JackFavell

AnnieLaurie- I love what you said about Gilbert - He has a evocative quality that is rarely seen on screen. It is an emotional intensity and love of life. If Clara Bow had "it", then he did too. There is something other world-ly about our favorite stars. More so, I think, with silent film stars. That is what I love about Gilbert. He is the stuff that dreams are made on.... he is the epitome of the 1920's man. In the later twenties, the men became like caricatures, posturing, slick fellows with brilliantined hair. There is nothing of this "type" in Gilbert, though he may have been the basis for the copies in the first place. He was the real thing, and all man. As an actor, his ability to convey each separate thought on screen is amazing, especially in The Big Parade and the Gilbert/ Garbo films. I especially like this quality in Flesh and the Devil. At his best, he is subtle, takes his time, and has a quiet meditative look that I find irresistible. He Who Gets Slapped was one of my favorite silents for a long time. I have not seen it for years. I am so glad you got to watch it! Do you have any thoughts about it you would care to share?

Wait- I can see the list on my email in the computer, but when I show up on the boards it is gone..... Any way I can see it if I stay in my mailbox... thanks! Message was edited by: JackFavell

Paul Robeson

That's a very interesting picture, Armand.

Maureen O'Sullivan

Karen Morley

Well well well. You learn something new every day.... especially here on the boards.... Thanks.

Give those Three "Bad" Men my best! It sounds like a perfect night to watch them.....

AnnieLaurie- It's nice to see you here again! I haven't talked to you for quite a while....

Inescort, Frieda

Harry Davenport was a director?

I still love Chaplin, and The Kid is my all time favorite- except for maybe A Woman in Paris. OK. It's my favorite Chaplin with Chaplin..... My kid loved the Chaplin festival earlier this year. Her favorites were The Rink (self explanatory) and City Lights... because she loved the scene in which Charlie keeps stepping back to look at the statue in the window, narrowly missing a gaping hole in the ground...... As usual, she looked mystified at the end of City Lights when mom was bawling like a baby.....then she made fun of me. Ahhh, the joys of having children.......

Googie Withers

I like that suggestion, ILRM. *Great Expectations* was just on the other day, too, speaking of warped love.....

Shelby Foote and Gettysburg are both great, but if it hadn't been for my mom's set of *Sandburg's Lincoln* sitting out on the bookshelf just waiting for an enquiring young mind to peruse, I would never have found out about the other two later......

THAT was a lovely ramble, Kathy. You captured the essence of the movie completely. At least...that's how I saw it. and me, too. Yes, I was speaking of the 40's re-issue, with soundtrack and voice-over contributed to by Chaplin. I can't be too clear on this- SKIP IT if you are a first time viewer of this movie. Go back to the 1925 release version. It is not the same movie. For years, I could not figure out why the movie had had such a profound effect on me when I was younger, because later when I watched the 1945 re-issue, it didn't grab me the same way. I have since found out that due to some cut scenes, Georgia's character and their relationship are substantially different. Unfortunately, the re-issue is the one that's been palmed off for an entire generation as THE movie, so many people, I suspect, can't figure out why this movie is a classic. It's a cute and funny movie, but the love story is missing it's core foundation. I didn't remember it as such, but *The Gold Rush* would make a perfect Thanksgiving movie. I do believe the feast that Little Charlie and Big Jim have (boiled shoe) takes place on Thanksgiving. The New Year's party sequence is also a highlight of the film for me. There is the roll dance, and the moment in the cabin when Charlie realizes that they are not coming is directed with just the right amount of pathos. The way Chaplin jxtaposes the little tramp's lonely dream with Georgia's happy go lucky party, is brilliant. Watching him listen to the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" is a chokingly beautiful scene. Then the following, when Georgia says, "The joke has gone too far...." is so heartfelt on her part, that I can't help liking her, maybe the best of all Chaplin's heroines. She is a party girl, but it shows us that Georgia has a heart, and that she is self aware.....The slap she gives Jack next is a real wallop - and it is symbolically the end of the old Georgia. I find her transformation quite convincing. Isn't it funny that the two heroines I like best in Chaplin's films are the two most knowing and disreputable ladies? But this makes them more "human", I think, as April says. Georgia the dance hall girl, and Marie St. Clair, the famous courtesan from *A Woman of Paris* have more interesting backgrounds than other Chaplin heroines, and both could be considered to be the main characters in the films they are in. OK, well, I am skewing it a bit in the case of The Gold Rush, but Georgia IS the one who changes here, making her the protagonist. I think this is one of the reasons I like this movie so much.

Ro- You actually answered the question I was going to ask by saying that you watched the old version! Congratulations on skipping the newer one. The re-issue left out some terribly important stuff. It explains your wonderful reaction to the movie as well, because the re-issued film does not make sense. So if you feel comfortable rambling about it, I would love to chat.....

Before writing this, I want to preface what I am about to say with a note- I love John Gilbert. I think he was a fine actor, in my opinion, the best leading man silents ever knew. He had enormous possibilities, but was unable (for reasons not of his own making) to step away from himself to work on his own weaknesses as an actor. _CoffeeDan_ - Yours is the best description I have read of Gilbert's failure to connect in sound film. The reality is that there is some lessening of his personality in talkies. The mystery has somehow vanished. He is maybe not as interesting as the audiences had thought (I personally find him fascinating, but that's another story). In a way, his talkie performances (that I have seen) are a "what you see is what you get" kind of thing. He holds nothing back, which is admirable in an actor, but it spells doom in a STAR, and we lose interest. The stars who made the transition enhanced their mystery in sound. Gilbert is all out there, we see every little detail, even the ones we don't want to. And _Johnbabe_ - you are right as well, his voice is prim and proper, not at all what we would want from such a mercurial performer. Unfortunately, both of these problems could have been fixed over time, with the right directors working on his films, and with good guidance. But without the proper coaching, directors, and a strong mentor at the studio, Gilbert continued to founder. I wish he had had one final movie that brought back the mystery that made him a star in the first place. Message was edited by: JackFavell

Wow, guys! So many rambles, so little time! _Molo_ - Your mom sounds like a trouper. I think she will make a spirited recovery. You and she will be on my mind all week, and I wish you both well. I finally caught up here- beautiful rambles on *The Misfits* ( Gorgeous screen caps. I love that people can appreciate Eli Wallach, no matter how sad sack he is), *Milk* (Beautiful pics, Mica. This and Frost/Nixon are the movies I am most excited to see this year. I'm glad that moviemakers are actually thinking again), and various and sundry home on the range rambles..... I actually looked up Belgian Waffle on the computer since I am looking for a new color for my living room and dining room. I think I need to go with more of a clotted cream or a buttery white since most of my furniture is rich, vibrant yellow already. The rug is green, and my couch is a sort of tea dyed beige with yellowy gold, coral and green flowers. The wood floor is an orangy-gold VERY rustic old growth pine. I want something that is a bit reminiscent of either a french or english cottage- but not dingy looking. It should look fresh and glowing when you walk in the door. I really don't need any "antique" colors, because the house is antique enough as it is. We do NOT need to point up the fact that things are falling apart! I loved the pink/lilac Benjamin Moore paint we used for my daughter's room- it came out _exactly_ the same color as the color chip, and covered in one coat. I think this is one time when I have to buy a sample jar to check the color first. They have some promising sounding colors that make me hungry- Creme Fraiche, Vanilla Ice Cream, Milky Way. Also one called Cancun Sand, which I think I am interested in only because the high today is 27 degrees.

You too, Mica.... It's gonna get cold here tonight, too. That makes me sleepy...or maybe I just want to snuggle under the blankies!

Wayyyyy too quick. Oh, man I am starting to fade.... I am going to have to go soon... I can't believe it's only 9ish. This getting dark at 4:30 is starting to take it's toll. I feel like it's 11:00 already.

She's just eight.....

I can read insights like this and take them "home". Oh, my goodness. This is why I am addicted to this place, too..... Thanks for inspiring me, you guys. I am just really excited to talk to others with the movie obsession.....One thing I really appreciate here is that everyone is so nice about other people's opinions. I am so glad that I started on this website, because before this I had a very hard time writng anything - I had a block ... I still feel like I am fumbling around in my dark and foggy brain most of the time....

I've gone on a couple of times to play when Alice was asleep....

Webkinz are stuffed animals that come with a code number on their tag- you go on the computer and type in the number and presto! your animal magically appears in "Webkinzland". You can name your pet, make a home for him/her, play games, answer trivia questions, go to school and generally have fun on the site. It's actually kind of cool and they have a lot of educational games. They are the first toy to have a website like this- boy, do I wish I had invested, because they really did it right. They are kind of like the new "beanie babies".... only more fun.