JackFavell

Marilyn is so great in that movie! I just love her blind as a bat performance. I think it's my favorite of hers. Just in case anyone hasn't seen it- here's the youtube link. It's a little hard to see due to letterboxing. I would recommend it on a bigger screen if you can.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOWDrErIBCM

Izcutter- Thanks for the information. I am so glad you posted this! My sister works in Hollywood, and she said she knows one of the women who did some of the interviewing for TCM. I will call and find out more from her this weekend.

I haven't seen it, but I really love Dennis Christopher in Breaking Away. A great movie. This movie sounds a bit like "Theatre of Blood" with Vincent Price. It is rather funny for a horror film. It is great fun to watch him take revenge on the theatre critics who abused him. Each one is killed in a manner similar to a Shakespearean play....

The Man Who came to Dinner fits this category. Kinda weird, huh?

I love her in the Danny Kaye movies, but was blown away by her in *White Heat* and *The Best Years of Our Lives*. She really is underrated.

Gaudy just fits. I mean, you can't have Carmen Miranda in a pic without loads of color........

It's a credit to her very great acting ability that every person who posted here (except for the very sage Cinesage) thought she was ugly in this movie. I am still amazed this morning looking at these pictures to find that she is not. Something else I noticed, though, in looking at the pictures. Throughout the movie, her costumes are dull- I picture her in olive green or grey, and maybe a tad tight fitting. But she does wear a fancy lace dress in these pictures, however, it looks too big on her, not fitted properly. I am curious if this was a subtle way of making her look uncomfortable or sloppy......

It just kills me because you know they interviewed the actors, actresses, directors, cinematographers, editors, etc. for more than the edited one minute clips that we get. Maybe it's not worth showing, but.....I mean they must have gotten a half hours worth at least, don't you think? One of the pluses of guest host month was listening to someone like Thelma Schoonmaker talk about Michael Powell....I just wish I could ask the questions Look at her bio here - and tell me why someone is not filming HOURS of this amazing woman's reminiscences.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Schoonmaker

You are right about the mouth-watering color! That picture you posted really shows it off. It is one of the things that makes this movie great! I tried to find a picture of Charlotte Greenwood in her maid outfit but to no avail. So here's another of the girls:

I didn't see the Bond movie. I would like to, but I have a hard time sitting through any of them. I think they are kind of like my mashed potato movies, but for men. I find Sean Connery very effective in the role, but I just don't LIKE the movies, they kind of bug me. Connery's sense of humor saves the day, though. I have read that Dalton's version was more like the books, but most people have been very scathing in their estimation of his performance. I have set it aside (in my head) as a movie I should watch when I am in a really good mood, so I can get through all the Bondy schlock without retching. Anybody like *Moon Over Miami*? I love this story of Betty Grable, Carole Landis, and Charlotte Greenwood escaping their drab life as waitresses in a diner. Grable pretends to be a rich socialite in order to snag a wealthy husband. Greenwood poses as Grable's maid, and Landis poses as her secretary. It is my favorite Grable film. Don Ameche is great!

Mr. Lucky...

I also like Merle.... just curious to have seen what Vivien could have done.....

I agree that Orson is just about perfect as Rochester. I do love Orson, and as far as looks and demeanor go, he IS Mr. Rochester. That said, I think for me, it is the opportunity of seeing a full version of the story that makes me like Dalton so much. His character has the time to develop more fully, and I totally understand the character, unlike other versions of the story. He reveals a lot of nuances that make Rochester less cruel seeming in the long run. I would love to have seen Orson in a longer version of Jane Eyre, and I would also love to see Timothy Dalton get some respect as an actor, because he really is good.

Well, Cinesage, I had to go check out some photos to test your hypothesis. What I found was that you are indeed right, not much alteration was done to Olivia's looks in the movie. An unflattering hairstyle, thick eyebrows (but not as thick as I remember), and a ruddy complexion are the extent of the makeup job. Amazing, huh? I could have sworn she was uglier than this. My estimation of her acting talent just went up several notches!

I like Timothy Dalton as well, but in a different part. I think his Mr. Rochester, tho too good looking, was the best. More of a tortured soul. Sorry Orson! Interesting that he played both Heathcliff and Mr. R. Speaking of Rochester, was he a a butler? I mean on the Jack Benny show. OH, Rochester? I would love to have seen Vivien Leigh instead of Oberon in the part of Cathy. Message was edited by: JackFavell

Awesome picture, Miss G! Whew. I wish I could have been at that party.....

Cinesage- I had not seen the most recent remake- I am appalled that they left this out! How can the story make any sense at all without it?

Miss Goddess, do rent it, it really is a marvelous film. The twists and turns of the plot are amazing, and the acting is superb. I hope that you can find a good print, though. I have only seen it from the really grainy old one they used to show on TV..... I have a love of movies like this- the ones told from a child's viewpoint. Curse of the Cat People, The 400 Blows, A Kid for Two Farthings, and The Rocking Horse Winner (which also has a butler/servant part, played by John Mills) are some of my favorites. Clifton Webb was a dancer when he started out. I have always longed to see him do more dancing on screen. I can only think of one time- the scene in Sitting Pretty when he and Maureen O'Hara go out and trip the light fantastic....

Cinesage- point well taken. You are absolutely right about Catherine Sloper. Her "transformation" toward the end of the movie is believable because she has always had the looks, they were just buried under the weight of her father's disapproval and control. Or maybe the simple lack of love makes one "unattractive". I also really like her in "The Strawberry Blonde". There is a scene at the park bench near the end of the movie that is quite flawless. I like her quiet demeanor, it is very difficult to achieve. It seems to me that her strength in many films was her restraint, not always thought of as a great quality in an actress.

Oh, that's a lovely movie. I might have to have some mashed potatoes with that one. Or tea. I'm getting full. Has anyone mentioned Baines, in *The Fallen Idol* yet? I don't remember. A really great movie with Ralph Richardson as the butler. The plot is told from the point of view of the little boy of the house who hero-worships Baines. Directed by Carol Reed.

When people ask the question, "If you could go back in time to a historical event...." I always think I would love to have seen Ralph Richardson's Falstaff. Or anything he did on stage, actually. I have been a fan ever since I saw *Richard III*, *The Heiress*, and *Four Feathers*. I read an autobiography by - oh, I can't remember now, but this particular British actor said that Richardson was mad as a hatter off stage. I don't know, but I certainly would have loved to have met him..... SPOILER*********************************************************************************************************** In *Four Feathers* there is a moment when, having gone blind in the desert, Richardson stumbles around eventually tripping over a tent pole. It is almost funny, and this lends a sickening quality to the scene. I am in awe of the actor who gave that performance. Oh, and I almost forgot! If you can, run to the video store and rent *The Fallen Idol*. Another absolutely impeccable performance by Richardson directed by the brilliant Carol Reed. A great movie. Message was edited by: JackFavell

I have begun to realize lately that Olivia DeHavilland gave a great performance in *Gone with the Wind*. Her portrayal of Melanie is a deep one, in some ways as deep as Vivien Leigh's Scarlett. Her goodness could have been played one dimensionally, but instead, we get a woman who is fanatically kind and devoted. She is almost obsessed - the first to give her jewelry, even her wedding ring to the Cause. There is something edgy about her portrayal that I find fascinating. I feel that she might go mad at any minute, and end up giving even the clothes she is wearing to someone she felt needed them more.... but then, as she gets to know Scarlett, she pulls herself back from the edge to handle more practical matters. The two make a superb team - each giving what the other lacks. I like their relationship very much. How hard it must have been to take the role in the first place, and then to watch from the background as others were given the spotlight! I like her very much in Devotion, and her movies with Errol Flynn. But again, I like her best in a constrained role - that of Catherine Sloper in *The Heiress*. She is magnificent as the unattractive, spongy Catherine. Her longing for love is almost infantile, and yet, at the end, her hardness rivals that of Ralph Richardson. An absolutely riveting and brilliant performance.

P & P of course! All the Jane Austen ever filmed. Mostly I watch my favorite Brit movies- Pygmalion, Brief Encounter (that's definitely a mashed potato movie, nice and weepy. It's amazing I've never choked to death), or miniseries like Upstairs, Downstairs (great maids and butlers) or The Forsyte Saga. My mashed potato viewing must be at least slightly romantic, and must leave me a quivering mess at the end- Now, Voyager, Random Harvest, Wuthering Heights, Ghost and Mrs. Muir, or How Green was my Valley come to mind. The exceptions to the weepy rule are my favorite comedies- My Man Godfrey and Miracle at Morgan's Creek, although I have been known to cry at the end of either of these great comedies. OH! I reminded myself - Mrs. Pearce in *Pygmalion* is one of the best maids/housekeepers! I love her line about Professor Higgins not saying a particular word (bloody). He replies that his speech is angelic and he would never say such a word. She replies: "Only this morning, sir, you applied it to the boots, the butter, and the brown bread."

Movieman- That's ok. I was thinking there might be some poor youngsters out there who didn't know what they were! I had a bunch of the Beatles, of course, and I was trying to think of what else, but it will take some time for me to remember, waaaay back that far!

I know. I was trying to think of the B-sides of my favorite records, but I can barely remember the A-sides! I remember my favorite as a child was The Fontane Sisters "Bouncy Bouncy Bally". Later, I had The Staple Singers "I'll Take You There" and Bill Withers "Lean on Me" (this represents the best of my taste at that time). I remember a Cher single that I loved the B-side, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was, or what the A-side was. Maybe Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves? Halfbreed? I'm embarrassed to admit I had these.....