JackFavell

Oh, no! Don't make me like her... Don't! First, John Wayne, now this....it's too awful! Message was edited by: JackFavell

Wow! That was a superb review of a really fine movie, Bronxie! I couldn't put my finger on what makes it more than a fanciful light comedy, but you and Goddess just framed it for me. I am surprised that this movie is not more popular. And the comparison to Lubitsch is totally right- I kept thinking that through the whole movie. And I finally got it recorded! Thanks for the heads up, Miss G. There was a scene in the movie I loved- I believe it was the same scene with Kay and Helen Vinson, and they are frightened by someone in the garden- but when they realize it's a man (and might be Powell), Kay's face lights up with relief and interest. It is a great moment. And when she took the leather bag, I was bowled over! Something else caught my eye, having thought of Francis as a stiff actress up until this month, I was just amazed at how relaxed and funny she was. There is a scene in which she is sitting at the edge of a bed, and she just sort of tumbles across the bed and walks across the room- it is as free and light a move as could be. I am now wholeheartedly a Francis fan. I will definitely have a Lubitsch/Dieterle New year's Eve- I will tape Cluny Brown on Christmas Eve and watch Trouble in Paradise, Jewel Robbery, and maybe one of the Lubitsch musicals as well on New Year's. If only I had gotten One Way Passage on tape..

Pktrekgirl- I am curious to know what your favorite John Mills films are..... MissG- that makes me like Grace a teeny-weeny bit better. She always strikes me as humorless....but if Sir Alec liked her and thought she was funny, I guess I can try a little harder....

a string of wieners?

I am the wrong person to ask - I would go for the Aquos cause it looks pretty! I like the thin ones too, but my knowledge of electronics wouldn't even fill a thimble.

Ahh. OK. Maybe I can read it then.

I like huge hands and arms as well....just not GUILTY HANDS.

I agree that GWTW is not Leslie's finest hour- but I have come to terms with it. I think techincolor does him a disservice as well. His hair is not right somehow. But his arms are beautiful! I love The Scarlet Pimpernel. Leslie is super in 49th Parallel as well, and I saw Spitfire once years ago and it was quite good too. The Magic Box is the story of William Friese-Greene, who was an inventor of moving pictures, and died penniless and forgotten. Robert Donat plays him from youth to old age, and is splendid in that absent-minded way of his. The movie is full of cameos and supporting players like Laurence Olivier (he plays a constable in the best scene in the movie, and I'm not sure that it isn't the finest acting Olivier ever did on film, you might not even recognize him), Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Ustinov. Dorothy Tutin played Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, and I just recently saw her in "The Cherry Orchard" from the BBC -1962. She was, I think, the highlight in a cast that included John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Judi Dench, Ian Holm and Roy Dotrice. She also played Lucie in the Dirk Bogarde version of A Tale of Two Cities, and she played Anne Boleyn in the famous 1970 TV production of The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I believe she was also in Olivier's King Lear. I would love to see Alec Guinness as SOTM! The hard part would be picking the movies. He is good in just everything, whether he was playing an arab prince, or a lowly scientist. I saw the end of "The Swan" last year, and could have kicked myself for not watching because it had Grace kelly in it. What he did with the last few lines brought me to tears, and I didn't even see the movie. My favorites are the Ealing classics.

Thanks for the warning, FF. I always delete e-mails from anyone I don't know. Ebay and paypal have been targeted as well, and you have to be pretty careful not to be drawn in by them. I never follow links from emails anymore. I always go directly to the site to do any business. I think The Big Trail, was my first Wayne experience in which I saw what made him a star. He just took my breathe away. He was so young and really beautiful. And kind of gawky. Very charming. As to the book, I may have to stay away from it, like FF said. I don't want to get into that Green Berets era stuff. When I was growing up, John Wayne was representative of so many things. To the right, he was everything strong and American. You simply couldn't talk to anyone of a certain age who would even listen to anything else. To the left he was (in polite terms) deluded and prejudiced; stubborn, even hateful. I just don't want to go to either side right now, and if I read the book, I will be forced to confront the fact that he and I would be on opposite sides. Maybe in the future I can read it and not get emotional, but right now, I've got a nice equilibrium going......and I don't want to blow it.

Wow. They can do that? It sems like it would be awfully complicated. I am also an "arm" girl. I don't know why, but I am fascinated by wrists and arms on men. A delicate forearm on an otherwise macho man can make me swoon. I guess I have always thought that a sleek arm is an indicator of something tender in a man. I always thought I was the only person in the world to notice such things. But maybe I just need to seek help....

Miss G- I am going to have to steal at least half your list! I am curious as to the British born actors title- does this mean we are limited to actors who came to the States to work? If so, please delete the bottom section of my list.... McLaglen, Leigh, Sanders, Colman, Martita Hunt, Garson, Trevor Howard, Daniell, Rathbone, McDowell, Olivier, and Owen are high on my list. I also love Leslie Howard. My estimation of him has only gone up over the years, and especially after I saw Pygmalion. He is so wonderful in that movie that I can barely contain myself, and it is one of my top two favorite movies of all time. His performance is as fine an interpretation of a playwright's work as I have ever seen. I love him as Higgins because it is one of the few roles in which his "Miltonic mind" is on display throughout. He was brilliant, just brilliant. Robert Donat ranks very high on my list- he is such a kindly soul, and is expressive and old fashioned, really not of the world at all. I love him especially in The Magic Box, and Goodbye Mr. Chips. Another favorite is Alec Guinness. The man is an absolute genius. The mere flicker of an eyebrow can convey depth and meaning beyond any mere mortal actor's powers. And you still have no idea how he does it. A perfect film actor. I have a few more, and will not go into why I like them, because I would be here all day. Wendy Hiller Dorothy Tutin Joan Greenwood Dennis Price Dame Edith Evans Margaret Rutherford Dame May Whitty Celia Johnson Robert Newton

Isn't he beautiful? I can't get over it. I must have been crazy not to like him when I was younger. I am more and more appreciative of Wayne. He really had a great personality, and I think I am able to separate him now from his political leanings, which I never could before. I like to be open-minded, and Wayne most definitely deserved star status. There is something about him that just makes you like him, and look at him, and want to see more of him. But that video actually makes me want to have known the real Wayne, not the star- because as interesting as the star was, the real guy in those pics looks even more interesting.

I remember seeing Ceiling Zero on the late show years ago. I remember thinking it was much better than Torrid Zone, another Cagney/O'Brien movie of that time period, which seems to turn up much more often, and is on dvd. It's a shame this one for some reason isn't known anymore. Not to digress too much, but I watched Lost Patrol again last night, and am voting for Reginald Denny as having the best looking arms in Hollywood.

Bronxie- I have an Aunt Mildred too. Although she has never told me that she dropped her drawers. Frankie- Thanks so much for the youtube post of Fordie and Wayne and the stunningly suave whoever that was (You know how much I like men with pencil-thin moustaches)! I liked the way he smoked. It's a shame, because he made it look REALLY cool. Wayne looked so relaxed and flashed a dazzling smile that I wish he had shown more often in the movies. Ford looked like exactly what he was- an intellectual tub of mush masquerading as a tough guy....and the photography! Oh, it was beautiful. Thanks again. Hey, I remember Cptn. Caveman! I didn't know what he was called until I watched the video. Scooby-Doo is still popular, can you believe it? It's huge! My daughter was begging to stay up Friday to watch a new one- Scooby Doo and the Goblin of something. Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry were my faves, and Ralph the dog is my favorite muppet. I love the Alice Cooper episode (no, my daughter isn't named after him). because Robin frog sings "Over the Rainbow".

Ro- I hope you cauhgt your movies! i finally got a copy of Little Women, now I have both the 35 version and the Winona Ryder version. Now all I need is the June Allyson....The only movie I have more copies of is Pride and Prejudce! The daisies were actually from the site of The Quiet Man- I found the picture on the net. I wish I could send you a big bouquet from my garden, but daisies are impossible for me to grow! I must have tried 10 times. Even from seed. Evrey time I put them in the ground, something eats them as quick as a wink. I think it is a chipmunk that lives in my yard. I can't grow sunflowers either....I try and try, but these bright, sunflower yellow flies(they are really pretty) come and bore through the stem and kill them.

Popcorn and dots- I love your list! One movie I never seem to see anymore is "Something Wicked This Way Comes". I like it for the story- A boy has lost faith in his father (played wonderfully by Jason Robards). It is autumn, and a carnival magically appears overnight in the small town. It's leader, a Mr Dark, seems to have the power to grant wishes through his rides- A merry-go-round can make you age or make you younger, depending on which direction it is turning! A fun house mirror can make you beautiful! Soon, all the simple townsfolk are "selling their souls" in order to gain their deepest desires at the carnival. But, is there a catch? The carnival has brought out all their inner demons.... Who is this Mr. Dark, really? Finally, there is a showdown between Mr. Dark and the boy's father who must save his son and redeem himself in the boy's eyes. Mr. Dark is played by Jonathan Pryce and is at once scary and attractive. I really love this movie, and would recommend it for young teens and up....plus there are a couple of characters played by interesting actors, Dick Davalos (from East of Eden) plays Mr. Crosetti, and Pam Grier plays the Dust Witch. Royal Dano is also in the cast, and Arthur Hill narrates.

Ro- I haven't actually used the babysitter.... we simply haven't had any reason to. We are pretty happy puttering around the house Minya- Your home life as a kid sounds exactly like mine. Wistful sigh. NO wonder we get along- you are a muppet show kid like me! Nowadays, things are a bit different. The 24 hour a day scheduling of cartoons on TV makes Saturday morning less special, and dvd's mean you can watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown any time of the year. As much as I love the invention of TCM and video, it is just less fun to me, than being surprised by an old movie on the late show, or waiting all year to see The Grinch for one time and one time only. The main thing that makes scheduling the kids necessary is the loss of neighborhoods. In my area, we simply live too far apart to make it easy for kids to get together on their own. There is no corner store here, though we can walk downtown to the Emporium for candy and wind up toys. We are on a fairly busy street in summer. I have tried to get together with the kids near us, but they are scheduled already, or the parents simply never get back to me. Too busy, I guess. One little girl who lives at the end of our street we see about once a year! It used to be a nice, family oriented neighborhood, but because of the ridiculous house prices of the last 10 years, no families have moved in, while quite a few have moved away. The only people who could afford to move to our area recently are stockbrokers from NYC who want a vacation home for one week out of the year. The rest of the time houses sit empty. I think we were lucky to get our home at the right time, while the market was at it's lowest, but the number of empty houses is rising. One good thing about this area is the number of elderly neighbors. Alice has a lot of experience with the older generation. Unfortunately, many of these people are sick or have died recently. I worry that our wonderful family neighborhood that I moved to because of the diversity of people has suffered irreparable damage due to the gluttony of a few housing lenders and real estate profiteers.

Pssssst. Ro- Here's a toast to you, then: May your days be long and full of happiness; may your children be many and full of health; and may they live in peace... and freedom. Happy 1,000th from some of the boys:

Great choices! The swinging door is a personal favorite of mine.

yeah it sucks. But luckily, the kids don't know it! For them, it is normal for mom to just be there.

ILRM- I am so glad you took the initiative and checked out MHH! What great taste you have, and it sounds like you have a great sense of humor as well. I must try walking on the sides of my feet, it sounds like so much fun! I am sorry you don't have TCM. I didn't get it until last year, after years of waiting for an alternative cable network to wire up my town. My dad still isn't able to get it, but he's hoping this year is the year. Any favorite moments from Monsieur Hulot?

That is the hardest part. Remembering how we used to roam the streets of our neighborhood, or go down to the store, or even take a walk in the woods- and you don't know how or when to let them stretch their wings nowadays.....

I wonder if anyone thinks of talking to these people? I can't stand it knowing that there are people out there with loads of stories just waiting for someone to ask them......

Now which movie do I bump up to number one in my queue? Breathless or Christmas in July? And when do I watch my Johnny Ford? I picked Christmas in July....now at the number one slot....

Nice to hear from you again, Miss Red. Ro- I used to laugh and say I was going to get my daughter a cardboard box and some party hats for her next birthday, because that is what she got the most enjoyment out of! I think you are a great mom. Ice cube trays were a stroke of genius! I don't want you to think that I just succumb to every want or wish that my daughter has, but for every toy don't get, I can't help feeling bad. That's my burden, and hopefully I shield that from Alice most of the time. Right now her favorite toys are a jumprope and a piece of string for playing Cat's Cradle and Jacob's Ladder, which I am proud to say I showed her how to do. She is also coming home and showing me "Miss Mary Mac" type rhyming, clapping games. She is stunned when I join in - "How do you KNOW that, Mom?" OK. Enough about kids. I can think of nothing more torturous for Frank than listening to me rattle on about parenting.....so I will give him a break