MovieFanLaura
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Posts posted by MovieFanLaura
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I was excited that TCM recently showed Paramount's KITTY (still have to watch my recording, though!) and TO EACH HIS OWN, and LADY IN THE DARK is coming up in a few weeks, too. Hopefully we'll be seeing more and more Paramount movies in the months to come -- a very exciting prospect, especially for those of us who love Colbert, MacMurray, Milland, etc.
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I think there's a good chance we're going to be seeing more MacMurray films on TCM this year in conjunction with TCM's Universal (and Paramount) DVDs on demand program, as MacMurray was one of the names listed for future DVDs when the program started. I am hopeful there will be simultaneous airings of some of his Paramount films on TCM. I have just really started to appreciate his work over the last year or two -- there is so much more to him than the "Dad" image!
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I suspect that there are good reasons behind some of the repeats...for instance SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a very popular film...and it's very "accessible" as a way to hook new viewers. (This is a movie my kids show their friends to win them over to giving "old" movies a try.) I suspect TCM hopes to rope new viewers in by showing this type of movie.
Am I likely to watch SINGIN' IN THE RAIN on TCM? No, I've seen it countless times and can watch my DVD when I feel like it. Personally I get much more excited by B movies and pre-Codes that are new to me (grin). *But* I don't begrudge them showing something like SINGIN' IN THE RAIN one more time if it's going to win new viewers to TCM, increase the channel's popularity, and allow it to continue also showing those B movies and pre-Codes.
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The "set re-use" discovery I have enjoyed the most: near the end of THE HUCKSTERS with Clark Gable he goes to visit an office building. He was standing in the hallway and I had the feeling it was reallllly familiar. It suddenly dawned on me where I'd seen that hallway before: it was actually a painting, and Donald O'Connor danced up it in "Make 'Em Laugh" in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN! I put in the SINGIN' IN THE RAIN DVD and compared detail by detail and verified it was the same.
Regarding earlier comments, the same shipboard set used in TITANIC and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES was also used in DANGEROUS CROSSING with Jeanne Crain. I think A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER used it too.
As I recall, sets from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS turned up in both CYNTHIA and LITTLE WOMEN. There are many such examples of reuse of sets. You can find movie sets and stock footage reused later in TV shows, too; for instance MAVERICK reused footage from JEZEBEL and SAN ANTONIO.
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That sounds really interesting. I'm an Anglophile but Empire is new to me. I'd love to hear more when you have time to explore it.
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I've really got to keep an eye on my Gold Box (grin).
I'd love to hear more about the book including the kinds of movies included (i.e., ratio of pre-1965 to post-1965 films), how long the entries are, etc.
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Sounds like you're all set -- congrats!
Like you I am always interested if there is another good app for classic film fans.
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My bank offers a Visa check card which works as a debit card, yet has the protections of a credit card if your card is stolen and used fraudulently. There are some good, safe options out there for online purchases.
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Congratulations on your upcoming iTouch!!
One of my classic movie blogging acquaintances was disappointed that the TCM app doesn't have a search function. It hasn't mattered to me as I use the TCM ap for the schedule, blog, etc.; the TCM database and articles *are* attached to entries in the schedule. I use IMDb and Leonard Maltin to look up films rather than the TCM database. Just an FYI before you purchase the TCM app if it's an issue for you. Hopefully they will improve it in future so individual titles can be searched and not just those on the schedule for the upcoming months. It would also be nice if they included these discussion boards in a future edition of the app.
Enjoy your iTouch!!
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My copy arrived yesterday. I looked up 20 titles of movies I'd either seen in the last couple years or recently recorded which I verified were not in the 1st edition of the Classic Guide.
Of those 20 titles, 9 now have reviews in the 2nd edition. Would have liked to see even more (grin), but maybe next time; nearly half the titles I looked up being added to this edition was a nice improvement.
New reviews included THEIR OWN DESIRE, STRAIGHT IS THE WAY, LOVERS COURAGEOUS, AIR HOSTESS, and MARY STEVENS, M.D.
Titles which still aren't in the book include I'LL WAIT FOR YOU, WALKING ON AIR, TWO ALONE, DANGEROUS BLONDES, SORORITY HOUSE, and THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA.
Just FYI for those of you who might be interested!
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Feb 4, 2010 2:33 AM
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A lovely tribute. Thank you -- and thanks to Mr. Lubitsch!!
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I came across THE BLUE LAGOON on YouTube last night and watched most of the second half (need to go back to the beginning!). It was quite enjoyable although I found the ending disturbing. It sent me to Google to figure it out since it was slightly ambiguous.
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I like that at Maltin's new site the individual posts have permalinks, but overall the site is much more cluttered (with ads) and a bit harder to navigate. I'm curious whether there was a financial benefit for Mr. Maltin to moving to the new site, or what...?
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""That's four stars, right?"
Only occurred to me later than in blog speak it might be something less complimentary! LOL.
I'll go check out Leonard's blog!
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Like others I was surprised as I thought the new CLASSIC FILM GUIDE would be out in the spring. It just so happens my daughter is taking Leonard's class at USC this semester, so last week when I noticed the new date I texted her on the off chance she could talk to him and get the straight scoop.
She did indeed speak to him and he said he had just found out out of the blue last week that the date was bumped up to the end of January. (Around here we call Leonard's rating books "The Book of Leonard." Don't always agree with him, but wouldn't be without his rating books!)
More Leonard news for those who are interested: his book 151 BEST MOVIES YOU NEVER HEARD OF is out on February 9th.
He announced to his class last week that he is now an "app." (This ties in with a recent discussion about TCM's new app!) I downloaded it to my iTouch last weekend. It is $3.99 and is quite impressive. At the top of each entry (which has the traditional rating, cast, and review blurb info from his book) there are links to Netflix and iTunes, if you want to add the movie to your queue or download it. Many of the entries have a poster and/or a trailer you can click to watch. (I clicked on the SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS trailer and was impressed with the quality -- in widescreen, yet!) At the bottom of the page are links to the movie's IMDb and Amazon entries. You can also click cast members' names for mother titles. Very nifty interactivity.
There is also a section for Leonard's reviews of new movies. As Leonard would say, ****.
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Thanks much for the good news on the Deanna Durbin set. I have become a major fan over the last couple years. Her movies have been all been delightful.
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Thanks much for the good news on the Deanna Durbin set. I have become a major fan over the last couple years. Her movies have been all been delightful.
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My dad was trying to play his Archive DVD-Rs on a DVD player which is built into a TV set along with a VCR. The DVD player is not a recorder, but I wonder if the presence of a VCR was the problem for the 3 discs he couldn't play.
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A follow-up to my note about the difficulty my father had playing Warner Archive discs: he has a friend who has several DVD players for business reasons. The Archive discs my dad couldn't play wouldn't play on his friend's nicest/newest equipment, but would play on a Walmart cheapie that cost around $30. Strange!
It's a bit disconcerting knowing that the Warner Archive DVD-Rs are randomly not going to play on all players... I have not had any difficulty myself with approximately 10 Archive DVD-Rs to date.
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I've really been enjoying my iTouch. It was a definite splurge since I still have a Nano in good working condition, but when I saw some things like the free IMDb app and other features, I couldn't resist asking for the iTouch for Christmas (grin). I actually still use both, the Nano is smaller to hold and I like to take it on walks, etc.
I've never been interested in electronic books but when I learned I could install Amazon's Kindle in the iTouch for free, and that many classic books are free, I decided to try it out just for kicks. I downloaded Austen's EMMA, which I've been meaning to reread, and it's rather fun being able to carry around a book in the iTouch for "emergency reading" for long lines, etc.
I'm hoping that there will be more interesting movie apps coming out, as it seems like the whole "apps" thing is taking off...I think IMDb and TCM brought out their apps within roughly a month of each other? Or maybe IMDb's came out earlier and I just wasn't aware of it.
I recommend the iTouch when you're ready to invest in an upgrade!
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I downloaded this app last night...got an iTouch for Christmas...the TCM app is *very* nice. It was extremely hard to look at the TCM website on my Palm Centro and now it's a breeze. Kudos to TCM!
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We'll definitely exchange them. I'm a bit concerned as we are slightly past the 30-day window from purchase, due to the holidays and the fact I had to ship his order to him in another state, but I'm assuming if they won't play the Archive will stand behind their product.
Thanks for your feedback!
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Jan 12, 2010 1:41 PM
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Thanks, as always, for keeping us posted here on the new Archive releases.
Query: My father and I split an Archive order during a pre-Christmas sale. He has started playing them and three out of four of his Archive DVDs have an FBI warning show on screen and then don't play; the screen goes blank. The fourth is fine.
He has previously played at least one of my Archive DVDs on his DVD player without a problem.
He's going to try playing his DVDs on a friend's DVD player to see if they work there, out of curiosity, but it looks like we'll have to exchange them. Has anyone else had a problem with Archive DVDs not playing?
So far mine are fine but I'm going to try out those I haven't played yet to make sure they play OK.
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Eleanor Parker
Joan Bennett
Ray Milland (especially if it means TCM would turn loose more Paramount titles; I'm excited they're showing KITTY and LADY IN THE DARK in the next couple months)
Claudette Colbert (ditto the Paramount comment)
Fred MacMurray (and ditto...)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Marsha Hunt
Robert Montgomery
Dennis Morgan
Edited by: MovieFanLaura on Jan 7, 2010 11:07 PM
The MOST OVERPLAYED films on TCM
in Hot Topics
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"He made a series of romantic comedies with Claudette Colbert and director Mitchell Leisen that are largely undiscovered by modern film lovers. Those are the ones I want to see. Maybe those are the titles you were referring to when you mentioned his work with Paramount...?"
Yes, I also noticed Colbert's name was mentioned in conjunction with the TCM/Universal "On Demand" program. I would love to be able to see the movies she made with any combination of Leisen, MacMurray, and Milland.
(Colbert & MacMurray's NO TIME FOR LOVE, which has been shown on TCM in the past, was a wonderful discovery.)