JackFavell

>I've never had either of them! They sound great! I'd love to have some banana gum. So which banana candies were your favorites? >I'm not sure if they still make them or not. I'm remembering the early-80s. If I'm remembering correctly, SweeTarts were bigger and flatter in the early-80s. Kind of like small medallions. I hate when they change things, especially candies or food products in order to save money. Why? WHY? >I'm not crazy about pork chops, but that sounds delicious! Pork chops can be too dry for me, but the sauerkraut would definitely make them moist. I like pork roast. You slow cook the pork roast and sauerkraut together. Oh my, I know what I'm having for dinner! Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 27, 2013 12:45 PM because I forgot that you can't quote anymore

I didn't record, but I saw about five minutes, Janssen looked just as serious as he was in The Fugitive. Was he a cop or something? He was talking with a girl's mother, looking at the girl's pictures as she grew up. I think she might have gone missing or something. Maybe it will be on again soon, I notice that sometimes movies that show up on special days end up in rotation afterwards.

A KISS BEFORE SPOILING Can I just say that having a pregnant teen in the movie was pretty shocking to me in the first place. To kill her off in cold blood totally went right over the edge. I think that's what I liked about the movie - the shocks were good. Woohoo! I LOVE banana candy. my favorites were what we used to call banana bikes, which turns out to be a square banana taffy made by a company called Beichs, and those banana cigar gum they used to sell at the checkout counter in the grocery store. I had no idea they made BANANA sweet-tarts. My German mother in law makes the best pork and sauerkraut and potatoes - she uses smoked pork chops which cook on top of the sauerkraut until they are incredibly tender. YUM.

Oooh, I love Heaven Can Wait, Sansfin! Thanks for the reminder. I'll get out a dvd and pop it in to record.

Hahaha! Well, I'm glad I didn't see the whole thing, I'm off soy for good now. No wonder you never hear about this film. Here I was all excited to see it, thinking how amazing it was to find a long lost Nat movie.

I saw the end and thought Nat and Ray were pretty good, but I didn't see the meat of the film.

Ro, I am so HAPPY for you that your paragraph nightmare is at an end! This is great news! I know how frustrating it was. I am also glad you enjoyed The Ladykillers, I had a few days of nail biting, wondering if you would actually like it after Frank and I praised it to the skies. What I like best is the way they start out so evil, but she turns them into little boys who need a scolding....she treats them that way and then they actually become that way...shuffling their feet, staring down at the ground like they got caught hiding the chalk. It's too funny! Like little kids who got into trouble, not hardened criminals. It's such a deceptively simple movie, but there's a lot to it about our perceptions of people. Their perception of her was that she'd be easy to fool, or to put one over on, and her perception of them was that they were 'naughty'. And it affected them, it wasn't so easy having a lady like that look at you with disappointment. And the tea party has become my absolute favorite scene, with the one woman who won't go back into the room...just keeps chattering away... she cracks me up so much.

WOW! Congrats on your blog post! Love this part of your review at Sittin' on a Backyard Fence: "He doesn?t really want Francis broken. The thought crossed my mind that Wilson wanted Macomber strong if he were going to fight to get his wife. It was some code of ethics for Wilson. The same way he would never shoot an animal from the jeep b?cuz he had unfair advantage, he wanted to fight a man, not a wimp. There?s a code to stealing another man?s wife fair and square." Yes, there is this distinct impression that though Macomber sees this as a friendship, or maybe a mentor-student relationship, Wilson is more aware of the rivalry factors, and the big picture. He is the stronger so he is quite torn. I think were it not for Margo, Wilson and Macomber might be friends, or perhaps Wilson would not have bothered at all with Macomber, but all in all, the whole thing would not have been a to-the-death situation. It would have been a take-him-or-leave-him-alone situation. Wilson's biggest problem is that he sees this, and yet he also sees Margo trapped in a relationship with an inferior man. He cannot stop himself from messing with Margo.

I think I may be the only person who LOVES *Dangerous*, truly, madly, deeply. I like watching train wreck Joyce Heath, I love her changeover, I love the trick plot twist, I love her sexiness, I love her evil bitchiness when she tells him that he was so awkward that she laughed when he made love to her, I love that that was all a front because she was falling for him, I love the theatrical setting, I love her doomedness, I love the country house so much that I was literally thinking of how I could redo my living room with white stone. Maven, I totally agree with you that this is the first 'Bette' film that showed the real Davis stamp. I think she's wonderful in it. I recommend *Parachute Jumper*, though not for Bette. Not only does it have Doug Jr. in one of those hard boiled roles he had perfected by about that time, it has Frankie McHugh, who really shines, and Harold Huber as a gunsel who gets a terrific final scene. And make sure to watch for the scene where McHugh waves goodbye to the pilots chasing him for transporting narcotics! It surprised me more than I can say!

Hi Metsie! Hope you're well and life is good!

Fantastic news, guys! How exciting... it's fun imagining what it's going to be like with those songs as a background! Lots of fun!

Oh yeah! I also meant to say, I LOVE *The Long Long Trailer* ... and was actually thinking that it might be one I would show the kid soon before you even brought it up. Great minds!

> {quote:title=SansFin wrote:}{quote} > > {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote} > > Which stars and films are YOU looking forward to seeing? I limited this to one movie for each star because I did not wish it to be exceptionally long post. There are some actors for whom I could chose nearly all the movies scheduled. > > Doris Day - Please Don't Eat The Daisies (1960) > Alec Guinness - Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) > Mary Boland - Julia Misbehaves (1948) > Charlton Heston - Soylent Green (1973) > Joan Fontaine - Rebecca (1940) > Fred MacMurray - Double Indemnity (1944) > Ramon Novarro - The Prisoner Of Zenda (1922) > Steve McQueen - The Blob (1958) > Lana Turner - The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) > Henry Fonda - The Male Animal (1942) > Catherine Deneuve - Belle de jour (1968) > Bette Davis - The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) > Gregory Peck - Designing Woman (1957) > Ann Blyth - The King's Thief (1955) > Wallace Beery - Rationing (1944) > Natalie Wood - The Great Race (1965) > Randolph Scott - My Favorite Wife (1940) > Hattie McDaniel - The Mad Miss Manton (1938) > William Holden - Born Yesterday (1950) > Maggie Smith - Travels with my Aunt (1972) > Charles Coburn - Heaven Can Wait (1941) > Clark Gable - Test Pilot (1938) > Jeanne Crain - Apartment for Peggy (1948) > Martin Balsam - The Anderson Tapes (1971) > Shirley Jones - The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) > Glenda Farrell - The Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933) > Kirk Douglas - Lust for Life (1956) > Rex Harrison - Unfaithfully Yours (1948) > > I believe many of these choices may seem mundane. I feel that is not all my fault as many of the actors' most edgy or adventurous roles are not scheduled. Not at all! You know, sometimes you just like what you like. You are among friends here, and we all have our sentimental faves that might seem mundane to a film critic. They are comfort movies, like comfort food. I absolutely love *Kind Hearts and Coronets, Test Pilot,* and most especially *Murder in the Wax Museum.* Now *Murder in the Wax Museum* is probably the least well made of these three films, and yet, if I were to pick one that gave me the most pleasure, it would be *Wax Museum.* Today I was looking forward to Romance on the High Seas and It's a Great Feeling. Neither of these is going to win an academy award, unless it's for something like set dressing. But Doris is so natural, and these are her first films! I also absolutely love *The Blob* - everything about it. My kid also loves it, it's so goofy with nurses falling down in fear just so they can be enveloped by the creature. And no one can say it's a good movie, but I have a great fondness for it. Steve has IT and it's his first film, too.

Gladys George is on today in Doris' *Lullaby of Broadway,* I believe. I just wanted to get that in there cause it's coming up next. > {quote:title=rohanaka wrote:}{quote}Howdy there, Jackie.. That's so true. I'll admit we are picky in this house *** We are too.. and I tend to be a bit strict about it, sometimes because I just refuse to take her to see a movie (or let her check out from the library either) that is going to glorify "lousy" kid behavior as entertainment. (so we avoid any of the ones that tend to promote rude or beligerant nonsense right off the bat.. ha.. so that eliminates a LOT of the ones that seemed to be coming out these last few years for sure) We also don't do "creepy" either (as in ghosts, witchcraftt, etc (except for Wizard of Oz type stuff)... so we've avoided a lot of OTHER movies that way too. (did I mention we are pretty picky?? Ha) I like that she is actually almost more mindful of it that I am.. if something comes on TV that she thinks (or knows) is inapporpriate for her.. she'll tell me (even before I get the remote out sometimes) Mom.. we need to turn this. She's tougher than I am on it sometimes. ha*** Now don't get me wrong.. we are not all "Mary Poppins" ha.. because in many ways.. she is like her Mama and she does like a good story.. and she has seen some more mature stuff.. so long as it is not TOO gritty and as long as the language and violence is not "over the top" etc.. but we just sort of have to pick and choose now far down the road we let her go. If it is an older movie that I have seen.. I can pretty much tell if it is one I want her to watch or not. but for the new stuff (just coming out) I have a website that I rely on that does movie reviews and includes details on "family friendly" content as well as whether the story or characters were any good, etc. Its been a pretty good guideline for us.. we actually avoided a few movies we THOUGHT we might see over the years after reading up on them first. (it will even tell you how many cuss words.. if there are any.. etc) so I look on there before I say yes or no.. it might seem extreme for some folks.. but it works for us*** I totally hear you! We are a bit picky, though we've loosened up quite a bit recently. I don't mind a stupid movie that might have some content, like Dodgeball, or something really dumb. But I do draw the line like you do, at glorifying stupidity. I can't stand it if education is looked down on. Now that doesn't mean we don't watch the occasional Ferris Bueller or Clueless, because both movies have something else to say about being a good person. But when a character is trying to ditch school all the time I take it very very seriously, and don't watch. > I LOVE that she liked Rebecca.. I bet it really held her attention a LOT. (she is just getting too that age) Wowsa.. *REBECCA* SPOILERS Oh my gosh, Ro, it was great watching it with her... the gasp she let out when Maxim actually admitted that he killed Rebecca was amazing! She really loved the lush settings and the mystery of it. She asked to watch more like it, and I thought and thought, but I finally said, "There really aren't any other movies like *Rebecca* ." because truly, it's Hitch but it's also Selznick, so you will never get as rich a film. I thought about *Notorious*, but didn't have it, then thought that maybe some of the other mystery stories with lush settings might do - *My Cousin Rachel* or something, but you know how kids are, she wanted a film right then...so I tried *Foreign Correspondent* which was the only one I had a copy of. Well, that went over like a lead balloon. Then she watched part of *Strangers on a Train* with me, which was better. She needs a strong story with a director who guides you step by step - and the trappings are important, so Hitch is a good choice. But of course, I have to pick and choose, we can't just leap into *Psycho* or *Frenzy* .... >And Modern Times is a fave for the kidling too. We watched the Jungle Book a long time ago.. but I think the kidling need to see again, because it was several years ago, and the last time, I think she was expecting it to be more like the animated version. I bet she'd like it more now. There's a lot of backstory to Jungle Book to keep track of, till you really get into it. A lot of human failings like greed to wrap your head around. >**** As for the kidling's taste.. Let's see.. in the last year she has either asked for (as gifts) or bought for herself (with b-day money).. Singing in the Rain, The Three Musketeers. (because we DO have a crush on Gene Kelly, as you know.. ha) And she already owned The Wizard of Oz (from a previous Christmas a few years ago) We went out this Spring to some community garage sales and scored a whole bunch of movies and some of them were HER purchases.. she now is the proud over of a nice collection of Shirley Temples.,. plus (ha.. drum roll please) a set of GODZILLA movies. (is she my girl or WHAT? Ha) She also has a VHS copy of Mighty Joe Young (that she has cabbaged on to from mom and dad), and we bought The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad a few years ago and she takes GREAT delight in bringing that with her when she goes to visit some of her friends.. you know.. to have something "original" to offer that they might not have seen before. (ha.. really.. I think she just wants to see it again, for the umpteenth time) And most recently has asked me to find.. buy.. something.. ha.. a copy of The Long, Long Trailer, (she has checked it out of the library a couple of times over the last year and absolutely LOVES it) She also has enjoyed some of the Essentials Jr. w/ me this year, and she loved getting to see the Pirate again recently (gottal love that Gene) and she also enjoyed Great Expectations (and I told her if she liked THAT one.. she needs to watch David Copperfield w/ me next time it is on.. ha) And of course.. she does like the Duke too.. though admittedly.. she has not seen as many of his films all the way through, as I tend to sendher out of the room when they begin to get gritty. She also likes Chaplin.. and she enjoys Lassie movies too, (though I don't think she's gotten to see very many of them all the way through.. we always seem to come on them late.. after they already started.. ha.) What can I say.. her tastes are sort of "all over the map" but I just like the fact that she LIKES the classics.. some as much if not more as the new stuff too.*** I feel that way too. We watched Lassie but halfway through when Lassie gets shot, she gave me the most murderous look! She was bawling and I was bawling, and she was so MAD at me because Lassie got hurt! I'm like, "It's not my fault!" I forgot two she really loved - *Mon Oncle,* which I own, but we also watched it on Essentials Jr. Bill Hader said something about the other Tati movie, Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, and she said, "Mom! You mean there's ANOTHER ONE??? Why didn't you TELL me?" The other she really got a kick out of was *The Ladykillers,* which I think you and your kidling would love. She and I started laughing so hard at the end... it was great. >Well the nice part about the FTT one on youtube is it is REALLY broken u p into tiny pieces (looks like they are all well under ten minutes a piece) so if it gets too boring.. ha. I can skip over that part and move on.. ha. I looked up the story line for South Riding on the PBS website.. it does sound like it would be a good one. It's good cause there are lots of people, each with their own interests in the town and how it's run, or with personal problems of different kinds. And it's sensitively done. You never know where it's going to go, some of the good people have bad traits, and some of the bad people you aren't sure of. It makes for a good story. I just wish it was something that was more available to watch. >Me too.. it would be fun to see a collection of her work all together just to compare some of her characters and how they are portrayed. I think from what I read, it sounds like she had been sick for a good long while with various illnesses actually.. but died of a cerebral hemorage. (if I am remembering it right) And I think it mentioned she started acting as a child.. so she had a good long life of it.. that is likely how she was so able to hone her skill and develop such a good feel for how to give such depth of feeling to a character like that. Well, however she did it, she obviously was a great observer of human nature, because she always plays these people who have been around, and seen a lot. That's hard to physicalize, if you know what I mean, just to look like you know the score, but you feel it from her right to the bone, in her inner character. ***PS.. love the chat about Leslie in the Petrified Forest.. I think that is one of my most fave roles for him, by the way. Oh me, oh my.. what a tragic guy THAT character was. (He made me mad.. and broke my heart.. all at the same time) Every time I watch I am practically yelling at the screen, "Don't do it! Alan, DON'T DO IT!" between sobs. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 2, 2013 10:24 AM

I understand about Leslie Howard, ButterT. It's OK for you not to really groove on him, as MarkyB might say! But I think that's why I was so excited when James said he was his favorite. Not too many people have that liking nowadays. You have such a broad range of actors you like, of all different types, that it's alright NOT to like ONE! And I think *The Petrified Forest* is probably as perfect a representation of Leslie's onscreen persona as there could be, without all the....what is it? solemness in the filming or direction that usually goes along with the type of films he was in. Some of his early films make him seem a bit pretentious or stuffy or weak, or worse, humorless, and I actually think he was none of those things. I do enjoy the old, stuffy seeming films anyway, mainly because it is a way I can appreciate a time when thoughtful men, or intellectual men, or men who believed in something deeply were actually valued. Even in *The Petrified Forest,* where he professes to not believe in anything anymore, he really does, he has values high above the rest of the patrons, and that's what Gabby sees in him, a higher, more artistic sensibility, something different. And he sees a fresh view of that lofty ideal in her, instead of the stifling world of ONLY intellect he'd lived with for so long. I find it infinitely appealing in him. Howard could also take that same higher artistic feeling and make it into the most shameful, deliberate ruse. He literally makes fun of himself in his comedies - he's always using that lofty ideal to get what he wants, which usually isn't at all lofty. > See, *Caged* was one of Eleanor's films that i didn't see until after I had seen many of her others. Growing up, i really wanted to see it, but grandmama never let me because thought it would disturb me. But being the hardcore classic movie fan that i was, i really wanted to see it. so i borrowed it from her VHS movie library and watched it at my house during the middle of the night when my parents were asleep. I sat close to the speakers so it didn't wake them. Such a rebel child, i was. heehee! That's probably the most rebelious thing i ever did, actually, which is so sad. But I was quite hooked on Eleanor, so I just had to see it! I remember being confused and freaked out after seeing it that first time, so it turns out grandmama was right. Then she figured out that i borrowed it and instead of getting mad at me, she simply crossed her arms and said, "What did you think?" All i said was, "so you were right....but she was pretty in it!" I was probably 9 or 10 at the time. It wasn't until i was a teenager that i truly enjoyed the film for what it was. Grandma always knows best. She really is the most strikingly beautiful woman... I think that's what draws us to her in the first place, but her talent is what keeps you in front of the screen for her films. > I still have yet to see *The Woman in White*, but I recorded it. I am really looking forward to seeing Agnes Moorehead and Sydney Greenstreet in it with her! You must see it! It's not a perfect movie, but I just love those ghostly movies from that time period! It's got three (or maybe I should say four) good performances from women in it - Parker, Alexis Smith, and Agnes Moorhead. It's a great story, and has a nice period feel that's a little bit late 1800's and a little bit 1940's Warner Bros, which is always a good mix. > you are 100% right about *The Sound of Music*. She was so good at being snoobishly stuck up and in her own little dream world. You dislike her so easily. I guess that was one thing that always made me slightly uncomfortable with her character; she made it so believable. That probably makes no sense. But I can honestly say that Eleanor Parker is one of the very FEW people who leaves you completely believing it if she plays bad or good girls and I, personally, honestly don't mind watching her as either. I think I can only say that probably about one or two other people. I know exactly what you mean! If someone like Jeanne Crain or Doris Day suddenly turned evil, or at least not nice, it would just be unacceptable, but Parker had a knack for playing those roles well, and sometimes can add a touch of sympathy to a really horrible character, as if that person simply couldn't help being the way they were. I'm thinking particularly of *Man With the Golden Arm*, in which she's monstrous, but then, every monster has her reasons. She and Kim are both exceptional in it. > As for Mr. Cutie Pie, Edmund Gwenn....he's just a big ol' teddy bear! He's just about as cute as Mr. "Cuddles" Sakall. My favorite performance of Gwenn's is undoubtedly in *The Doctor Takes a wife* as he makes multiple lip puckers in the air to get Loretta Young and Ray Milland to kiss while they hate each other. It's the cutest scene ever! It makes me squeal every time I see it. > > http://acertaincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/gwenn-peggy.jpg > > http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/01/f2/01f23bf85e7ca3623b9db72f83c8ba3c.png?itok=P7_zglM7 I guess I have to see *The Doctor Takes a Wife* now! Those pics are adorable! I agree, though, I think S.Z. out-cutes even Edmund Gwenn. Did you know that's my favorite S.Z. role in that pic? He really should have had top billing, it's his movie all the way. It should have been called *"How Uncle Felix Saved Christmas"* . > What are your thoughts on The Man with the Golden Arm? I really like it. I find it much better than any of the other addiction movies starting to come out at that time. It's funny, because I think it is Frank's absolutely best acting role ever, and yet, I can't dismiss Kim or Eleanor's performances readily. They are equally good, and deserve a little of the limelight for that movie too. It's a trio of powerhouse players, and one of the best ensemble movies ever. I think that the studio could have easily cast the two women in the opposite roles, but wisely went against type at that time. Kim is warmer and sweeter AND stronger here than you ever see her, and she should not be overlooked. I think Eleanor's gentle doll like appearance really helps the shock value of her true manipulative nature. And her talent really shows as we see her desperation and twistedness come out when he decides to take that brave step away. It's not a pleasant movie, but I do find it enjoyable and yes, inspirational... you have to make the hard decisions, break the pattern or cycle of need, he just couldn't go back to that life, or else he'd be killing himself. And I think on some level, that's what she wanted, to subvert him, to bring him to her dysfunction, not physical, but mental - that small ever-tightening world that she herself inhabited, and sadly, wanted to live in.

Oh that's too bad, kingrat! Well, she's a very busy lady, I see her on TV all the time lately.

Oh James, don't worry about it! I got to the end of my post and forgot to add *The Petrified Forest*, even though you had already mentioned it! I snuck it in right before I posted, so nobody knew.... There are so many good performances, I'll pretty much watch anything with Leslie Howard. I don't care what it is, I like *Secrets* and *Smiling Through,* and *Outward Bound* and *A Free Soul,* and *Captured* and *British Agent.* The only one I don't care much for is *Romeo and Juliet,* though I don't think it's his fault. It's just the bloated production and over age actors, which really shouldn't be a problem, but it would have been great to pair Howard with a tremendously sexy actress, or Shearer with a more fiery Romeo. I just don't think they work together, and that goes for the rest of the cast who all strive valiantly but all seem like they are playing in different rooms. Some of his films are a bit dated, but so many are worthwhile anyway if you can place yourself in 1931 or 32. I forgot *The Animal Kingdom* too which I like very much. *Berkeley Square* is also good, he's so terribly sad in that one. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 1, 2013 4:32 PM

> {quote:title=rohanaka wrote:}{quote} ***We are getting close to leaving some of the "kiddie" stuff behind, but she does enjoy a lot of it still. We have definitely taken a turn though.. not so much into the whole "princess" thing as we used to be. As for the "outlandishly unrealistic aspect.. ha.. yeah, some of the ones they have now days are completely insane.. ha. (Shades of Carl Frederickson and his flying house. ha) but some of the stories are really very fun.. and a few of them actually have some really good messages in them too.. if you can get past all the "whacky" premises that get thrown in to tell the story. There ARE some that are just a complete waste of time though.. in fact a lot of "kids" movies are not worth a plug nickle.. you really have to shop around. That's so true. I'll admit we are picky in this house. There was a time though where we almost HAD to see every single kid movie that came out. A lot of them were absolutely terrible. But some of the ones that are good really make up for the ones that don't work. (note: Carl Frederickson is great). >One thing that along w/ floating houses, talking cars, flying dragons, and now racing snails.. ha.. the kidling is also very open to classic movies. (go figure, ha) She has even begun a small collection of her own (in and amongst her "kiddie" movies. And that has been fun for me to see her discovering her own "favorites" in between all the ones she just gets stuck watching with me.. HA. My little one has her own too, or should I say 'two'? Because through years now of watching, her favorites are still *Singing in the Rain* and *Modern Times.* She's added to those a tiny few classic films, so I'm really happy about that! *Rebecca* hit her like a ton of bricks, *Mon Oncle* is a great favorite too, but not on a par with the others. *The Thief of Bagdad* and *The Jungle Book* come in a little lower still. She liked watching *My Man Godfrey* but isn't super into it. Oh yes, *The Wizard of Oz* is still a huge favorite, probably along the ranks of the first two. So make that three! Other than that, there haven't been a whole lot that grabbed her, though she will sit and watch with me many times. >***I found Friday the Thirteenth.. so will try to give it a look see (so long as no knife-wielding LOONY in a ski mask pops out at me.. HA) I also looked up South Riding.. but didnot see it, so I bet you are right. Though I DID notice that a remake of it was on PBS. Not sure how it would compare to the classic version. I also noticed your sweet Ralphie is in both of them.. and evil Edmund AND Ralphie too.. ha. That sounds like quite a combo for sure. I'll have to see if I can at least watch the one I found.. and will keep an eye out for the other sometime. *South Riding* is the better film and Ralphie isn't such a sourpuss in it, in fact, he's quite touching. *Friday the Thirteenth* is barely watchable in some sections, though I really like the premise and some of the stories in it. It's very early on in British sound film, so it's not near as well made as the American films of 1932, we'd got the hang of it by then, but they were just starting. Hope you won't be bored by it. *South Riding* really deserves a release with a clean print though. It's a quite good picture, and if you ever get the chance to see it, it's pretty interesting. Although you might not like it's socialist leanings, I think it makes a good case for caring for your community and working together. The story and characters are interesting even with the political stuff thrown in, it's not ALL political. Kind of like a soap opera, but better. >*** I think you have described her very well.. she more or less gone. and all you see by the end was just the "leftovers" of what she ended up as.. very tragic indeed. Oh and ps.. *I liked your idea of a "Gladys" day next year.. or even a "Gladys" evening sometime would be good. (are you reading this oh great TCM programming Guru??? ha)* I am not too familiar w/ her at all.. but I did look her up.. she did not have a really HUGE career, and sadly died at a fairly early age ( at least I have to call it early as I am teetering on the brink of turning fifty all too soon myself, ha.) But if this performance in Madame X is any indication.. she'd be one to look out for in other films, to be certain. I hope the TCM programmer saw our exchange, they are so good about listening to the fans. I had no idea that Gladys George died young...now I have to go and look her up! She's always an arresting actress and I literally discovered her and fell in love with her actng in my teens, watching *The Roaring Twenties* with Cagney. I'd like to know where she trained, if she was theatrical... how she got so good at playing it so down to earth.

Oops! Sorry ButterT, I didn't mean to bump your post! I just realized I had wanted to write something else in my previous post.:x

In some ways, Gladys' performance pre-dates another agonizing performance, one by Susan Tyrell in *Fat City* which is an incredibly 'down and out' movie from the seventies. She plays a woman much like Madame X, only she's just down and out, we never see how she got that way. She's just one of the many walking wounded in a city that doesn't care. It was uncanny to me how much the performances were alike, so far apart in time, and how the actresses even look somewhat similar, but maybe it's that they both have that vacant look. I think maybe without Gladys' performance (and some of her others, like Roaring Twenties or Best Years of Our Lives), we never would have had Susan's.

> {quote:title=rohanaka wrote:}{quote}Hi there Jackie.. RE: BTW it need not make any sense for me to enjoy it ***Ha.. I know exactly what you mean.. sometimes there is a NEED for a movie to "make sense" but if the story is inherently 'fantastic" that way.. "sense" is optional, so long as the plot and characters are interesting. Why just yesterday I took the kidling to see Turbo.. ha. That movie is one where you TOTALLY have to suspend all belief to enjoy it.. but hey.. if you CAN just "go" with the whole concept of an accidentally genetically enhanced SNAIL racing in the INDY 500.. ha.. its really a fun movie!) We are starting into the choosy stage with my kidling. She is too old for some of the movies, but then she wants to see Despicable Me 2, so go figure. One of the joys in my life has been seeing these outlandishly unrealistic movies where toys can come to life and people can invent things like cookie robots and **** guns, or shrink the moon with a giant shrink ray. I don't go to the movies for reality! I go pretty much for the opposite! So kids movies can be refreshingly unreal. However, within the world of the movie, things have to make sense, I generally agree. The Incredible Shrinking Man for instance, everything made sense within that world. But if the tone of a film is very realistic, then, no, I don't buy someone riding on an explosion... if you know what I mean. > So yeah.. "sense" is optional sometimes.. it just depends on the story and characters.. and BTW delivers if only w/ the characters.. they really are an interesting mix. I completely agree, I love the mix, and of course it's got a lot of great actors in there who make the most of their assignments. I like the message too, you can make mistakes, even be sceptical about God and whatever lies out there beyond us, but don't be ruthless and uncaring, using others to get what you want. >*** He can play the most despicable characters ever born, then turn around and play Santa ***Now you have my attention, for sure. I am trying to imagine Edmund as "despicable" ha. I know I have seen him in several films.. and some where he was not as "loveable" as Santa.. ha.. but I don't ever remember him as being that awful.. hmm.. I will have to check into those two titles you mentioned, if only to see the "evil" Edmund. He's really horrible in both of those movies, I remember thinking how amazing it was that he could be so vile. I don't know if you can find *South Riding* online, it's pretty scarce. I had to order a really bad print online and it's probably the best one there is. But Friday the Thirteenth is on youtube. Though it's a choppy film with lots of stories going on at once, I still like certain parts of it. >*I am so glad you got to see it *(Madame X)* .... and yes.. I agree.. "poured out her heart" is a great way to say it. And it DID ring "true".. a very genuinely tragic feel.. no "put on" in sight. Well said, kiddo. She just completely let herself "sink" into that character. It wasn't even about make up and hair, etc.. it was even in the way she just carried herself.. and even just standing still without uttering a word, she had such a vacant and hopeless demeanor.. you could tell she was not just "down" but "out" and she'd gone about as far as she could go in both directions. You really brought up a good point here. She had a sort of inner stillness that was almost frightening. Like she was all balled up tight inside, with no emotion left. Like she'd cried and wept and beaten herself up over it all for so long that there was nothing left but a body, a body that stood and walked and talked if it had to, but the soul really wasn't there. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 1, 2013 2:31 PM

I'm looking forward to *Glenda Farrell, Hattie McDaniel, Ramon Novarro, Gable,* and *Mary Boland*. I absolutely love it when TCM mixes in character actors with the other stars! I named my absolute favorites above but man, there's a good group here this year! Catherine Deneuve, Charles Coburn, Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness, Randolph Scott...and Martin Balsam!... all favorites. I'm even looking forward to Wallace Beery day! For all his bluster, and his reputation off screen, they are showing some really interesting movies that day. The only day I will plan to be away from my TV is Charlton Heston day, though I do like the way Gary Cooper shows Heston how it's really done in *The Wreck of the Mary Deare*. Do I foresee an appearance from Shirley Jones at a future TCM festival? Maybe next year we can have a *Gladys George* day?

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}Thin tropes are where my suspended disbeliefs go to live. > > * *this may just be the best single sentence I've ever read on the message boards! I live on your block too.* > > Thanxx neighbor. Well...we've got to have a kaffeeklatsch real soon! :-) Hop the fence...I'll bring the coffee cake. You too, Goddess!

I love those picks and the reasons behind them. Thanks James, for explaining to me how you chose Leslie Howard as your favorite actor. I am much like your wife in that male infidelity can bug me onscreen (and off!), but I find Howard so appealingly romantic, and Bergman so fresh and lovely, that I instantly forgive them every time I see the film. And I hate to say it but Edna Best and the little girl are such drips I really find I don't like them. Well, maybe the little girl a little. That's movie morality for you! My favorite Howard films are: *Pygmalion* - he's just an incredibly self centered fool in this film, and I love him for it. He captures the bullheaded stupidity of Higgins, not just the arrogance and intellectual capabilities.... all the while insisting that he's a genius, which I find extremely humorous. He IS Higgins to me. It's a prodigious tour-de-force performance, because we actually LIKE Higgins despite his all encompassing self love. He's constantly tripping up stairs while trying to make a grand exit, or getting battered by Mrs. Pearce for saying the B word, or getting a dressing down by his mother. He thinks he lives in a world of his own making, where he needs no one, but it's a delusion. Rex Harrison once corrected writer Earl Wilson about the role: "Actually, my dear fellow, I play Leslie Howard playing Higgins." *The Scarlet Pimpernel* - ah. So deeply romantic. So passionate. So perfectly foppish. I really love that Howard finds the opposites in every role, the brave amidst the foolish, the daring amidst the shy. His best roles combine two things at once. *The Petrified Forest* - I don't think I need to say anything about this role. He's divine with Davis. I love the yearning here, from both of them. I can't really say any more about him than I already have, I'd just be repeating myself, so I'll just list the rest in order. *Stand In* *Spitfire* *Pimpernel Smith* *It's Love I'm After* *The 49th Parallel*