MovieFanLaura

My 14-year-old daughter is jumping up and down with glee over the news FITZWILLY is coming this Christmas. I'm going to be taping her a copy this year so she won't have to wait so long between viewings.

Miller made great movie choices. I think it's too bad that some here would prefer that programmer choices are made according to political ideology. I can't stand Alec Baldwin's politics, but hey, if he can discuss classic movies intelligently (which he seems to be doing on the rare occasions I've caught him) -- more power to him. There should be room for everyone who loves classic film at TCM...and thankfully there is.

I'd seen many of the Hopkins films in the past, but I caught up with WISE GIRL last night. It wasn't *great* but I thought it was fun. She had a couple amusing scenes, and Ray Milland was young and adorable. I also recorded THE RICHEST GIRL IN THE WORLD and hope to see it soon. I've seen the remake, BRIDE BY MISTAKE (1944), but never the original.

"I really fell for Sterling when he quietly bows his head, smiling and says: ?I?ll make the soap myself.?" I loved that line. "Robert Sterling was very effective in this. Strong silent type. I never paid much attention to him in the movies. I knew he was baby-faced handsome...looked great in dinner clothes; worked with Garbo...played in ?Topper? on tv with his real-life wife. But scruffy...on a horse, woo hoo! I liked his way in this film. (Kind of made me think of Tim Holt)." Definitely! I just had an impression of him as a secondary leading man, kind of slick. This film was a bit of a revelation. I watched Sterling in I'LL WAIT FOR YOU (1941), a remake of Robert Montgomery's HIDE-OUT (1934), later in the weekend (blog post here). He was also excellent in that one. But I really wish he'd made more Westerns.

"Laura, Thank you so much for sharing your blog on Roughshod; I only caught a glimpse when it was on, but I did record it and hope to catch up soon. I'll come back and re-read some of the posts about it after I watch it." You're very welcome! I'm glad to know others enjoyed checking out my post. I glimpsed the ending of the movie when it recorded and that prompted me to watch it almost immediately. I hope you'll enjoy it too. Very interesting discussion here interpreting what was going on with some of the characters -- I have a feeling that despite how many other movies are waiting for me, I may be revisiting this one fairly soon to absorb more of the character interactions. It's a very interesting film. Best wishes -- Laura

Hi Molo, Thanks for your feedback on my blog post and on the Jeff Donnell character. I'm very interested to hear what others think about the movie in general and her character in particular! As was mentioned here by others, it was also somewhat subtle how the later "incident" with the girl and her new man was handled. (I assumed the worst...) It's a movie that will be fun to watch again in part because there was a lot "to" it to mull over... Best wishes, Laura

Great photos, Jack! Thanks for putting those up. There was mention that Donnell's character had been abandoned by a man...she was ill...and had run away from home. They never quite put it all together but it was interesting trying to figure out what exactly what going on there...

I watched ROUGHSHOD last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great outdoor photography/location shooting and good performances. I've never been a particular Grahame fan (I know, the heresy!), I think in part because of her voice, but she was excellent. After seeing it, I also thought Robert Sterling should have done a lot more Westerns. I would have liked to have understood a little more about Jeff Donnell's character...it seemed they were hinting things around the edges about her character. Does anyone else think it was implied she was pregnant? (For those who might wish to read my comments at greater length, my blog review is here.)

Thanks, Fred, I appreciate that. I hope a number of people will give the movie a try tomorrow!

I taped this film when it was on TCM in May and caught up with it less than a month ago -- enjoyed it very much. (Wrote a blog post on it.) It's very different and worth checking out.

This Mercer documentary and set sounds amazing. Thanks for the details!

Hi, Yes, NAVY BLUES has been shown before; I recorded it from a previous showing. Based on the number of the videotape in my collection, I'd estimate it was recorded 12-18 months ago.

Lots of interesting things in this schedule. I've been wanting to see SUNDAY IN NEW YORK since I read an interesting post about it on a classic film blog a few months ago. Also look forward to THE GAY SISTERS with Stanwyck and Brent. The teaming of Joel McCrea and Maureen O'Sullivan (WOMAN WANTED) also got my attention. Dick Powell & Olivia de Havilland sound fun too (HARD TO GET). I love the chance to see these more obscure titles. I highly recommend THE SKY'S THE LIMIT with Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie, which I finally saw earlier this year and think is quite underrated. And you've got to love a movie which has "One For My Baby (And One More for the Road)" in its original score.

THE PETTY GIRL was actually aired on TCM a few months ago. I taped it along with two other Bob Cummings films, THE FIRST TIME and THE BAREFOOT MAILMAN. Just FYI!

Cyd's perfect in this movie as a wholesome "girl next door." It's a very interesting film which I enjoyed a great deal when I saw it on DVD a few months back.

You're not the only one...Joan Leslie is a lovely lady onscreen and off, and I personally feel she was just right for the role of Mary. She's not a great actress but she has some very appealing qualities. One of her performances I enjoyed the most was THE SKY'S THE LIMIT in which she more than held her own with Fred Astaire despite her youth. Best wishes --

Coincidentally I just finally caught up with the tape I made of CLUNY BROWN on Christmas Eve...I hadn't seen it since it played an L.A. revival theater in the '70s. What a treat! In case TCMprogrammr or anyone at TCM can fix this, the CLUNY BROWN plot in the article posted on TCM when the movie aired bears virtually no resemblance to the actual movie. I can only assume it's so hard to get ahold of the film that the person who wrote the article didn't get the chance to screen it first. I did email TCM about this earlier today but hope it definitely comes to someone's attention so the plot doesn't remain posted as is in perpetuity (Cluny wants to marry the owner of the estate where she works?). Anyway...I always look forward to seeing what Mr. Osborne picks. A ROYAL SCANDAL sounds quite interesting. I'm not familiar with it at all. I'm delighted TCM is showing more Fox films recently. (Now if you could get CENTENNIAL SUMMER and MARGIE...!)

ROME ADVENTURE with Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue recently came out on DVD. It's a solid though not great movie -- poor Donahue is wooden as can be -- but it provides a gorgeous travelogue of Italy. The focus is on Americans in Italy, although Suzanne's character is briefly tempted by an older Italian playboy (Rossano Brazzi).

I thoroughly enjoyed your interview with one of my favorite actors. Thanks for letting us know! Best wishes --

I'm glad to know that this is the entire series -- thanks! I've been transferring them from my DVR to tape all day so I can keep them long term. The supporting casts look great (Flynn, Astor, Bryan, etc.). Kind of interesting that Warren William also did some LONE WOLF entries.

"Robert Taylor, when he was in Camille and Waterloo Bridge, then his looks starting declining at an early age," Just shows to go that looks are in the eye of the beholder...I think Taylor got better looking as he aged and was less "pretty" and more "rugged." I think he's at his peak in a movie like WESTWARD THE WOMEN, released over a decade after WATERLOO BRIDGE. JMHO --

I have to beg to differ on TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR. It has a charming cast and I feel it is quite entertaining, although it's not one of the top-level Technicolor MGM musicals. My now-14-year-old daughter loves it so much she watched it over and over since she was very little, and it definitely helped her develop a love for classic movies in general. Just another POV for anyone who might be considering that one! Best wishes --

I really like TORTILLA SOUP with Hector Elizondo as a chef. It's a very hard movie to watch on an empty stomach. It's a remake of EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN which I haven't yet seen. NO RESERVATIONS and the film it was based on, MOSTLY MARTHA, also have some scenes that will make you hungry. Can't think of older films along these lines offhand --

Whoever thinks that about Jeanette must not have seen her in LOVE ME TONIGHT...

Thank you for this wonderful detailed report on what sounds like a fabulous evening. I highly recommend making the trek to Lone Pine. (It's a little further drive out of L.A. than 2 hours, though, fair warning.) We pass through Lone Pine every summer on our way to the Sierras and have visited the film museum and gone out to Movie Road hunting film locations. With maps and other reference materials (I have a book on Lone Pine), film fans can find all sorts of interesting locations; it's a fairly compact area. YELLOW SKY and RAWHIDE were just a couple of the locations we tracked down a couple summers ago.