)....................

I think an actor's offscreen behavior and antics, or at least what.the public knows about them, can determine whether a person will want to see a movie of said actor. Say, Angelina Jolie, who is well -known for her philanthropy and adoption of many needy children. Yet, I know many people who refuse to see her in a movie, no matter.how good,.because all.they can think of her is that she was a home-wrecker. This is the same as in the past. A very similar.situation happened with Elizabeth Taylor, accused (more than once) of being a homewrecker. I was not around back then, so I can't say with certainty, but from what I read, women's groups boycotted her films, and she was.publicly censured by the Vatican and the US Congress. Many people must've stayed away in droves from her films. So.it wasn't just columnists and reviewers that might sway the public one way of other about a given.performer. Of course, in these more.permissive times, with the 24/7 coverage of events due to social media, this stuff is very in your face.

THE SEVENTH SIN is a decent version of the Somerset Magham tale, filmed earlier with Greta Garbo, and a few years ago with Naomi Watts, both under the original title, THE PAINTED VEIL. Glad to see it's coming out. And with the release of VALLEY OF THE KINGS, that makes two new releases with one of my favorites, Eleanor Parker.

Actually, Cristina Raines.played the character.that Crawford did in the film. Morgan Fairchild.played the fiancee.of the deputy who falls for Raines; he was played by Mark.Harmon. The tv.show had a handful.of names going back to Hollywood's Golden.Age,.including Howard Duff, Kevin McCarthy,.Barbara.Rush and Stella.Stevens

Lana Turner.came back in 1950, after.nearly two years away from filmmaking, which was due to marriage and pregnancy. Prior to this sabbatical, she had starred in a string of huge boxoffice hits at the end of the 40s. Her first vehicle back was.an.adult drama, A LIFE OF HER OWN (1951). It didn't do too well, and Ann Dvorak received.the plaudits in it. MGM were in a bind; they weren't sure of her remaining appeal with audoences, or of her acting talent, so they gave her some mindless musical romances, interspersed with the occasional good role (THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL). As with many long-time.stars.at.all.the studios in the 50s, when her contract.expired in 1954, the studio didn't renew it. Later, towards.the end of the decade, she was.oscar-nominated.for PEYTON PLACE, and that, along with a personal.scandal,.brought her back into the limelight. Movies were crafted to exploit the sudden notoriety, and she flourished until the mid 60s.

Yes, but just before that, MGM shoved Crawford in a real stinker, ICE FOLLIES OF 1939. They tried to update her image, giving her a black hairdo a la Hedy Lamarr, the studio's latest sensation, and a movie better served with Sonja Henie, who had been voted No. 3 at the Box office for 1938, after Shirley Temple.and Clark.Gable. Joan could see the writing on the wall, and writes in her autobiography that she went after the choice role of Crystal Allen (none other) in TW, despite it being a supporting role. The ploy worked, and Crawford's stock rose at the studio; she got Gable as costar.again (STRANGE.CARGO), as well.as.prestigious films based on stage hits or European films (SUSAN AND GOD, A WOMAN'S FACE). So the trick of the supporting role worked for her,.and helped her overcome the "Box office Poison" label.

I don't know that I could come up with a list of throw greatest Mexican films. I can list some of my favorites, movies hat are representative of what was being done back then, skewing towards the 1940s. Additionally, most are melodrama, often with strong female stars like Del Rio and Felix. I will leave out the Bunuel titles, as they are in a group of their own. AHI ESTA EL DETALLE HISTORIA DA UN GRAN AMOR DOÑA BÁRBARA FLOR SILVESTER BUGAMBILIA LA PERLA LAS ABANDONADAS LA OTRA NOSOTROS LOS POBRES RIO ESCONDIDO LOS TRES HUASTECOS AVENTURERA DOÑA DIABLA SALON MEXICO

The first, infamous, Box Office Poison list came out in 1938; it was put out by exhibitors, in the trade papers, calling attention to highly paid stars whose most recent films had done poorly. Besides Katherine Hepburn and Kay Francis, others on the list included Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire (I think) and Edward Arnold. All persevered, to varying success; only Francis never recovered from this (as the Brothers Warner's plan to break her was already in place), although Arnold's career soon subsided back to supporting character roles. Some reinvented themselves: Garbo laughed, Dietrich became earthy, Crawford accepted a choice supporting role; they outlived the moniker. For Hepburn, it wasn't as easy as being dropped by RKO and signing with MGM. She had playwright Phillip Barry, who had authored the play of Kate's most recent movie, HOLIDAY, to write a play for her. With the help of Howard Hughes, she astutely bought the film rights for this play, and when she and The Philadelphia Story became the toast of Broadway, she was able to dictate the terms of selling the property to MGM, including herself in the lead. But it was a one-shot deal. However, after another similar stage success, Woman of the Year, to which she also held the film rights, she did finally get her long-term contract at MGM. While these people may be now revered, the placement on this list had immediate consequences for the careers of most of these individuals. They had to scramble to overcome this.

On FMC (all times eastern): Wednesday, 4/6: 3:30 am: CAN-CAN (1960).......................................6 am: I WONDER WHO'S KISSING HER NOW (1947)..................................7:50 am: MONKEY BUSINESS (1952)........................................9:30 am: HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941).....................................11:30 am: HOME IN INDIANA (1944)..............................................1:15 pm: APRIL LOVE (1957)................... Thursday, 4/7: 3:30 am: SANDCASTLES (1972).........................................4:50 am: SURF PARTY (1964).............................................6 am: JEAVEN WITH A BARBED WIRE FENCE (1939)..........................................7:05 am: THE REWARD (1965)............................................8:40 am: THE LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973)...........................................10:20 am: GANG WAR (1958)............................................11:35 am: TOGETHER BROTHERS (1973)...............................................1:15 pm: TROUBLE MAN (1972).................. Friday, 4/8: 4 am: TROUBLE MAN (1972)...............................................6 am: BATTLE AT BLOODY BEACH (1961)..............................................7:25 am: CRASH DIVE (1943).................................................9:15 am: DESTINATION GOBI (1953)................................................10:50 am: DECISION BEFORE DAWN (1951)....................................................12:55 pm: THE KREMLIN LETTER (1970).....................

And if the footage is indeed lost, you can't even re-create it using stills, as those pics of Benson apparently are highly offensive, and vanish in no time.

Ok, so you removed Marilyn Monroe from ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND (and I don't think you confused her with Ethel Merman), but Jean Dixon was not in BRINGING UP BABY. I know, I know, you meant the other Hepburn-Grant comedy from 1938, HOLIDAY, right?

As mentioned here, Mexico's Golden.Age.of Cinema.roughly paralleled our own, although starting a little later, in the decades of the 1940s and 1950s. It had movies made in all genres, marketed throughout thw Spanish-speaking world. It had a constellation of stars that vyed in these areas with those of Hollywood. Besides some stars that also achieved renown in Hollywood, there were directors and cinematogtaphers that became internationally known, i.e. Gabriel Figueroa and Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez. Perhaps the first Mexican film to receive widespread international acclaim, outside the Spanish-speaking world, was 1943's MARIA CANDELARIA; Fernandez and Figueroa.were involved, along with stars Dolores Del Rio and Pedro Armendariz. Unfortunately, the 60s ushered in silly teen comedies, and the more permissive climate of the end of that decade.and beyond, ruined the industry, as the focus shifted to sex and violence. By the 80s, most product from the film industry were known as "churros", aptly describing the lowest common denominator quickies it churned out. Even these fell out of favor, both domestically and internationally, by the 90s. Most recently, quality and worldwide recognition has helped the resuscitation of Mexican films. As a kid, I saw many of these films on TV; later,.I helped.my mom get many of these on VHS or DVD, and often watched them with her. We would also go to the movies or drive-ins to see these films, but by then the industry was in artistic free fall. Speaking of the Day of the Dead, there is an excellent allegorical movie that uses this as a backdrop, MACARIO, from 1960, starring Ignacio Lopez Tarso and Pilar Pellicer. It takes place in the colonial period, in the 18th century,.and uses splendidly the preserved colonial cityscape of Taxco, Guerrero. About 5 or so years ago, TCM did a month-long tribute to classic Mexican cinema.

Or is it Donna Douglas, Ellie Mae in The Beverly Hillbillies?

Could this be the recently deceased Patty Duke? She starred, in two roles, in The Patty Duke Show.

SLAVING RYAN'S PRIVATES A World War 2 era story. Ryan is a well-endowed young adult, the youngest of five brothers, all similarly endowed. His older brothers had been granted deferments from serving in the war, due to being gainfully employed in the adult movie industry. Needless to say, their talents has made them stars in the porn industry, and the pride of their hometown. Unfortunately, all four older brothers had contracted virulent forms of various stds, and had died prematurely. Which brings us to the gist of this movie. When the town brass realize that Ryan was the only brother left, and that he was being drafted, they maneuvered behind the scenes to have Ryan granted a deferment. Their main concern was that having the stuff of legend, Ryan was coveted by the many lonely housewives in town, whose husbands and boyfriends had been deployed overseas. Ryan was granted the deferment, although it was worded so that he was recognized as a "Home Front Morale Booster". As such, he manfully did his duty, servicing the woman of his home town for the duration of the conflict. The delighted womenfolk began to refer to their date with Ryan as "D-Day"! After awhile, Ryan began to tire of the 24/7 aspect of his duty. He begged for some time off, but the city fathers, who were profiting on this service, convinced him that his civic duty was paramount to the war effort. They even mentioned how the town was even exempted from the rubber restrictions in place everywhere else. Nonetheless, he continued to do this less and less willingly, but continued to please in his appeasement. This film was loosely based on, and the dialogue referenced, a family of similarly endowed, and similarly employed, set of brothers, The F **** g Sullivans.

The EncoreWesterns channel will be BLACK SPURS, Linda Darnell's last film, three times in the next two days. Tomorrow, Friday, 4/1 @ 4:05 am, and 5 pm; Saturday, 4/2 @ 12:15 am. It will also be shown a couple of times on 4/11. Despite having purchased it from Amazon, I'm recording this; hopefully it won't come across as streaming. And that the color is as vivid as what I have.

This film was from the Woolrich/Irish story "Waltz into Darkness", and as such, was bought by 20th Century Fox. They announced it as a vehicle for Cornel Wilde and Linda Darnell, to have been filmed in 1949. It was never made, why I don't know, but it was to have followed the original story location and set in 19th Century New Orleans. With a mysterious mail-order bride, sexual passion, obsession, bribery and murder, it would probably have been a worthy entry into the canon of noirish melodrama then being made. The Truffaut version updated the story to the present, and set it in the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean. The more recent remake, ORIGINAL SIN, with Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, returns the story to the 19th Century, but the location is now Cuba.