voranis
-
Posts
590 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by voranis
-
-
> {quote:title=markfp2 wrote:}{quote}
> Another thing to keep in mind is now that the Turner Library is controlled by Warner Bros, TCM has to compete with other channels for the movies they use to have. That's why TCM can no longer show Warner Bros. cartoons. Somebody else outbid them. It's not so unusual to see films that TCM had for years turning up on Cinemax or Encore's Westerns or even AMC. Of course, those channels usually schedule them at odd hours like 5am.
>
Is that why Cartoon Alley was discontinued? I really liked that show.
I have seen some westerns on the Westerns Channel that used to air on TCM and I wondered how they had gotten the rights to air them, since I know the contracts are often exclusive. Well, that explains a lot.
Also I read recently that legal battles were the reason Looney Tunes could not be shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang (which I know are under the Time Warner umbrella). Cartoon Network was actually able to air them this past New Year's Day, which prompted a new discussion of the legal battle history--folks were hoping this was a sign the legal woes had been resolved. Supposedly there was a legal dispute over a Looney Tunes movie and the legal battle was the reason the WB networks had been blocked from showing Looney Tunes. Was it really just a case of being outbid? Of course, I know there are different packages of Looney Tunes cartoons and the ones that used to be shown on Boomerang were probably not in the same package as the ones that were shown on TCM. I'm guessing the ones on TCM were the ones that used to be shown in the theaters, and the ones on Boomerang were the ones shown on television, although I could swear I remember seeing some of the same ones on both channels when they used to be able to air them.
-
> {quote:title=lzcutter wrote:}{quote}
> When Ted Turner bought MGM back in the 1980s, one of the reasons he bought the studio was for the film library. The Turner Film Library as it was commonly known as consisted of the pre-1986 MGM film, the RKO film library and the pre-1948 Warners Bros. film library.
>
> When Turner started TCM this was the basis for the majority of the films they broadcast.
>
> However, Turner decided to merge his Turner Broadcasting networks with Time-Warner in the late 1990s. The film library was part of the merge.
>
> Time-Warner now owns the former Turner Film Library and the films are under the care of Warner Brothers.
>
> TCM has to rent/lease all the films they show even the ones in their former library. As TCMProgrammr explained in a post about two years ago, even though they are all under the same corporate umbrella, they are separate companies and have to rent/lease the films from Warners Brothers just like any other cable network would have to do.
Yes, I was already aware of the history of the corporate purchases, which is why I said "Time Warner/Turner" in my original post. I knew that sometimes companies under the same umbrella have to pay separately and wondered if that was the case here. Thanks for clarifying--that's exactly what I was wondering!
In trying to do some research on this yesterday, I came across this on the Wikipedia page:
"Three years later, Turner Broadcasting System, having failed to buy MGM, settled for ownership of the MGM/UA library. This included almost all pre-1986 MGM features (with a few exceptions as noted below), as well as the pre-1950[142][143] Warner material. Ownership of the classic Warner films came full-circle when Time Warner bought Turner, although technically they are held by Turner Entertainment while Warner is responsible for sales and distribution."
It says that the classic Warner films are still technically held by Turner Entertainment. Does TCM still have to lease those too? It says Warner is responsible for sales and distribution; does this just refer to release on media such as DVD, or does "distribution" also include television broadcasts, including leasing to TCM? If the latter, then what rights are implied by the films being technically held by Turner Entertainment? In other words, if Turner Entertainment can't broadcast the classic Warner films without paying for them, then what benefits do they have in "technically" still holding the rights to them?
-
> {quote:title=CelluloidKid wrote:}{quote}
> Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray co-starred: in _Double Indemnity_ (1944), _The Moonlighter_ (1953) and _There's Always Tomorrow_ (1956).
>
>
> *TCM should do a night too: Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray!!!*
TCM shows Double Indemnity quite often, and The Moonlighter runs quite a bit on the Westerns Channel (it was just on this week). I have only seen There's Always Tomorrow once, though, and I keep hoping TCM will show it again. I really liked it. Joan Bennett was great in it as well. A Stanwyck/MacMurray night with all these movies would be wonderful!
-
> {quote:title=markfp2 wrote:}{quote}
> *SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN* has been shown on TCM in the past, but perhaps their contract has expired on it. TCM leases all the films they show and they only get them for a limited period of time.
Did you really mean they lease all the films they show? I thought Time Warner/Turner owned the MGM library, with some exceptions. Do they really have to lease the MGM and WB films too?
-
> {quote:title=BrendaJ wrote:}{quote}
> Why would you put all the Elvis movies on in the afternoon when the majority of people are at work and can't watch them!
I agree with some of the other posts that it's not practical for TCM to show movies in a narrow time slot to accommodate everyone who's working, especially since people actually work at different times.
Still, TCM obviously acknowledges that the movies they show from 8pm on are probably the time when most people are able to watch, since that's when Robert Osborne does his commentaries (and of course, he also does them during the day on holidays when most people are also probably "not at work").
I think your point is a good one, especially when it's a special tribute for the day, that it would be nice if they showed some of the movies in the evening when more people are able to watch. I don't think it's essential that movies in the "New York vs. L.A." theme be shown tonight when many of the other networks are running tributes to Elvis. And the the first three films being shown tonight have been shown many times, all of them shown in prime time last year, two of them shown multiple times in prime time. (California Suite and Where's Poppa do not appear to have been shown in 2008, and I don't recall having seen Where's Poppa before--it looks interesting.)
I've noticed that sometimes when it's an actor's birthday, TCM only runs tribute movies during the daytime. Sometimes, they run tribute movie all day and all evening. I often wonder if the actors for which TCM runs movies during the day and evening are the ones they consider to be more important in terms of celebrity or acting ability or some other criteria...
-
TCM also aired a documentary about it immediately following:
Chaplin Today: Monsieur Verdoux (2003)
French director Claude Chabrol shares his impressions of Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux.
The documentary is on DVD The Charlie Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2, along with the film itself.
-
> {quote:title=Stephen444 wrote:}{quote}
> I can't think of another film that captures the paranoia of the 50s as well as this film does. People subtly changing from who they were, suddenly lacking human emotions. It portrays America in a state of paranoia...Macarthyism (no pun intended) nuclear war.
>
> I don't find it particularly depressing. When the doctor orders in the FBI and the Governor. Come on, thats a pure 50s Sci-Fi ending. The only depressing element for me is that this ending diminishes some of the genuine horror to be found in this film.
>
Well, it was a 50s sci-fi film, so a 50s sci-fi ending is appropriate. :-) I do find an ending in which it appears humanity has lost to be depressing. Although I understand the value of the social commentary that can be made with the downbeat ending, I find it to be depressing. And in fact, I still picked up the social commentary even with the upbeat ending.
> I would think that the director would be pleased to here that the audience found his film disturbing.
Yes, often the goal of a director, often considered the mark of a great film, either that disturbs or leaves a lasting impact on the viewer in some other way. Silence of the Lambs haunted me for weeks after I saw it, so I know it is a great film, but I will never watch it again. Don't think I could take it again. :-)
-
> {quote:title=ChipHeartsMovies wrote:}{quote}
> There was a time when Disney also aired the live-action movies like *Pollyanna* and *The Apple Dumpling Gang* in the wee hours, which I loved to see. Thankfully TCM has licensed them and can now show them!
And they are uncut and commercial-free, which was probably not the case when they aired overnight on the Disney Channel. And TCM created a documentary about them hosted by Angela Lansbury. I wish we had more networks with as much class as TCM. I wonder how TCM (and for the most part, Boomerang) can afford to remain uncut and commercial-free when so many other networks say they cannot--are they subsidized by the revenues from the other networks in the WB family?
Disney Channel used to air Spin & Marty and the old Mickey Mouse Club late at night on the Disney Channel, followed by a classic movie. They even had some of the animated ones, I think--I believe I remember seeing Dumbo late one night. They also used to air some of the nature-based ones like Charlie the Lonesome Cougar which I really liked.
Seems like some of these channels could keep an hour or two overnight for some classics related to the theme of the channel. At least GSN is keeping an hour in the 3-4am block for What's My Line and one other classic (currently To Tell the Truth), although this was restored only after a huge outcry by the viewers when the block was dropped.
Message was edited by: voranis
-
> {quote:title=ChipHeartsMovies wrote:}{quote}
> I believe Hulu is NBC-owned, so it's all the series from their interconnected networks plus some oldies they licensed in.
>
> The episodes are supposed to be uncut.
>
> It's an amazing place to see series like *Land of the Giants* --- shows that haven't aired in years.
Land of the Giants used to air on Sci Fi Channel, which is part of the NBC/Universal family. This was many years ago when Sci Fi Channel used to air some classic sci fi shows. Like when TV Land used to air classic shows. Like when Animal Planet used to air some classic shows like Flipper, and used to air documentaries about actual animals instead of reality shows. Like when SOAPnet used to air classic soaps before they became a recycling bin for current ABC soaps and soaps recently aired on the WB. Like when Disney Channel used to air some classics like Spin & Marty (which I believe Tim Considine was on).
I guess the classics just don't command the advertising rates these networks want or need. I'm not surprised they don't show classics 24/7, just surprised they abandon classics altogether...
-
> {quote:title=hamradio wrote:}{quote}
> That won't work for me, my AMD computer is 355 MHZ and I only have 56K dialup. NO PLANS to upgrade soon. It is Windows 98SE / XP dual boot though.
Yep, that won't work. And I felt like I was living in the Stone Age because I don't have a home network. :-)
Season 1 Volume 1 is out on DVD, and Season 1 Volume 2 will be released on January 20. They're very expensive, though. CBS/Paramount, again....
-
> {quote:title=ChipHeartsMovies wrote:}{quote}
> In some cases the entire series is available to view. Hulu is completely free and legal. There is a commercial of about 14 seconds at the regular commercial breaks.
>
> This site is really addictive. I now watch the Simpsons only online --- you exchange 8 minutes of commercials with 45 seconds of them.
I checked out the site and it was very nice! Now if I can just find some way to get it to show up on my TV in the living room.
I was hoping My Three Sons might be on the site so hamradio could see some of the early episodes, but it doesn't appear to be there. Neither is The Andy Griffith Show which I know well enough to tell if any scenes have been deleted, was hoping to use it to check some of the episodes to see if Hulu's TV shows are in unedited form.
I'm wondering if any CBS/Paramount shows are available on the site. I checked Andy Griffith, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, All in the Family, The Jeffersons and I Love Lucy, which I know to all be distributed by CBS/Paramount. None were listed, except some Jeffersons "minisodes." Are there any full-length CBS/Paramount shows on the site, or is CBS/Paramount being stingy as usual?
-
> {quote:title=Shemp wrote:}{quote}
> Ernie did lose his parents in a car crash... that's how he became a foster child to the Douglas' next-door-neighbors.
Yeah, but I thought it happened right at the time the Douglases adopted Ernie. I had forgotten that Ernie had already been an orphan for some time. As a matter of fact, now that you have refreshed my memory...I had always assumed the adoption was because Ernie's parents had just been killed. The one time I did see the adoption episode I was wondering how they were going to handle such a tragic plot point of Ernie's parents having just been killed, in a show that did not normally deal with events of that level of tragedy, and when I saw the episode I realized they didn't have to deal with that because he had already been an orphan for some time--the circumstances were that the foster parents were leaving the country. But I had forgotten that point until you mentioned it.
>
> Tim left at the end of season 5, and guest-starred on the 1st episode of season 6 (the wedding episode).
>
> Bill Demarest replaced Bill Frawley during season 5... Demarest & Considine worked together for the latter part of that season.
Interesting! I think I saw those episodes during the TV Land run but had forgotten there was that much overlap.
It's interesting how many transitions there were--studio change, switch to color, Bub replaced by Uncle Charley, Mike replaced by Ernie...all at approximately the same time. The show took them all in stride. A lesser show might've been canceled.
A friend of mine once said one of the things he always liked about My Three Sons was "they let the kids grow up." Mike got married, Robbie got married and had kids, Steve eventually remarried. The show was not afraid to make changes.
Message was edited by: voranis
-
> {quote:title=ChipHeartsMovies wrote:}{quote}
> In some cases the entire series is available to view. Hulu is completely free and legal. There is a commercial of about 14 seconds at the regular commercial breaks.
>
> This site is really addictive. I now watch the Simpsons only online --- you exchange 8 minutes of commercials with 45 seconds of them.
I've heard about Hulu.com, too. I haven't really checked it out because I don't enjoy watching TV on the computer screen--mine's too small. And my computer's not in the same room as my big TV, so I don't think it would be easy to connect them up in any way short of running a home network. If I can ever get around to that...
-
Looks like I had the details about why the Douglases adopted Ernie slightly wrong. I've only seen the adoption episode once and my memory is fuzzy on that.
But was I correct when I said that Tim Considine left the series at the end of the same season that William Frawley did? I mean, I know he appeared in the first episode of season 6 when he got married, but that's essentially the ending of season 5.
I thought Demarest came in at the beginning of season 6, as they were adopting Ernie and Mike was getting married. Did Demarest actually come on in the middle of season 5? How much time were Demarest and Considine actually on the show at the same time?
Message was edited by: voranis
-
It's interesting, the first version of this movie I saw was the Donald Sutherland version. I was then reluctant ever to watch the original because I didn't want to be depressed again the way I was after watching the Sutherland one. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally did see it to find out it had a more hopeful ending. Now, to find out the studio modified the ending...well, it's interesting.
-
I wonder if the "They're coming for you!" ending that is remembered might really be the ending to the trailer. That would be a good way to end a trailer to build up suspense for the movie....
-
I have only seen the extended ending--I guess that's because I first saw this movie on TCM. When was the extended ending added? Are you saying it was added after the original theatrical release of the movie?
The original ended with him on the highway unable to get anyone to help him? That makes it more of a downbeat ending like the first remake with Donald Sutherland.
Did Ben say why the ending was added? Was it to please moviegoers like me who prefer for the humans to win in movies like this? This is really why I was wondering if there was any commentary about the differences between this and the remakes. I really liked the original (with the extended ending, I guess) and the third version with Nicole Kidman, because the humans won. I didn't like the second version because it was clear the aliens had won. (I'm sure Mr. Spock, aka Leonard Nimoy, would've been glad the emotionless side won.) Of course I know some folks consider the downbeat endings to be "better storytelling", and I don't mind it in some types of movies, but I prefer upbeat endings in movies like this. I don't want to be depressed by the ending of the movie.
I had heard the Kidman version got bad reviews. I had forgotten all about it, then I saw it on a movie channel on DirecTV but did not realize at first it was the remake. The title said Invasion, but there are so many alien movies that are about invasions, I didn't make the connection. I started watching it and quickly realized it was a remake, but kept watching. Between Kidman's appearance and the beautiful lilt of her voice, I think I could watch her read the phone book. At any rate, I enjoyed the movie and was glad there was finally a version where the humans clearly won.
Message was edited by: voranis
Message was edited by: voranis
-
I know about the American Life Channel, our cable system here has it, but I have DirecTV. :-( Not sure why DirecTV has not negotiated for it.
Fortunately WGN America is showing some of the same shows on Sunday nights that are part of American Life's Monday "MTM Enterprises" lineup--WKRP and Newhart. They also show The Honeymooners. And they show Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie every day.
Someone wrote in a TV Land complaint forum that Chicago (also home of WGN America) stations MeTV and MeToo are showing many classics. During the week they are showing Perry Mason, I Love Lucy (which TV Land let go to Hallmark Channel), the previously mentioned Police Woman, Cagney and Lacey, Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show, etc. Makes me want to move to Chicago. :-)
Their website: http://www.metvchicago.com/?page=schedule
I wish we could get a national channel devoted to TV classics the way we have TCM for movie classics and Boomerang for cartoon classics. American Life is our best bet although as I understand it right now they only show classic TV in the evenings.
-
"The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" was on just this past November. I saw the trailer for it which showed that William Demarest was in the movie, and was looking forward to seeing it, but I was ill the day it aired and missed it.
I would like to see the Beverly Garland police show--it sounds interesting. I always thought she was so beautiful when I watched My Three Sons in syndication when I was growing up in the seventies. She appeared on Gunsmoke in a few episodes, once as a friend of Kitty's who owns a saloon in another town and to whom Kitty turns for help, and once as Matt's old flame--and there was some tension between her and Kitty in that episode.
Most of the roles I have seen her in, she seems vulnerable on the outside but has a quiet strength on the inside. Sort of the opposite of the Bub O'Casey and Uncle Charley characters, which had crusty exteriors and softhearted interiors.
-
Thanks. I have actually been a member for over a year, but haven't posted much. I grew up in the seventies so my knowledge of early TV came more in my adult years as I sought out the really old shows on CBN, TV Land, and Nick-at-Nite. CBN actually used to show old B&W TV shows in the eighties before it became the Family Channel--I remember seeing Dobie Gillis and The Ann Sothern Show/Private Secretary. I have been a fan of Ann Sothern since and enjoy it when TCM shows a marathon of her movies. Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball were friends and Sothern even appeared in an episode of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
Perhaps my favorite old TV show is What's My Line which I have been watching on GSN for the past 8 years, ever since I got DirecTV. Because of the celebrity guests and the brief discussions the panelists have about each other and about current events, it's more than a game show--it's like a window into the past.
I hate to be a downer, but with the movement away from classics that TV Land has been taking in recent years, it seems unlikely they will show My Three Sons again. Thankfully the early episodes are being released on DVD.
I'm more a TV fan than a movie fan, so I may be something of an anomaly here. (And it's probably why I haven't posted much.) When I was growing up we could not get to a movie theater much, so my entertainment came more from TV. And even when we could get to a movie theater it was often showing movies that had come out a year earlier. Think Green Acres, or maybe Beverly Hillbillies when they went home to visit Cousin Pearl (this was in the sixties) and Pearl invited them to the theater where she worked to see that "new film" Ben-Hur.
I checked and the movie I saw recently on TCM with Frawley was Crime Doctor's Manhunt. He played the police lieutenant. He and Demarest seemed to appear in a lot of the B&W police/detective/noir movies. I like the old mysteries.
-
I have the same problem. I used to love watching the national PBS feed on DirecTV until my local PBS station was added. Now I can only watch the local PBS station and they don't show half the stuff that's on the national PBS feed. I used to watch a lot of great shows on the national PBS channel that I cannot see on the local PBS channel.
-
I missed this today on TCM and I was curious if Ben Mankiewicz had anything interesting to say in his commentary about it, especially if he made any comparisons between it and the remakes that have been done. Did anyone who saw it today remember what he had to say?
-
Another interesting transition that occurred at about the same time was the change in the lineup of the sons on My Three Sons. Originally, the 3 sons were Mike, Robbie, and Chip. Mike was played by Tim Considine.
Tim Considine left the show at the end of the same season that William Frawley did. The character of Mike got married and movied away. To keep the title of the show relevant, a new third son was needed. Barry Livingston (Stanley Livingston's brother) had already been on the show for a while as Chip's best friend Ernie (after Sudsy Pfeiffer, who was Chip's original best friend on the show), so they introduced a storyline in which Ernie's parents were killed and the Douglases adopted Ernie. I remember Uncle Charley was present in the judge's chambers when the judge was interviewing the family as part of the adoption process.
If I recall correctly, these transitions all occurred at about the same time. The show managed to successfully handle a number of transitions that would've spelled doom for sitcoms of lesser quality.
If you haven't seen any of the William Frawley episodes, there's a good chance you haven't seen the Tim Considine character, either.
Tim Considine and Fred MacMurray had worked together in the Shaggy Dog, and Don Grady had been a Mouseketeer, so the cast had some Disney history to it...
Message was edited by: voranis
-
Actually, TV Land did air the early episodes of My Three Sons with William Frawley a few years ago. They actually had a marathon in which they aired the full-length episodes, without the syndication cuts for commercials, which caused the episodes to go well beyond the 30-minute slots normally allotted by TV Land for sitcoms.
Volume 1 of the first season of My Three Sons has been released on DVD, and Volume 2 will be released on January 20, 2009.
I have also seen the early seasons on other TV networks within the past twenty years. It may have been CBN before they became the Family Channel, or maybe it was the old Nick-at-Nite. I can't remember exactly what network it was.
Hallmark Channel used to run My Three Sons but they always showed the Uncle Charley episodes, as far as I could tell.
When I was growing up I could only see the Uncle Charley episodes in syndication, so it was a real treat when TV Land showed the William Frawley episodes. Both gentlemen had an ornery exterior demeanor masking a soft-hearted interior. I think I like William Frawley best, though this may be because I know him so well from I Love Lucy.
It's also great when I see Frawley and Demarest in many of the old black-and-white police/detective/noir movies that air on TCM. Just saw Frawley in one on TCM a week or so ago. Both wonderful actors.
Why no family movies
in General Discussions
Posted
> {quote:title=lzcutter wrote:}{quote}
> As I said earlier, the former Turner Library (as we understand it from TCMProgrammr) is controlled by Warner Brothers not TCM or any other branch of Turner Broadcasting.
Fascinating. I knew Time Warner owned TCM, but I didn't realize until now that TCM had to pay for movies in Warner Brothers library. I had read the following a while back on Wikipedia:
"In 1996, the Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner. Not only did this put TCM and Warner Bros. under the same corporate umbrella, but it also gave TCM access to the post-1948 Warner Bros. library (which itself includes other acquired properties such as the Lorimar, Saul Zaentz, and National General Pictures libraries)."
And I had interpreted "access" in that statement to mean "free access." A bad assumption on my part. :-)
I had wondered why TCM seemed to repeat a movie frequently within the span of a few months, then not show it again for years. They show 'em while they can! (That is, while the lease is current.)
lzcutter, is the original thread in which TCMProgrammr mentioned all this still available? I've been searching but I can't find it. I would like to read the original posts to learn more, especially since the Wikipedia info I've been getting may not be accurate...