MovieFanLaura
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Posts posted by MovieFanLaura
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"Ah a Bing theater goer."
I spent many, many nights during my teenage years watching old movies at the Bing, the Vagabond, and the Tiffany theaters.
I'm fortunate I had parents willing to make the drive from No. Orange County a few times a month! Was just at the Bing in November for the first time in a few years, seeing an Audrey Hepburn double bill. Need to go more often! -
I'm thrilled TCM has pried loose another Paramount title, LADY IN THE DARK with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. I haven't seen it since the L.A. Co. Museum of Art showed it when I was a teenager in the late '70s or early '80s.
And I love that one of their shorts is an old Tupperware industrial documentary. That and DELICIOUS DISHES which was pointed out by someone else sound like fun "extras."
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I love Loretta and am looking forward to this day. I've never seen SHE HAD TO SAY YES or PLAY GIRL.
LIFE BEGINS is a short little pre-Code that's a must, if only for its bizarre depiction of a maternity ward, where women apparently give birth without feeling a single labor pain (or looking pregnant) and women aren't allowed to know why they're taking medicine...
I'm very partial to RACHEL AND THE STRANGER. It's shown on TCM fairly often but for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, it's a charming story of a marriage of convenience turning to love. William Holden and Robert Mitchum as costars are hard to beat.
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"And Robert Taylor is Star of the Month."
YES!!!!!
I have become a big Taylor fan over the last couple years and think he has been very underrated. Love him in movies like WESTWARD THE WOMEN, ROGUE COP, HIGH WALL, THE BRIBE, and PARTY GIRL. Thrilled that attention is going to be called to his long career and hope new fans will discover him.
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"TCM treats us like adults. We should be smart enough as viewers as to view films in their historical content without getting up in arms and demanding that movies made sixty to eighty years ago be put in their historical content before being shown.
That sort of thinking leads to movies being shelved and unavailable for showing. Which, in the end, defeats the purpose of learning from our past."
To which I can only say, "Amen!" These few valuable lines are worth highlighting.
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I'd love to see ARISE, MY LOVE (1940 - dir. Mitchell Leisen) with Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland. It won the Oscar for Best Story.
I'm hoping very much that in general we will be able to see many more Paramount films this year starring Colbert, MacMurray and Milland. There are too many great films which have been locked up behind the Paramount/Universal curtain! I'm very excited that TCM is going to show Milland and Paulette Goddard in KITTY in a few weeks.
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Count me as another with a problem...my confirmation email showed the $5 credit but the shipping email didn't...however, my card was charged the correct amount.
They *really* have to do something about the site and how it functions in order for the Archive to be successful long term. Customers shouldn't have to ponder "Do I *really* want to wade through that clunky site and possible billing hassles?" if they're interested in placing an order.
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My November 30 order finally showed up on December 16th! My December 7th order is due next week. At least they shipped UPS so I could be sure of an arrival date, as compared to something like standard shipping.
Curiously, based on the address (in Itasca, IL) and the familiar packing slip format, it looks as though Deep Discount actually serviced my 11/30 Archive order. Does anyone know anything about the Archive working with Deep Discount?
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Dec 17, 2009 3:50 PM
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One of the great things about TCM is that we're able in many cases to view movies from the breadth of an actor's entire career and get past decades-old stereotypes, i.e., Fred MacMurray as the sweater-wearing dad (he turns out to be quite a hunk in movies like NO TIME FOR LOVE, and have an interesting dark edge in others) and George Brent as boring or a bad actor.
I started looking at George Brent in a whole new light after seeing him in his "pre-mustache" pre-Codes like FEMALE and THE PURCHASE PRICE. He was really quite an interesting actor. His early performances were typically less somber and more energetic -- the subject matter of many of his later movies demanded more serious performances -- but I have since moved on to seeing many of his later films, like MY REPUTATION and TOMORROW IS FOREVER, and feel that he has been unjustly underrated.
I don't know enough about George Raft to comment, but I feel there are usually valuable things to be found in any actor's career, and I personally think it's more interesting to focus positively on what an actor brought to classic films. The more movies I see, the more I find to appreciate. JMHO.
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I seem to recall CLUNY BROWN was one of Osborne's picks last Christmas time... I was glad to tape it then, I hadn't seen it in years --
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My dad and I split a 10 movies for $10 apiece order on November 30th. (Thanks to a post here on the TCM boards, I also had a code to save another $5!) The confirming email said the order would ship by today, 12/9 -- which is a really long time for their orders to ship. (I believe their FAQ says they usually ship in 48 hours?) Still haven't heard anything.
Hoping an order I placed on December 7th gets here in time for Christmas at this rate...
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I've been collecting Lux Radio Theater shows via eBay. You can buy a CD with 50 or so shows for a very minimal price including shipping.
Best wishes,
Laura
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Robert Montgomery received the first of his two Oscar nominations as Best Actor for NIGHT MUST FALL --
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Thanks for the tip! I should head over to Amazon UK and look at the prices for some of the things I'm interested in. Have been having a great time working my way through Reg. 2 sets of James Mason and Anna Neagle -- also got Durbin's HERS TO HOLD and have watched that one.
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Be sure to read this interesting article about some changes coming to the Archive:
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/dvd_extra_warner_archive_gets_some_IE4IHpdxVXmQZzAvfVBwQL
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This would be a great title for TCM to show as they are supposed to be showing more Universal and Paramount movies next year, in conjunction with their "On Demand" DVD program.
I recently caved in and ordered a Region 2 DVD of CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY from Amazon.UK. We got an all-region player for our anniversary this year . Hope to see if for the first time in the near future.
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I'd be interested to know what you think about BEYOND TOMORROW. It's very interesting and thought-provoking, even though I ended up being disappointed in some of it.
Best wishes --
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I haven't seen it myself, but my 14-year-old daughter loves FITZWILLY and is very excited it's on for the first time in ages -- I'm under orders to tape it so she has a copy to keep.
I saw BEYOND TOMORROW last year and thought it was about 2/3 of a great Christmas movie. (Here's a detailed post, if interested:
http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/2008/12/tonights-movie-beyond-tomorrow-1940.html)
BUSH CHRISTMAS will be new to me as well.
Best wishes --
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I liked that TCM thought "outside the box" and included NEVER SAY GOODBYE with Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker in their lineup of Christmas movies. I recently saw this -- it's a pleasant family comedy, which has Errol Flynn running around in a Santa Claus suit near the end.
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I've been watching a lot of Fred MacMurray's films of the '30s and '40s over the last year or so. It's been a pleasant revelation, rather undoing my image of him from MY THREE SONS and Disney movies. I was particularly impressed by REMEMBER THE NIGHT (coming out on DVD soon from the new TCM "on demand" DVD program) and NO TIME FOR LOVE, which is in the new Claudette Colbert set -- he was quite the hunk in that. Who knew?!
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"Hey Laura, very nice blog there! I saw that several people in the comments section liked it as well! Such a shame her films aren't better known today."
Thanks very much, I appreciate the compliment.
I have been rather amazed as I've watched many of Durbin's films over the last couple years -- she is a remarkable all-around talent, not what I was expecting before I was familiar with her work. A unique personality with great comic timing as well as singing ability. I hope at some point she receives the attention she deserves.
And turning this back to the topic at hand, Durbin and Cummings appeared in three films together: in addition to IT STARTED WITH EVE, he courted her sister in THREE SMART GIRLS GROW UP and they costarred in the hard-to-find SPRING PARADE.
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I second the mention of IT STARTED WITH EVE, a truly wonderful comedy Cummings starred in with Charles Laughton and Deanna Durbin. I wrote about it here:
http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/2009/07/tonights-movie-it-started-with-eve-1941.html
Cummings may be a bit of an acquired taste but I started watching more of his movies in part because one of my teenage daughters likes him a lot. PRINCESS O'ROURKE with Olivia deHavilland is a lot of fun. SABOTEUR, THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES, THREE SMART GIRLS GROW UP, MOON OVER MIAMI and DIAL M FOR MURDER are Cummings movies I've enjoyed.
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Nov 15, 2009 2:29 AM
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Great minds think alike (grin) -- my order also included MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, IVANHOE, and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON.
Just saw LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON at the L.A. Co. Museum of Art a couple weeks ago and had to have my own copy.
I'm thinking about going back for Round 2 and buying a couple more this weekend. There are some movies I have recorded from TCM that would be nice to upgrade to DVD at this price.
My dad also bought a few from Amazon's sale after I passed the word to him!
Thanks again --
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There are some good deals to be had if you shop carefully, although it's definitely not as impressive as in sales past.
I keep an Excel spreadsheet with the Amazon and DDD prices for titles on my wish list. I got good prices from DDD on a few things including Esther Williams Vol. 1 and Mr. Moto Vol. 1.
On the other hand the prices in that Amazon sale Filmlover alerted us to were amazingly good. (It does make you wonder if those titles are going out of print...) I picked up half a dozen titles from Amazon for $5.79, and over at B&N I got Criterion's THAT HAMILTON WOMAN half price.
I am Christmas shopping for a family of 6 -- all of us are classic film fans -- so hearing about and finding these deals is greatly appreciated.
I'm fortunate I had parents willing to make the drive from No. Orange County a few times a month! Was just at the Bing in November for the first time in a few years, seeing an Audrey Hepburn double bill. Need to go more often!
APRIL SCHEDULE IS UP!!!!!!!!
in General Discussions
Posted
The Bing had matinees as far back as the '70s, at the same time the Vagabond was in operation...I remember my parents pulling me out of school early one day to go see a matinee of Fred Astaire in THREE LITTLE WORDS. (I think it was the day before Thanksgiving, or something like that...I seem to recall they were Wednesday matinees at the time.) I saw other matinees at various times, although we usually attended the evening screenings. The only problem with the matinees, at least at that point, was that they sometimes attracted audiences heavily comprised of elderly viewers who tended to speak very loudly to each other during the movies. But in those pre-cable, pre-VHS days, you put up with what you had to in order to see classic movies.
And the museum's film curator, Ron Haver, was sort of an in-person version of Robert Osborne -- he really made the screenings fun.
I wish I'd been able to see last November's matinee of Robert Taylor in KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE, but our daughter was coming home from college for Thanksgiving that day so I missed it for a good reason!
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Jan 6, 2010 5:54 PM