JackFavell

That's great, drednm! I am now greatly intrigued by Reid. I will have to add some of these titles to my list of movies to look for.....

Soon you'll be like me with dvd's (or vhs) up to your eyeballs. Did you get a chance to watch some of today's lineup? I didn't watch much, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys this morning. Alice really liked The Stooges (what little she saw of them), it's the first time she has seen them. Then Rio Grande, which I think everyone ought to just LISTEN to once. I found it fascinating - what caught my ear the most was the way Ford juxtaposed very suddenly the song we all know and love, "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" with an Indian singing a native song. It hadn't struck me as much when I actually watched the screen. I also found the sound of fighting to be quite frightening without seeing the picture. Very interesting stuff going on aurally in that movie.....I found that there were certain scenes that I simply had to look up for, simply because the sound caused me to become involved......

Una Merkel How many times do you suppose she's been on this thread already?

Great choices, Teach.

Sam Levene

Molo- We wish your mom and you the very best. Don't worry about posting or not. it's completely unimportant, though we WILL miss you! If you need anything at all, feel free to PM me and I will do whatever I can to help out. Please take care, and try not to get too anxious.

That's a great point, Izcutter. I have never read of any one else who confirmed in detail the story Boardman told (apparently to anyone who would listen). Boardman is the main source for Fountain's book. Fountain seemed a bit skeptical. She said that she then spoke to Mayer's daughter(s), and they confirmed that Mayer hated Gilbert and that there was a scuffle in the men's room that day. I believe that she said that she talked to others who confirmed an altercation but not the details of it...... I wonder about Boardman's story myself, because her words about Garbo are quite unflattering. She was entitled to her opinions, of course, but I always feel a little dig at Garbo in her quotes. Now whether she was mad at Garbo for treating Gilbert badly or she just didn't like Garbo, the truth is, we don't know if what she said was the truth or not. She could've had a big grudge against Garbo and made the whole thing up to make Garbo look bad. Boardman may be the most reliable source ever, or she might have been a habitual liar. Without corroboration, we will never really know if it was true or not.

This same story is reported in *Dark Star* by his daughter, Leatrice Joy Fountain. Although it is written by his daughter, the book is a quite even-handed and neutral description of Gilbert's life. Ms. Fountain did not know her father very well, and interviewed many people who worked (or played) with Gilbert. Many, many stars were pushed out of careers once they made too much money. But Mayer had even more reason to push Gilbert out of films than just money- Gilbert did not fit into the picture L.B. had of MGM, as a "family" establishment. Gilbert was a bit too brash and had made a comment once to Mayer about his own (Gilbert's) mother. He called her a bad name (in all honesty, she was the name he called her) and Mayer was horrified. He could not understand why a son would not love his mother.... Even though Gilbert's mother had treated John despicably while he was growing up, and he was a textbook case of a neglected and possibly abused child, Mayer thought Gilbert was simply a bad egg because of this statement. He held a grudge about it, so when Gilbert socked him, it only showed Mayer that he was right about him all along. Gilbert was under duress on the day that it all happened, and from what I've read, Mayer deserved the sock on the jaw for what he said about Garbo......it was as crude a remark as I've ever heard. Anway, His voice had nothing to do with his fall from grace. He was sing songy at times, but almost all the stars who were later successful in talkies had the same problem. There were no comments about his voice when he worked in talkies. Later, a steady stream of press items (possibly coming ferom the studio itself) were posted in different fan magazines and newspapers, all stressing the voice thing. I personally think that it's very possible that Mayer really wanted to destroy Gilbert for all of posterity, and planted the stories as a secondary attack on Gilbert. Message was edited by: JackFavell

10 bucks? That's a steal.... Congratulations! A perfect choice for the first Blu-ray.

MissGulch- I was thinking the same thing- about Gilbert's father situation. Maybe knowing that he had father issues deepened my appreciation of his performance?

Wow! That is really quite a picture. Look at all the different faces- it helped that I scrolled upward from the bottom of the picture, because I got to see all the reactions before I saw Will Rogers face. His look is so very different from that of the others- There is a deeper understanding of what's going on.

I completely agree with you about David Landau. The character of Bob Gillis is endlessly fascinating to me. There are depths in him that just go on and on. The mystery around him pulls me in. I really loved this character. He was a hero, he just didn't talk about it, or build himself up. Did he hide his good deeds because he was afraid that his past would be revealed? Maybe, but I think it was just not in his nature to toot his own horn. And Ford was a genius to take this kind of character and make him the hero, the protagonist, in his later film, The Searchers. This is why I keep coming back to these more fully fleshed out characters- they are good and bad, but it takes a discerning eye to find which direction they lean more heavily. And Judge Priest has that discerning eye. The bigoted and closed- minded people of the town cannot see the gradations of good and bad that are needed in order to "judge" someone. I also loved the scenes in which Billy talks to his wife. They brought a real tenderness to the character, and I find that Will Rogers was best when left on his own to carry a scene. I could have watched a whole movie of him just sitting and talking by himself. This all goes back to his stage act in which he did exactly that- stood up alone in front of a crowd and talked, while gently twirling a rope. You picked the MOST beautiful screen caps, Frank. Thanks for posting them. I read what it had to say about the movie on the TCM database to refresh my memory. It said that originally, the movie was to have had a lynching of the Stepin' Fetchit character, in which Priest comes to his rescue. The studio got nervous and cut out the scenes, saying that the theme interfered with the folksy and gentle comedy of the tale. I believe they were right and wrong about this. But I sure would like to see it as originally made!

Goody, goody! TWO rambles by Molo coming up!

"Oh. You mean she bit you?"

Don't stop... I've been lurking.... What about Dorothy......?

Sorry, Kathy! It was: I don't know if you've seen it, but in this one Danny Kaye plays an absent-minded dreamer whose biggest problems are forgetting to bring home a cake for his mother (he brings home a rake, instead). Suddenly plunged into a world of espionage and real adventure, Kaye rescues his true love (Virginia Mayo) and saves the day. The highlights of the movie are his ridiculously heroic daydream sequences.The song "Beautiful Dreamer" is played as a theme throughout the movie. Message was edited by: JackFavell

(in a Lina Lamont voice) I liked it! I can see your point, Scsu. It wasn't the best movie, but I thought that after that initial scene, Gilbert settled down. I sure wish I had seen that pants shot....I was busy throwing my remote on the floor, cursing my dvd-r for not working..... Try comparing this one to Guilty Hands with Kay Francis and it will look like high art by comparison......

no problem.

Brief Encounter or perhaps Jules et Jim Scsu- why do your classroom policies remind me of Cool Hand Luke? "Any student who fails to attend class spends a night in the box...." "Any student who is tardy spends a night in the box...." "Any student caught using a cell phone in class spends a night in the box...."

Oh...uhh... I think he's kind of handsome

I'm not the only one who thinks Danny Kaye is cute?

You have to see *The Doll* next- it's awesome! And Lubitsch actually makes an appearance in it.....

I'm glad I slept through the Wiz - I really needed the sleep. I had seen it years ago at a Wizard of Oz event, and was unimpressed by it.