JackFavell

I was racking my brain trying to think of other singers who made the leap successfully into more serious film work, and I suddenly realized that Bing Crosby did only one drama in the fifties- The Country Girl. He was quite good, I thought, but he never did any other dramas that I know of. Maybe he thought he would win an Academy Award, and was disappointed when Grace robbed him! I don't know how serious his film work was, but Rudy Vallee had a really amazing career in movies- he's one of my favorites for his fussy demeanor and hysterically serious approach to comedy. If we include women, I can think of a few- Irene Dunne, Doris Day, and Priscilla Lane come to mind. I am also going to bring up a question or two left hanging in the air from a while ago- Frank Grimes- you said you liked Maureen O'Hara best in *The Quiet Man*, but is there anything you didn't like about the movie? Will you watch it again? As I see the movie more and more, I find that my attention is drawn to the character actors and their scenes the most. I adore Barry Fitzgerald, and Mildred Natwick could not be more perfect. Jack MacGowran is by far my favorite at the moment, though. His little asides have me rolling on the floor whenever I watch the movie. He is so quick and blends into the crowd so well, that I literally never noticed him until recently. Mr.Grimes, you mentioned that there was a John Ford movie you actually enjoyed - back when you were posting those lovely caps from *The Quiet Man* (more please). This question has been bugging me ever since I read it, but I HAVE THE ANSWER! You told me that you like this movie better than *Rio Grande* and *My Darling Clementine* (I don't know how you could like anything better than MDC, it's one of my favorites). Taking into account your penchant for the ladies (and Miss Gardner in particular), and good fun, I am going to say that it is *Donovan's Reef*. Ta da! I just know it.....

Thye keep checking my ears and saying they are fine, Ro. I am going to call my regular doctor, though, and make an appointment. They say these antibiotics will last another five days in my system, but since they aren't quite doing the trick, I want to have my blood sugar tested as well, and some other stuff, just to make sure. Thanks.

Thanks for the clarification! I have always liked both Lew Ayres and Ginger.

No, you should not "shut up"! You are a pretty smart cookie... I won't take what you say wrong- Don't worry! I think that sounds right that he had a problem with drinking....maybe I'll go do a little research online...

Wow! I had no idea. That is pretty sad. Thanks for the info.

Welcome, GRF! I'm glad to see so many new members in your age range. Can you please tell me why Rogers and Ayres divorced?

Powell had wanted to break free of the "boy singer" label by the mid thirties, rightly sensing that the fad would pass. Warners wouldn't let him try other roles, and finally Powell moved to Paramount. He desperately wanted the part of Walter Neff in *Double Indemnity*, but lost out to Fred MacMurray. Nevertheless, he was inspired by MacMurray's success, and lobbied for the role of Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet- and getting the role transformed his entire career. Sinatra also followed the MacMurray/Powell path and may have inspired Dean Martin to try for more serious roles.

Thanks FF. The plan was just to be busy, but it didn't work out that way.... Miss G- I have eaten so much soup and chicken and turkey lately, I am surprised I haven't sprouted feathers! I am on antibiotics now, today is the last day. I hope it works - I seem better one day, then as soon as I do anything I get dizzy and feel bad again. But I can't wait around for it to go away. I just don't have time. Dean Martin is fun to watch- I think I am not wrong to compare him to Dick Powell- both being musically inclined, but then ending up in some fairly rough detective movies. Both have an easygoing grace that actually plays well in the gritty world of noir, or even western genres. Dean is a little better to look at, but that's off the point. I just like to see someone enjoy what they are doing, and Dino certainly seemed to do that.

But you should have watched ?Lonely Are the Brave? if at least just for the horse. That was the most beautiful animal I?ve ever seen in movies That horse kept me watching far longer than if it had been just Kirk alone! He was beautiful, and smart too. I loved the relationship they had..... I do like Kirk much better than his son... I just can't stand Michael. And I don't like Glenn Ford at all. But again, I find there is one movie that I like him in- we've discussed that before-I find him almost irresistible in 3:10 to Yuma. Weird, huh? Dick Powell and Gloria Grahame are the main reasons I love The Bad and the Beautiful. They are just smashing together. Powell really gets the dry witted, smarter-than-everyone-else writer perfectly. Grahame is just fantastic as the lonely, slightly comic woman who tires of being just a wife. I really love their relationship because it feels true- you can see the love underlying it, but you can also see how unfulfilled Grahame might be... Powell conveys a hint of snobbiness- taking Grahame for granted, thinking how funny she is all the while looking down his nose at her desire for fame... This is a movie that I never would have watched on purpose (speaking of snobby!). But something about it is so much fun....I like Kirk in it because his sledgehammer personality is perfect for the role. It is total trash and I love it and I will watch this one anytime it's on. I am excited to see Murder, My Sweet again... I haven't watched it for years. Cornered is coming on right now, and I may take a peek at that one too. Thanks, Miss G, and Ro, and everyone- for welcoming me back so warmly. I am glad to be on again. I needed to get work done so I stopped coming on, then caught the flu which turned into a respiratory infection and haven't been up and around for a while. Not a day went by that I didn't think of you guys, though! There are good friendships here, and I would hate to give that up! I just need to balance life and the message boards.....

All the previews and scenes look really good, and Kirk looks enough like Van Gogh to make me forget(maybe) who he is..... It would be nice to do a double feature of The Moon and Sixpence and Lust for Life....

Nevertheless, there's something humanly likeable about the obvious disrespect his characters exercise on their contemporaries in the film's he inhabits. NZ- I think you have hit it on the head- Sanders is really only voicing the feelings we ourselves have. I am sure he would excuse his actions by saying, "Don't tell me you weren't thinking exactly the same thing...You're just too polite (or scared) to say it." Like Groucho Marx, he targeted pompous blowhards, weak, sniveling characters, or pathetically stupid people with equal aplomb. But he also comes across as preferring honesty and brains over false virtue. Taking the moral high ground is the one thing he can't abide. And we feel somewhat the same way.

FF- Yes! I rented it about 3 months ago, and couldn't get through it for some reason. But it was on recently, and I watched it all the way through this time. It is growing on me- the movie is very modern- the themes still apply, maybe even more so since the advent of 24 hour news. I love the way it is made, and the supporting cast is awesome! I just have a thing about Kirk Douglas. I don't really like him, and I have to grit my teeth to watch him. Don't know why, I know he is a good actor, and I admire his chutzpah as a human being. I defintiely like him better as a baddie, he does it so well. I also tried like the devil to watch Lonely Are the Brave last month, but I just couldn't get through it. It's too bad, because it's subject is very appealing to me. I would like to see Lust for Life, because I think he might really be great in it. I just have to gear up for it - you know, be in the mood to sit in front of the cleft chin for a couple hours....

*Vigil in the Night* was just super, FF. I'm so glad someone else saw it. I really liked it, especially for a George Stevens movie (I have a sort of love/hate relationship with him). From the minute Anne Shirley found her patient dead, with a big juicy closeup as she covered her face, I was hooked. Lombard was so understated and sympathetic, I felt bad she didn't have more roles like this one- I really think she could have done anything - comedy, drama, whatever she wanted. It's nice to see a movie with a heroine who is dedicated to good work, without her seeming stuffy and cold. Lombard walked a fine line here, but came out as a real person with feelings and heart. I completely forgot that Peter Cushing was in it! He must have been Anne's husband? He was really very fine. Dick Powell has been growing in my estimation in the last year. I just watched Christmas in July for the first time, and loved it and especially him. In the course of the movie he was hopeful, defeated, happy-go lucky, funny, heartbreaking, and sweet as can be. Is there nothing the man can't do? Very underrated. I have been seeing more and more of his fifties stuff, and I adore his noir detectives- they are so flip, and they remain likeable in spite of the dark quality that he also brings to his characters. The movie that changed my mind about him was The Bad and the Beautiful. He is awesome in it! Very, very heavy on the drama, but so much fun. It is also one of the few Kirk Douglas movies I can watch all the way through.

I like both A Shot in the Dark and The Pink Panther. Also, he's very good in Foreign Correspondent, though not the lead role. I think I have said this before, but I would have loved to see him in more Hitchcock, I think they were a great match, stylistically, in the forties. He really is wonderful at that good/bad type- you know, will he turn out to be nice after all? This may be sacrilege, but I was imagining George thrown into the Notorious cast, or maybe into Saboteur or even To Catch a Thief.....He could have embellished many a Hitch movie.....imagine him in Dial M for Murder.... I guess I like Mr. Sanders because I can visualize his characters living long after the movies are over. To me, when he takes the screen in Rebecca, it is a slap in the face, but in a good way. I don't remember a character like him before that moment. He is a shock to the system - when he walks onto the screen, at least for me, there is a thrill of electricity wondering what mischief he will get into, whether he is a good or bad character. The Saint and Falcon movies are a good example of good characters who like to rattle a few cages here and there. He seems like a shot of expensive, aged liquor - bracing and sharp, with a rush of warmth at the same time. I just like the way he presents himself- neither noble, nor completely evil - after all, every monster has his reasons.....

I too feel bad that I left off Laughton(!) Lanchester, Marshall, and Christie! Christie made me realize that I have left the sixties out of my list altogether. I may keep it that way, but wanted to mention Albert Finney who is a wonderful actor and in the last few years has done some great unsung work.

That's OK , MissG. I don't want my mind opened up too much anyway! Maybe I can find it in a biography or something. I read two of Guinness's books, and I can't remember much about either one, so maybe it's time to go back and check them out again. I always thought it was funny, because the part of Guinness' books that I remember the most, is the fact that Dame Sybil Thorndike (I think) told him he should give up acting immediately- that he would never be an actor, just go open a grocery or something. She was so sure he had nothing to offer, and look at what he became!

Ro- I just wanted to put in a good word for GOW.... It IS powerful, but it is also entertaining and easy to watch. I don't want you to get the idea that it is so heavy going that you will be miserable trying to get through it. Not to make light of the subject matter (quite timely, it turns out), but it is a wonderful movie that goes by quickly when you see it. Ford's pacing is perfect, and so much happens that you don't have time to do anything but respond to the characters. You have talked about "Spielberg faces" and "Ford faces"- well, this movie is the quintessential face in the crowd picture. It is very down home, and poignant, and I think you would enjoy it when and if you do decide to watch it. It is not a treatise, but an emotional journey into the lives and feelings of one family. Bring a box of kleenex when you do though.

Ro - that's how I grew up, watching my old movies- I always felt like I had a secret life. I was always trying to fit in. Now I'm glad I don't.

I love Criterion. About once a year, I splurge on a Criterion film- that's all I can afford unfortunately. It is one of the few cases where I check whether a movie is out on Criterion first, before ordering. I think my first Criterion purchase was "Pygmalion", and I have never stopped admiring their work since then.

My problem is where do I put another piece of equipment? Hubby just said I can play region 2's on the computer and then copy them to region 1 disc.....

No, for some reason, I have missed this one every time... I'm dying to see it. Somehow, Fatale, I seem to miss on every movie you have seen! It is quite discouraging. One of these days I would love to say, "Why, yes. I HAVE seen that film. I loved the part where.... (fill in blank)".

Oooh. Now all I need for Christmas is a region two player..... That is a super picture, Miss G! Is it from the net, or part of a collection? Black and white is so much better than color. Look at how rich it looks! The necklace, the feathers (or ruffles) on her dress, the light on Dietrich's hair, the furnishings in the room, and Gary. Luscious!

I'm sitll working my way through these sets though - I bought a Dirk Bogarde set and three John Mills sets and I've been buried! LOL! I know, I know all about buried.... I like him best in Hobson's Choice. I also like The Rocking Horse Winner and of course, Great Expectations. Scott of the Antarctic is really good, but not my usual cup of tea.

Hey! I was so surprised to see it on the list of new releases, I had to dig up the thread and tell you!

That's funny, Goddess. Desire has always been one of my favorites! I remember watching it every time it was on when I was a kid.. Does TCM have it? Or maybe it is at Netflix?