JackFavell
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Posts posted by JackFavell
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I've seen The Brooklyn Bridge, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jack Johnson, Empire of the Air and Lewis and Clark.
I can't imagine doing what they did either. It seems so completely of another time, a stronger generation.
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> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}*You remind me of the teacher in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.*
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> I hope it's the good teacher!
As a dreamer, I know how self-destructive it can be.Of course I meant the good teacher!
> A hider can be anything. I'm on the shy side until I feel comfortable with someone. But I can be comfortable with someone and still not let them in.
Yes, and this is a problem. I can do that too. It depends on the person I'm with. If they are kind and willing to tolerate differences, then I can let them in, although if I'm depressed, I don't let anyone in, no matter what, not till after it's over. This is the exact wrong behavior! That's when you should reach out for help. But I don't. Maybe I should make a resolution to let Andrew in when I feel really deeply blue. I usually do but it's always on the upswing. I think if I had friends like you guys around here, I would be a more open person. The CT. mindset is very harsh, much much harsher and more driven than the midwest. It's also much more closed off and judgmental than I was used to when I was growing up. It's really not a fluke that all the classic movies set in CT. are about closed-mindedness.
> Age does that to is, does it not? We'd love to have our looks of the past, even if we didn't like them at the time. I feel we all possess some vanity. I'm very self-conscious.
I waver back and forth. Just when I feel good enough to not be too self conscious, something happens to make me aware of myself again, and not in a good way. In some ways I was more self conscious as a young person, and in some ways I was less.
Are you self conscious about your body or is it about your words or social interaction?
> And I'd probably love your mom because of all of that. I like beautiful women/pretty girls, but I don't like the ones who think of themselves as beautiful/pretty. Those are the tough ones to please.
My mom was a wonderful person. Always willing to listen to someone's problems. She was a quiet beauty with a lot of class. She had a lot of sorrow in her life, but she never ever complained. I don't know where I came from!
> Selfishness guarantees unkindness. Blanche's pride can be too much for me. I love that she's delicate and needs to be protected, but that pride is worrisome. I feel she values herself too much, even though I know so much of it is a charade.
Maybe that's my problem, I am selfish.
>I'm used to snippy!
You like being snipped at!
> And I've got a bad feeling about them!
That's funny. You really are a Jeff. It's great that a movie can play to both our personalities.
> Oh, yes... the real world. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Once again, we are similar. I do like to gossip and want to analyze people, but I also love my escapes.
I think I've caught a little of that CT. closeness, keeping your cards to yourself kind of thing. But I still hate the close-minded intolerance. It's rare for someone around here not to show their prejudice in a conversation. This is why I tend to not reveal my extremely liberal self, although even a liberal person politically can be a terrible snob around here. I miss having an artistic pursuit. One good thing about most artists, they are rarely prejudiced, unless it's against normals. They have their own set of faults which are bad enough, but prejudice isn't one of them.
> Awesome questions! And guess again! I'm very similar to "Jeff" (James Stewart), negativity and all. I think just as he does with relationships. I focus on all the reasons why a relationship will never work. And just like "Jeff," I do this while being completely in love with the woman. You just know "Jeff" is crazy about Lisa Carol (Grace Kelly). But he's right, the two of them are very different. She doesn't care, though. Will she care in time? That's always the question. "Jeff" will always gripe and grumble. If Lisa Carol continues to beam and fuss over him, their relationship would be fine.
The grumbling and negativity is a cover for insecurity, a plea for love really.
> I'm going to watch this and eventually reply to your post in "Rambles." I'm a sucker for unrequited love.
Oh boy. It's still a movie from 1915, it's not subtle. Well, actually for the time period, it is.But not compared to what we see now. I hope you'll like the message. Even if you don't like it much, there will be things in it that are captivating. The milieu is really first rate, a very realistic background, as is usual for Walsh.
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Oh I laughed hard at that! SO you are gaslighting us! It all becomes clear now....
> It just seems like the "rah rah" kind of war films are bland and treat us as brain-washed children. I get nothing out of that.
Yes, I guess that's what I dislike too, when the message is designed to make us blandly march in step. Never was a good goose stepper...I'm too weird. And that intolerance thing... I don't care if you are at war, there is something unseemly and horrible about racial hatred and ethnocentricity.
> I probably won't be getting to *Back to Bataan* for a month or so. I've got two more 50s flicks for Duke before I reach the 40s.
Whew! Off the hook. Thanks.
> Wow! You watched it all? That's impressive. I've been trying to get through Burns' "Baseball," but I just haven't found the needed momentum to get through it all. My focus has been on film.
Like I said, I missed the second or 3rd episode and never got back to this one. I always meant to watch it. Now I know Shelby's in it, maybe I can get into it. He's fine.
I have a little crush, though he's gone now. The Civil War doc is not as long as Baseball or Jazz, I think. And it goes very very quickly, it's so fascinating. I never felt like, "Oh cmon, just get on with it. In fact when it was over I was sad.
> I know of him because of "Baseball." He's very "southern."
He seems such a gentleman. Not too many of those left.
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Aww, I can hear his sly chuckle. He gets a sparkle in his eye. I like his humor.
> The opening of the film lets you know right away that you're in the world of "pre-code." Then I liked Sally's (Claudette Colbert) journey from there. It was until the last act that I just didn't go for the film anymore.
I agree, though I think that part was very well done. It just didn't appeal to me as much as the first part.
> It was rather "easy." But, ironically, it ends up being accurate because the "Code" really did behave like those in the film.
Ha1 That's true! Easy, that's what bothered me about it. some of it was too easy... a mite manipulative of the audience. Not that other precodes aren't, I just felt the strings a little too much in this one. Not to take away from it's merits, and CC's fine performance. And it did have Ricardo Cortez, who I love, especially in this kind of role.
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You are! You're someone who places a great deal of value on personal freedom and I feel you attach such a value with the loose women.I do, and I place a high value on humanity. Everyone has thoughts and feelings, it doesn't matter where you come from or what you've done. even the most heinous criminal has a soul of some kind. The problems start when people look down their noses at or try to control or destroy someone else's beliefs. It spawns retaliation. So I totally believe in a very open society.
> He's one of the most stylish directors of all. And for him to combine such rich emotion with mesmerizing visuals makes his films works of art. I have great appreciation for him.
Me too. Do you think he just read these stories and saw how to film them in his mind's eye as he was reading? Or do you think he painstakingly worked out how to show emotion through fluidity? It's a question that I'd love to ask him. This is when I get totally frustrated with classic film. No one asks the directors or actors the questions I would have liked to ask. They still don't even today. An interview is all about "was your co-star a good kisser?" Ugh.
> That is weird!
Believe me I know!
See, now you won't like me cause I'm a nerd at heart. > I highly doubt that! And we men are stupid. We can love our wife but wish for the other thing from someone we don't care about. It can be a powerful urge.
That's true. Again, perhaps I'm too open minded for my own good. Of course, if this happened in real life, it would be a different story.
> I also loved the wife in "Le Masque."
She really was what the story was about, even though she was only in it at the end. She may have seemed old and haggard, with taking care of him, but she had a fine understanding. Sad that she got all the drudgery of marriage and none of the fun. But she didn't ask for more, and there's no greater love than that. She's the Charles of the marriage.
> The only other time I've seen Jean Servais is *The Longest Day*, and I can't remember him. *Rififi* is the film he's probably best known for. I've yet to watch it. I'm due to watch it, too. I'm a fan of Jules Dassin.
Ah that's where I know him from. I still haven't seen the whole movie. I think I recorded it sometime back. I like Dassin too. I like his black humor, and his style.
> Evidently they had the set built for the other story, which was to be "Paul's Mistress."
Oh I don't know that one. I'll have to look it up in my collection. I almost wish I didn't know that he was going to pick another... it makes you wish he'd been able to do it. What a loss for us.
> He flipped the switch on her. She went from being the center of his life to being the bane of his existence.
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There's an novelist named Milan Kundera who says that shared sleep is more important than sex.
> I do think life is about happiness. Where our failures start to mount is when we lose sight of real happiness in favor of the fleeting. What is real happiness? I feel it's spending time with those you love and care about. What do you with that time? That's where it gets tricky.
Maybe it's being open to the fullest extent with the ones you love.
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> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}
There is a lyricism without being overthought. It was quite natural and there was often an elegant melancholy to them,That was elegantly put, mr. movieman, sir! And very true. Nothing forced or phony about their prose. It's very intimate.
>Shelby Foote was my favorite historian on the program. He has a down to earth conversational quality that teaches without the sense of lecture. My brother was so impressed he bought Foot's Civil War collection. By contrast James MacPherson has an amazing incredibly detailed book on the war but while fine as a commentator he is no Shelby Foote.
MavPherson is the the first one I read, in college maybe or high school? But man he's dry. Foote is anything but dry.
I had no idea Shelby Foote was also in the Baseball documentary. I admit that one lost me after the first episode when it was on. Maybe I will give it a try if I can stream it. I also missed Jazz, which would have appealed to me, because I love jazz music, especially the early stuff.
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That's very true, Sansfin. You have to watch a silent with all your attention. I was trying to watch one the other day and was trying to eat my lunch at the same time. I couldn't even do that. I had to go back and rewind.
But when a good silent does get going, and I'm watching with no distractions, nothing can break the link between me and the film.
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The Baker's Wife is Pagnol, and Pagnol is fantastique! I predict you will like it. Where did you get a copy if I might ask?
I love Doris and Frank in Young at Heart. I don't know if you'll like it but I think they have great chemistry, and I really enjoy the movie. Probably more than the original. It's pretty much perfect casting.
Edited by: JackFavell on Apr 24, 2013 9:30 PM
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> {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote}
> what also struck me about their letters is how extraordinarily fine their writing was---I mean so expressive and so literate. i really wept over a lot of those letters. These are the regular folks I'm talking about---they expressed themselves far better than academic professors do today, lol. and these were the days of limited education. oh, brother!
Oh boy do you ever have that right! Their writing back home from the front is so poetic and beautiful. So evocative of pure emotion. And the women who saw it all, occupation, death, disaster, battle, starvation, well, they really put it all out there for you in their writings. What I loved the most about the series is the way that they followed certain people all the way through the war. Not generals, but foot soldiers and the rank and file. It was fascinating to me how well spoken they were and how sharp and in some ways modern their words seemed. I think that Burns must have started with those letters when he decided to make the series, I can't see how you couldn't have begun at that point.
>hmmm...i wonder if i should look for those for my mother. she would probably love them.
He's a wonderful writer. He captures flavors, rather than just relating dry facts.
The thing is, in relating the battles, he does it through the eyes and minds of these incredibly lively and vital characters. He will set up one against the other - tell what their strategies were, how brilliant they thought they were, lol, and then tell you how it all came out.Each man's brilliance and each man's folly is given an equal hearing. It makes you want to read about the actual battles just to see how it all comes out!
> i do get all of that just from the trailer...and Gabin looks incredibly appealing. i look forward to it!
He really is appealing. I was so surprised, because he didn't have much effect on me in the two other films I'd seen. Now I begin to see what makes him a one-named guy.
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I cried and cried watching that Ken Burns documentary. You are right, it's the little people's words that are so moving.
The book is pretty much a bird's eye view of the start of the war and then the military battles. It's called The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 1. Heaven help me if I finish it! I'm a little over halfway through and am feeling very proud of myself. I doubt I'll ever get to Vol. 2!
Foote goes back and forth between the different leaders, describing them, and making them seem real. I'm not crazy about the descriptions of the battles themselves, though he's pretty clear explaining them (even to someone as clueless as me! I can't even find my way around my own home town, much less a battlefield in Virginia) but every one of the military men is such a hoot to read about that he makes it interesting. They had personality back then.
I can't wait for you to get Port of Shadows! It really snuck up on me, I didn't know anything about it. It's a pretty perfect film, and seems way ahead in terms of when it was made. This one and Gueule d'Amour are my favorite Gabin films so far. They are both extremely adult to me, and a bit noirish without hitting you over the head with it. it's definitely a precursor to our 40's films. The french were so far beyond us! Gabin reminds me of Bogie in this film, his character does anyway.
I know how you feel about Nevsky and the Ivans. They are just so gorgeous though, I just let the images wash over me. You can't possibly get everything from it, especially reading subs along with it, so eventually I just sit back and let go. If you tried to glean every little thing from the symbolism I think you'd explode!
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I like the silents MissG, only because they seem so pure. I always feel that I can kind of sink into that world they show a little more than with most sound films. It's like going under the ether for me.
I know you are a big fan of Walsh, I thought he did a tremendous job on this film. It was made in his second year as a director, but of course they cranked them out like mad back then, it must have been his 22nd film or so! But this one set him apart.
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> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}Re: Happiness:
> If life isn't about happiness or even contenment than what is it about? I'm not sure you can chase it down. How wonderful if you can fall into it. However, I fear it is more that it is fleeting and the worst of it being that you didn't know you were happy while you were in the middle of it. Because something always comes along....at least for me.
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> We were never promised it though.
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> End of sermon. (wonderful chat you two are having.)
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Thanks Chris! Gosh, you have completely grasped what this movie seems to be saying. We chase happiness and yet it's something that we sometimes don't even know we have when we have it. It's such a weird intangible thing.
Ophuls films the intangibles That's what makes him fascinating. He always opts to film what happens in between people, what crosses through the air when they speak or look at one another. It's funny, so many directors film words or movement, not thought or emotion,
And here I am happy now...discussing with my friends... and it's time to go to bed. Darn! happiness IS fleeting.
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> I'd agree with you, dreamers are looked down upon. I can understand why. The world is about doing. Dreaming tends to be more of a private, personal thing. And what does dreaming really get you unless you apply it?
You remind me of the teacher in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
> All of that is terribly interesting. Some people like to shove their "different" in people's faces. There's an insecurity to that. You look to secretly guard your different. You're very much an "interior" woman. You're protective and you don't like confrontation.
I'll say! And yet I think of myself as outgoing and friendly.
> Now this is one I wouldn't expect. Blanche is someone who is holding onto the past, so she is living behind a serious facade. She's full of vanity. Blanche is a very fragile woman, for sure.
I am holding on to the past, it's just someone else's! The classic film past.
I am a bit vain, but I try to contain it or control it. I'm not the best looking woman around, but dang, I'd say I wasn't bad looking. Now as I age, I see what I had that I didn't realize was good! My mom was very pretty, but she never made a big deal out of it. I'd say she was a Jackie Kennedy-Onassis type. One who thought more of inner quality than outer. So I've always thought it was wrong to care too much about how you look. It created quite a problem for me when I was younger, made me feel guilty for taking too much time with myself, even though I did. So no, in that way, I'm no Blanche. But Blanche's inner fear, her wish for kindness and beauty, well that I can relate to strongly. Like Lost Horizon, I'm looking for a world where people would 'be kind'.
> I'd hope you'd know I wouldn't intentionally look to upset you. And I'd hope you'd feel comfortable to disagree with me.
I do know that. And I do feel comfortable enough to disagree. I just hope I'm not too snippy or obnoxious when I do!
> You are right about that. But the key is wanting to come together and to do so with the idea of finding a togetherness. That needs to be the desire.
And we don't really know that... darn it! I need resolution. Though I'm sure they stay and grow together.
But then, I'm the deluded Blanche type.... > None? Really? That's tough. But I'm in a similar position. Much of it is my own doing, however. You and the other "Ramblers" have given me a wonderful outlet, and much more. I'm learning a lot because of you all. And not just about classic film.
Oh, I have friends who talk. But it's not the kind of talk I mean. I like to have in depth discussions, like here. Or talk about the things you love. I really miss the theatre people I used to hang out with. They loved to talk about all sorts of profound or not so profound things. All I hear about anymore are the kids and the school and husbands and what TV show someone is watching. Or aches and pains, or parents who don't measure up. No artistic feelings, or creative drive or even dreaminess among these friends.
> I'm looking! I'm looking!
I'm definitely a "Jeff."Ha! I guess so. I don't think you are as negatve as Jeff. So would you say that Jeff is the male equivalent of Blanche Dubois? Do you think he will be able to make a relationship with Lisa? Will his negativity be too much in the end?
> You know what? You just solved a riddle with myself. It's the day-to-day where I would be good. It's the start that's my issue. And that definitely makes me more of a "Charles" than a "Rosy." Rosy is all about the start.
I see. But isn't the problem that most Charles's are drawn to Rosy's? I think sometimes the day to day are attracted to the starters, and the starters are attracted to the day by day people of the world. When the attraction dries up, what's left?
> But isn't that their primary focus? You're watching all kinds of films.
I do like to mix it up.
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I mostly liked *The Adventures of Robin Hood*. I just don't like it as much as others do.OK.
> Walsh is the adventure director, to me. I feel he's at his best doing such films.
I would agree. Though I just watched his first big silent film, called *Regeneration*. It had all the Walsh keynotes in it. It had unrequited love, a leading woman who was just a bit more interesting than the average heroine, a big canvas for a setting, and a tough hero with some sensitivity built in. It was a straight drama, but the best scenes were ones of fighting and action. Or suspense. No one can build up to a big finish like Walsh.
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I do remember his being very quiet, but I can't say that I remember much of the comedy with him.It isn't very overt. There are so many other things in the movie that get direct attention. And yet he impressed me. But only after seeing it about a million times!
> What's going on around here?! You and Miss G are both distinctly remembering me watching films I've never seen!
Are you SURE you've never seen them? Cmon!
> I've been learning the same. The "rah rah" won't get me, but the ones that feature good emotion and psychological depth will usually register well with me.
I don't mind the rah rah, as long as I can put it into historical context. Patriotic I have affection for. Propaganda is OK if it's about pulling together for the good of our country. Talking about the japs or the krauts makes me wince. Pure racial hatred I can't take, unless it's to make a point about racism. I can't really tell where I draw the line. I only know it when I see it. Maybe I should try to get through Back to Bataan when you watch it. if I can find it on youtube or Netflix. Ugh. why did I just say I'd watch a war movie?
> That does sound like a very good read. It's that kind of depth that will pull me in. So how did you come to choose such a book?
I watched the Ken Burns Civil War documentary again recently. It was just as good this time as when it came out. Shelby Foote was one of the experts who talked about certain battles and feelings that people had during the war. He's got a wonderful voice and a very southern colloquial way of telling a story, with humor. he's smart but hides it under a relaxed down home manner. He's fair, more a historian than a partisan. He comes at history with a flair. I remembered he had written several books, some history books, some novels. I wanted to read his voice, and dig a little deeper into the Civil War. I have caught MissG's love of Lincoln as well in the last few months, reading his speeches. So I got Foote's history book. He writes it like a novel or a series of short stories. It's very entertaining because he delineates character. He just tells a good story with flourish.
> I liked the first half of the film, but once the radio program becomes a plea by "Aunt Jenny" (Claudette Colbert), it loses me. I did think Claudette was quite good. It's clearly her film.
Yeah, I like the first half better too now that you mention it. I like the grit of it.
> I didn't mind the shorthand for "morally-loose woman." I could see the shock of a torch singer being the star of children's program. And Sally (Claudette Colbert) was getting a big kick out of the irony. She was basically taunting the producers and even her audience.
I liked that part. I just thought that the reactions to her were too severe. Not about the radio show, which I could understand, but the other reactions, just to her name being mentioned.
> You, more than anyone else, respond to the visual look of a film, and I felt you'd really like *Le Plaisir* for the camerawork. Also, you are more open to tales of "loose women," Denver. *Le Plaisir* is not a film for Quiet Gal, and probably not Movieman. Fordy Guns would like some of it, particularly the style, but not the entire film. The stories and themes are not "her."
That's funny! I'm open to loose women!
:DI did like the stories, they were different than any we would have over here in America. Boy I wish I could sit down and have talked to Ophuls. I'd love to know why he picked these stories and how he visualized his films.
> I never heard of him until very recently. See how far ahead of me you are!
Naw. I was just always weird, you see! I actually liked the classics.
> But what they do isn't morally right. Would you like your husband to visit their place? That's why I found the story to be very interesting. On one hand, the ladies are exactly what you say. They bring life to the hum-drum town. The businessmen look forward to their encounters with these ladies. And once they leave, these men and the town are a wreck. They don't know what to do with themselves. They are worried these ladies are gone for good.
No I wouldn't like my husband to visit, but if I was pleasing him then maybe he wouldn't want to go. If I were the type of woman whose husband was frequenting the place, maybe he would come back in a better mood, so it's good for everyone.
> And then to see these ladies on their one-day holiday was wonderful. They are all at ease. They all seem to enjoy themselves being "one of many." Some experience the spiritual. It's completely ironic when you consider how these ladies would normally be received in such a place.
And this is what I found most charming about the story.
> That's a really good point. I'm not sure many people know their effect on others because we rarely verbalize it. How many people tell others, "you make me feel good"?
No one.
> I liked "Le Masque" the most. The fight with age, the seeking of past pleasure is such a universal feeling. The masked man (Jean Galland) still wishes he were young and could do the things he used to do. To him, youth is pleasure. Then there is his wife (Gaby Morlay). She is comfortable with who she is and where she is, yet she completely understands her husband's war. The story is such a stylish truth. It's a loving story.
I loved the wife's reaction too.
> Yes, Jean Servais plays the friend and is the voice of Guy in "Le Modele."
I liked him. Have you seen him in anything else? I should see what other movies he was in. I know the name but can't quite figure out why,
> Oh, I'm sure Ophuls could relate to the pleasures and pains of filmmaking. Evidently the final story was to be a different one but the producer didn't allow for more funds, so Ophuls had to scrap the story and go with "Le Modele."
I didn't know that. How frustrating! Still, he did an amazing job, for his second best pick.
> I do feel as if "Le Modele" is about pain being not that far behind pleasure. Is it a pleasure? For some, it is. But I don't feel as if the final story is about that. I feel it's about acquiring things only to find out they don't bring you the pleasure you thought it would. Very ironic.
Yes, that sounds right. he was too quick to grasp at pleasure, mistaking it for an eternal love with this young woman, and because of his mistake they lost everything. Their pleasure became twisted, to see the other hurt... but it went top far. I don't really think it was their pleasure to hurt one another, but they were caught in a dance, kind of like the beginning story.
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I guess not. Or maybe it is? Is life even about happiness? Can one grasp happiness and keep it going, or is it something so fleeting that it slips through our grasp before we realize it's over?
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I never liked Conte precisely because that was my first movie introduction too. He's really good in this one though.
I'm checking my classic movie mug shots!
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I just watched two really great movies! Both are from 1915.
The first is called REGENERATION, and it was directed by Raoul Walsh. Walsh makes an exciting and poetic film, using all the elements at play in his greatest movies. Those signatures really stand out, even all the way back at the beginning of his career.
It's the story of a tenement street kid who loses his kindly mother at age 10. (The scene that starts the film is quite moving. This is not to be a comic adventure film, but a very serious drama). The boy is taken in by a neighbor woman, a harridan, but a kind hearted one whose husband is a drunkard who beats her and the boy every chance he gets. The boy starts to lose whatever humanity he had, due to the influence of this battling couple.
He rises to a position of 'prominence' in the tenement community over the years, since he has all the things that the denizens of the street find attractive - a devil may care attitude, a sense of daring, a lot of strength and good looks. He's never lost his inner gentle nature, but it's hidden under a mask of bravado and cynicism. The actor, Rockcliffe Fellowes, looks like a cross between Marlon Brando, Jimmy Cagney and Jason Segal. He's quite good... in fact he totally reminds me of Brando in THE WILD ONE. The camera loves him. As Owen, he's able to play both sensitive and tough, which is a magic combination for Walsh.
He falls for Marie whom he calls Mamie Rose (Anna Q.Nilsson), a wealthy girl who is being groomed by her parents for marriage to the city's new District Attorney. The DA has just been appointed and tells all the newspapers that he is cracking down on crime. One night, the girl tells the DA that she wants to see what the street toughs are like for herself. The DA tells her and her friends that he knows a dive where they can see all the lowlifes they want to. Of course, after having his picture in the papers all over town, the DA is immediately recognized and the crowd starts to heckle him showing him how tough they really are. The girl cries out for someone to help the foolish DA, and our Owen breaks up the crowd and leads them to safety. Owen is smitten, and Mamie is struck hard with the need to help the poor and destitute.
She immediately starts work in the neighborhood, doing good deeds and handing out medicine and money to the needy. The rest is just about what you would think a Walsh film would be, with Owen trying to make good out of unrequited love for Marie, who doesn't really realize his feelings. He finds inspiration to become better educated and make something of himself through her ministrations. She turns to him as a pillar of strength when things go wrong.
His loyal pal, a street kid who has a deformity who Owen once saved from being made fun of, is a splendid actor who remains unknown. His name was not in the credits that I could find. All the street toughs really look like street toughs, which is refreshing and a bit scary. Walsh builds up the action in a very similar way to The Roaring Twenties, with a really evil gang leader who takes over when Owen tries to goes straight. There was a surprise ending, for me anyway. and I found myself shedding a tear even though I hadn't meant to and swore to myself I wouldn't. This film was very well done for the time it was made and I can see how it made Walsh famous. It made me love him all the more for his sensitivity and realism.
The other film, also from 1915, was called YOUNG ROMANCE, and I knew nothing about it. It was directed by William C. de Mille, Cecil's older brother. I will definitely check out other films by him. It was a charming, quick moving comedy about a shopgirl who dreams of living like a rich person, so she saves her money to go to a beachfront resort in Maine. She has planned for a year to live in style for a week, impersonating a wealthy woman, a customer at her shop. She buys her clothes for the trip and takes off to find love and adventure whcih she does, more than she expects.
Sound familiar??? I was surprised to see this story (one of my favorites, I love pretty much every movie with this plotline) in 1915. The movie starred Edith Taliaferro, a charming young actress who was really quite brilliant in putting over her character. She's a bit reminiscent of Janet Gaynor in acting style, not in looks. Her actions and reactions are so clear and simple, very natural, you can actually read her lips when she speaks. So if you like Moon over Miami or How To Marry a Millionaire, this is a film you would enjoy. I loved it. Charming.
Regeneration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v39Xazz2s6Q
Young Romance is available at Netflix on a dvd with Regeneration.
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Richard Conte really does a GREAT job here. Wonderful.
Dang! I was hoping Tom Kennedy was the one. I'll have to see if I can think of any more mugs.
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kingrat -
Port of Shadows hit me like a ton of bricks too. It's just a great movie! I realize looking at my list today that I should have put it higher, but I was moving films up and down, and it kind of got forgotten in a spot lower than I wanted it. I'd probably put it in at number 7 or even higher. I just have great love for the top 7 movies on my list so it's hard to rank it above those old faves.
I can totally see how your ratings work. The movies you chose are probably ordered from best films to worst, at least in groups. You have great taste. I have a weird mix of old faves and new ones, and it makes my list rather scattered.
In the thirties, I tend to like comedies best, although there are some dramas too that really grab me. It's just that the list skews more toward comedy (usually with something important to say, but still comedy).
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Was it Tom Kennedy from the Torchy Blane series?
Miss G, I'm going to give Chicago Calling a try. I have it in the back of my mind from your description that I've seen this one before, but I don't know. Thanks for the tip!
Edited by: JackFavell on Apr 22, 2013 6:58 AM
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Oh gosh, Sansfin, are you trying to make us hungry? That sounds so good, my mouth is watering! And it's not even seven o'clock in the morning!
Thanks for the tip on Thieves Fall Out. I love Ed Brophy and Anthony Quinn... does Quinn actually get a leading role for a change?
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I've never seen Sued for Libel either. Something to look forward to.
I couldn't go for a month without a hamburger!
Edited by: JackFavell on Apr 21, 2013 8:14 PM
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You had me at Dan Duryea....
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Ha, Ed Brophy's in all of them too...
you stumped me with Horace McMahon! I had to look up his picture....and he does look like a cross between them!
I know one of the Eddie films has Brod AND Ed, who would have made a great TV pair I think. Allen Jenkins was in at least 2 Eddie films, but not the one with Brod and Ed, at least I don't think so, lol. Then again, maybe he was....? Barton MacLane's in one, and then...well....there's Bogie...
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Was it here we were talking about how sometimes a small unimportant movie can be more satisfying than a big critically successful movie?
Check it out:
>When it comes to old films, Robert Osborne is hard to stump. But this time he had to consult his notes.
>
>"Hold on, it's so obscure, even I don't remember the name of it," said Osborne, who has served as the main on-air host of Turner Classic Movies for 19 years, in the process becoming one of America's most recognizable cinephiles.
>
>Osborne was boning up to introduce the little-known movie ? a 1939 B picture from RKO called "Sued For Libel" ? for an upcoming series the cable network has planned. "It's not just all the big, fancy important movies that we air," said Osborne, reached in New York, where he lives. "Sometimes I just want a simple movie. Sometimes I don't want French food. Sometimes I just want a burger."
See the rest of the article in the LA Times here:
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That's funny! I swear, we posted at the same time that we both got Eddie G's late thirties gangster comedies mixed up! Too funny!
I fell instantly in love with Pierre Etaix. YoYo was grand.
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1. *Bringing Up Baby*
2. *The Adventures of Robin Hood*
3. *The Lady Vanishes*
4. *Angels with Dirty Faces*
5. *You Can't Take It with You*
6. *Jezebel*
7. *Alexander Nevsky*
8. *Holiday*
9. *Pygmalion*
10. *Boys Town*
11. *Marie Antoinette*
12. *Port of Shadows*
13. La Bete Humaine
14. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
15. *A Christmas Carol*
16. *The Citadel*
17. My Bill
18. Blond Cheat
19. *Room Service*
20. *Algiers*
21. Fast Company
22. The Dawn Patrol
23. *Block-Heads*
24. *The Amazing Clitterhouse*
25. Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
26. *Joy of Living*
27. *The Shining Hour*
28. *Carefree*
29. *Three Comrades*
30. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
31. Child Bride
32. The Terror of Tiny Town
33. Sex Madness
34. *The Toy Wife*
35. *Vivacious Lady*
36. *Man-Proof*
37. The Affairs of Annabel
38. *Alexander's Ragtime Band*
39. The Baker's Wife
40. *The Divorce of Lady X*
41. Hotel du Nord
42. *The Great Waltz*
43. *Test Pilot*
44. Blondie
45. *Love Finds Andy Hardy*
46. You and Me
47. The Adventures of Marco Polo
48. *The Cowboy and the Lady*
49. Five of a Kind
50. A Slight Case of Murder
*Four Daughters*
The Big Broadcast of 1938
*Topper Takes a Trip*
Oops! I just realized that I put the ones I HAD seen in bold, the opposite of what you did.
I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the ones I didn't mark, but it's been so long it doesn't count. I'm quite sure I've seen *Marco Polo* and *Blondie* sometime in my life, maybe even more than once, but it would be like watching for the first time right now.
I've seen part of *La Bete Humaine*. I've seen *The Dawn Patrol,* but not at one sitting.
I get Eddie G's late 30's gangster movies mixed up. I don't have any idea if I've seen *A Slight Case of Murder.*
Now here are the ones I've seen in order of my preference:
*Pygmalion* (this is in my top five movies of all time)
*The Adventures of Robin Hood*
*Block-Heads*
*Holiday*
*The Lady Vanishes*
*Test Pilot*
*The Divorce of Lady X*
*Room Service*
*Carefree*
*Alexander Nevsky*
*Port of Shadows*
*The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse*
*A Christmas Carol*
*Alexander's Ragtime Band*
*Bringing Up Baby*
*Angels with Dirty Faces*
*Algiers*
*The Cowboy and the Lady*
*Man-Proof*
*Joy of Living*
*Topper Takes a Trip*
*Jezebel*
*Four Daughters*
*Three Comrades*
*The Citadel*
*The Shining Hour*
*Love Finds Andy Hardy*
*Vivacious Lady*
*Boys Town*
*Marie Antoinette*
*You Can't Take It with You*
*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer*
*The Toy Wife*
*The Great Waltz*
If I were to add in *The Dawn Patrol*, it would go in at number 10.
I'd LOVE to see *The Baker's Wife*. It's one I've debated paying for. I really REALLY love Raimu the actor and Pagnol the writer/director. They did *the Fanny Trilogy* as well. Oh wow, I bet you haven't seen those three movies! They are WONDERFUL. You will like Pagnol, I'm almost positive.
Edited by: JackFavell on Apr 21, 2013 5:03 PM
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> So now you should be able to do caps again, right?
yeah, I just realized I may be able to watch dvd's here now too.
> Not her, again!
Always.
> And why I hate it is actually different than why you do. I hate that they think they're way is always the right way. Such vanity.
That actually bugs me too, so I totally understand. I am a more out-of-the-box thinker anyway, maybe because I am a classic film watcher. It's definitely not your run of the mill thing to do, and it defines me in a way that not much else does. Anyway, I think dreamers are looked down on, generally speaking, by the majority of people. They are 'weird' or 'different', so I get a lot of people, some of whom are nice in every other way, telling me that the things I think are 'weird'. This is about the only place I feel I can say what I think without getting told how to be different from who I am.
> Ha! We all have things we hide. Some big, many small.
Yes, but there is nothing I've done in my life that I can't talk about. I couldn't be blackmailed. I'm not proud of everything I've done, some of it was stupid, but I am not ashamed of anything I've done. I'm more ashamed of who I am inside (though less and less over the years). This is why I love Curse of the Cat People. I am Ann Carter. I don't understand others, and they don't understand me. Imagine her growing up different like that, still believing in imaginary friends... that's me, though I learned my lesson over time, don't reveal that softness. Blanche Dubois is another character I can relate to strongly. I'm a tender person on the inside, I have nothing to hide but that tenderness.
> The hider and the runner. I'm the same. I don't always share my feelings because I feel it isn't worth doing so with most people. I'll only let so many people "in."
same here. I've always felt we were alike. The ramblers here I can really feel a kinship to because I know you all won't hurt me.
> And I'm that horrible tenderizer!
Only every once in a while do you put out the spikes! I think you are more about pushing to get me to fess up to my weirdness cause it's really not bad.
> But it's under a pained circumstance. Charles will always be loyal, but does he trust her? Charles is going to emotionally hide... a lot. I'm sure Rosy is going to sit on her feelings, too.
But on the other hand, they are alone together now. They need one another to talk to. And they have shared experience. Very powerful for bringing them together.
> I'm definitely both. I'm very loyal and committed, so that makes me a "Charles." But I'm also a serious dreamer, which makes me a "Rosy." I'd say I'm romantic, like Rosy. But I'm not a Don Juan. I'm not a guy who is gonna just do his chores and turn in, like Charles. I'm a talker. I need verbal stimulation. Unless I'm watching a big game! And I'm all about simple pleasures, like Charles.
Gosh, you could have just described me! Except for the big game. I do need quiet time, but maybe it's because I don't have the outlet of talking much anymore. None of my friends here are talkers.
> I have found most women, no matter how liberated they view themselves, want a man to lead. They find it to be more romantic. But so many of us guys are horrible with this. I'm dreadful! I need to be kicked in the tail... forever. Subtle hints only go so far with me. I need to be clobbered on the head. And many women don't like doing this. Well, until you're married!
It can be romantic to take charge. Look at Lisa Fremont!
Being pursued is great. Pursuing can be great too. It's day to day living that's hard.
> Fantastic! I'm glad I'll have some "Jackie" options.
Well, these are some of my very favorite films. I have most of these practically memorized.
I shot an arrow into the air
it fell to earth in Berkeley Square
> It can't be worse than *Pride and Prejudice*.
Exactly!
> But you have seen many more American silents than I have German Expressionism, so that again pushes you ahead.
Well.....maybe. I do like silents a lot. But I haven't seen nearly as many as most of the guys who hang out down in the silents forum.
> No, no, no. All I want you to do is add up how many of those films you have seen. Maybe you can tell us what the highest ranking films you haven't seen are, too.
Maybe I can try to do them in order. If I do a couple, I can probably rank the rest without too much trouble.
> My top ten films from 1938:
>
>
> 1. Sidewalks of London (not in IMDb's top 50)
> 2. The Lady Vanishes
> 3. Holiday
> 4. Test Pilot
> 5. Room Service
> 6. The Dawn Patrol
> 7. Spawn of the North (not in IMDb's top 50)
> 8. You Can't Take It with You
> 9. Algiers
> 10. The Adventures of Robin Hood
Wow! I'm so surprised that Robin Hood came in so high! I thought you didn't like it. Or is it that you hate the thirties a lot?
> That's very good! You'd think I'd love Walsh after reading your description of his protagonists.
I think you will, but sporadically. He directed a lot, but only a few of his films really exhibit his personality. The others are either less well done, due to inferior actors and scripts, or they are just work jobs.
> When I see Wayne away from the big screen talking about politics and religion, I don't like him that much. But on screen, I think he's superb. I'm an old-fashioned guy who leads a conservative life. But my mind is quite liberal. I just happen to love the old-fashioned ways of romance and courting and Duke is usually terrific with that. And I also like his kind of romantic passion, too. But you see what I'm focusing on? What I like about Wayne isn't what most guys like about him. They prefer his telling the bad guys how it's gonna be. That's why I feel most of Wayne's fans love him. But it's the tenderness and humor of Duke that won me over.
Me too! It's funny, he's so multi-dimensional when you really look at his work, very very.... vulnerable, actually. It's surprising.
> Donat is the ghost who goes west?!
Yes, he's the ancestor of the modern day Donat. So it's a double role. In fact, he competes against his ancestor for the lady's heart.
> And I barely remember him in that one!
You should take a look one more time. It's hilarious how he acts. But very different. I only noticed him in the film recently and was very surprised at what he does. It's very different from Yosemite Sam.
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Thanks Sansfin, I'll check into it.
Special cards was just what I call the photos I make for people's birthdays or special occasions.
As a dreamer, I know how self-destructive it can be.
I do remember his being very quiet, but I can't say that I remember much of the comedy with him.
The Annual FrankGrimes Torture Thread
in Your Favorites
Posted
Ha! If we work together we can drive him nuts! Not that we don't already....
I could see Shelby Foote and Will being friends, I think they both share a love of those oddball characters who crop up in life every once in a while, and a sense of the absurdity of everyday life. I think we forget in our desire to be homogenous in our day and age, that there is particular charm in the folks who are products of their regions.
I tried watching the baseball one today, and despite a love of the game it was a bit slow moving for me. I want them to get on with it! And they keep talking about the game being leisurely, with moments of lightning speed...get on with the lightning please!