JackFavell

I agree, she is a little girl inside, that's very astute of you. She opens up to everyone, and doesn't really realize the chaos she leaves in her wake. Look at how Eli Wallach and Gable end up after she enters the picture.

There is something ethereal about her. Her soul is bared til it aches in that film. I felt her, felt for her, but I also ache for Gable's character. I think Marilyn was a natural, and yes I do think that reaching into yourself for a role IS acting, just as much as putting on an exterior act is also acting. They are two different ways to achieve the same thing. I think revealing one's self is probably the harder, at least for me it is, and is the more appropriate style for film. I've always thought that scene with the paddle ball shows how innocent she really is. Like Gay says to her when he puts her to bed on top of the truck outside, "You started out liking to dance, but people turned it into something else, something wrong." Just like his job was turned from an exciting adventure into a sordid quest for wages, at the expense of a wild living thing.... and for what? For dog food. His identification was always with the wild horse, not with the companies that took those horses for what they could get out of them. So it's especially bitter for him to see himself suddenly on the other side. I think this is why, in the end, he chooses Roslyn's way, and let's it go. She can see him the way he wants to be seen, all the way through to the heart... if he stops at that point and never looks back. He's wrangling himself in that scene, the wild free man that he is...... And Gay, he sees her innocence. That's why I don't feel bad at the end of the movie...not that it's an easy watch... Still, to me, it is the happiest of endings, even if it is transient and frail. How will they live in the world? I don't know. But they chose life, and each other even if briefly. It was the right choice. I guess I must identify with Roslyn/Marilyn, because she is not an enigma to me at all. Her life is, but she herself isn't. I think she's very close to my own personality, though I have hardened up over the years, learned to hide myself, whereas RoslynMarilyn just didn't have it in her, she let it all eat away at her, the people taking advantage, the horror of the world we live in. It's a shame she didn't live longer, because every time I watch The Misfits, I think what a great career she had ahead of her. She's perfect in it. Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 30, 2012 11:00 AM Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 30, 2012 11:01 AM Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 30, 2012 11:09 AM

That's a great idea, CB! Next time I will try key limes. Of course, that will be Easter morning, since it's my husband's family tradition to have Eggs Benedict on Easter. Then we don't have it again for a year, in order to give our hearts time to recuperate fully from the shock. Best hash browns I've had were in some little diner in Davenport Iowa this summer. We visited the midwest for a week or so and all I ate were hash browns and beef. I even had hash browns on a hamburger. Tasty midwestern beef. YUM! There's such a difference in the quality - we truly deny ourselves here in New England. Everything tastes like cardboard in comparison, though we have great seafood.

MMMmmm. Hash browns. We don't get them out here in the east - everyone serves what they call home fries, or cubes of potatoes cooked kind of soft, with onions and peppers or paprika, I think. I miss hash browns. I would turn around and go right back to sleep if I ate John Wayne's breakfast and I wouldn't be able to get off the couch for a week! Good lord, that's a MAN'S breakfast for sure.

Whoa! Was William Gill an actor? Holy smokes, he should have been, with looks like that. That is by far the prettiest I've ever seen Claire Windsor.

I've never heard of Bill Phillips. He and Dolly blend so well. I really love early Dolly Parton. This is my favorite, it makes me think of my mom.

Maven, Had you seen The Misfits before?

I think Ben actually had a recipe he liked to make printed up in a magazine article - as I recall it was biscuits. I'm thinking an apple pie, or some creamy clam chowder (it's easy) or something down home with a lot of butter might go over well. You can never go wrong with bacon. Good luck in the competition!

I'm so disappointed I missed this one, movieman! I meant to record it but it got by me. Luckily, it's on Netflix. Oh, and I am about to send back *The Big Trail* and get *Yellow Sky.* Sorry it's taken me so long. Back to *Gun Fury.* Rock and Raoul (hee hee) worked together a lot, Walsh saw something in Hudson that he thought would make a great star, and he coached him through role after role. I think he had a great eye for talent, since he had also taken John Wayne under his wing in 1930. Sometimes this backfired when he tried to thrust actors or actresses he liked into roles that they weren't really suited for, like Virginia Mayo playing a Lady of the British realm.

Brilliant!

Raoul Walsh was known to let his actors really fly with the spicy dialogue, most notably in the movie *What Price Glory.* It was actually a big draw for audiences of the day and some of the language is very pointedly clear and easily understood. *Sadie Thompson* is another of Walsh's no holds barred movies as far as language is concerned.

Lifeboat is just great, Ro! I think you'll really like it.

I don't know which is more sensational, your Pola Negri still, or that Bebe Daniels cover art. I love the Sally Irene and Mary still, it's a movie I'd love to see someday.

>Oh, ha!! Ro, you have nothing to be ashamed of...you write clearly and I always get a good picture of how you see a movie. Your style is one of the most genuine and conversational on the board, so it's like having a real chat rather than reading an essay. I completely agree with MissG! You are a very clear writer, and great fun to read. It's a gift to be able to write conversationally like that.

>Oh, ha!! Ro, you have nothing to be ashamed of...you write clearly and I always get a good picture of how you see a movie. Your style is one of the most genuine and conversational on the board, so it's like having a real chat rather than reading an essay. I completely agree with MissG! You are a very clear writer, and very enjoyable to read.

I still get a thrill when I hear the way Etta sings this one, no matter how many times I hear it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsSS9VcMidA

Joey is a snake and a half in this one. I like how he puts the cigar back on Brian Donlevy's desk. He's good at seething. Poor dear, he doesn't last long. If he managed not to get killed, the blood pressure would get him for sure. We got a bunch of snow here too. In fact, it's still coming down. My daughter is happy as a clam, whatever that means.

Oh he's hilarious! I love Romance on the High Seas, it's one of my favorite Doris movies, maybe even my favorite. Doris is so young, and she hasn't been molded into her image yet. She's quite sexy I think in this film and I love it when she sits down to sing with the boys in the band. And Jack actually gets the girl! I like the way he's so confused about his feelings, then decides to call Don DeFore and tells him to get down there right away, because something might happen between him and Doris! For me, the best thing about it is the color scheme. It's as if the designers said, "What colors would Doris look best in?" and then they made every inch of the set those colors...the aquas, ocean blues and lavenders - just gorgeous! If I ever take a cruise, I'm sure I would be disappointed, I would expect it to look like that! Just remember, don't 'dress' the first night out......

I totally agree! This is why we have I Love Lucy on almost every morning now. It's a Great Feeling is so much fun because you also get the cameo appearances thrown in. I can't think of a cast in any other movie of this type that is as good as the cameos - Jack and Doris are so great, it's a treat to watch them, and in some ways they are better than the "bigger" stars they are rushing to meet. Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 20, 2012 4:09 PM

The first thing I did this morning was turn on the tv to see if there were any school closings. When the screen lit up, there was Jack Carson, and it just made my day! Even though we had snow, it felt like sunshine and flowers watching Doris and Jack and Dennis together. I wasn't able to watch the whole thing, just because we had to get ready, but I can't think of a better way to wake up in the morning!

Oh, Molo! You and I are completely in synch today. I am positively salivating with your talk of *Stage Mother* and *Young in Heart!* I like both those movies, especially YIH. Well, this is a switch, a discussion in my neck of the woods, the thirties! Heaven...I'm in heaven.... I adore Marie Dressler, especially as Carlotta. She is just brilliant, playing scenes for laughs, but also able to switch on a dime over to the more serious one as a confiding friend - this is where tone is really important. She retains a certain tone throughout the picture while switching gears to the deeper more serious questions the film occupies itself with. The levels of desperation in the film are very interesting, and how the different characters deal with it. Somehow, you know Carlotta will be alright, she's a tough old bird. I wait for Dressler to show what's she's got in that scene with young Paula. One of my favorite comic moments comes in that scene as well. I think she is talking about past loves, looking at her broaches and her rings, and she can't remember who gave her what...it's tossed off really, nothing overt, but it's totally Dressler's invention, a little improv to make her role more interesting. I really like how in *Dinner at Eight,* the desperate situations are pitted against one another - we want everyone to get what they want, and yet for one to win, another has to lose. This film and *Grand Hotel* vie for favorite status- sometimes, if I'm in the mood for wit, I like DAE better, and if I'm melancholy, I like GH better. The one constant for me in both movies is John Barrymore. I think he's particularly fine in these two films, and he's the only cast member in each film who consistently moves me, and has my highest regard, no matter how many times I've seen them. He's heartbreaking and perfect in both, but I think his Larry Renault is a masterpiece. Barrymore pulls no punches. It's the actor looking straight into the mirror, which actors are loathe to do, and reproducing for us what he very likely felt in real life. He's magnificent. Last time I watched *Dinner at Eight,* I was so impressed with Harlow. I mean, if you look at Harlow starting out, this shy, uncomfortable girl who is unsure of herself, and then look at *Dinner at Eight,* you would never know she had this kind of all out performance in her. She goes for it! (Another reason I like *Riffraff* too). She lets it all out, there isn't a flaw that doesn't show, or a brassy loud comment that isn't slung. She's amazing! I love that you spotted Grant Mitchell and Louise Closser Hale on the first go round! Thta's unusual. Good for you, they are a riot. The last time I watched *Grand Hotel,* I was really floored by how good Joan Crawford was. She plays every note perfectly, and I realized that this was very like Joan in real life - trying to scrabble up from a working class environment, thinking about taking the easy way to get ahead. Jaded, but just shy of turning a trick to get what she wants. Flaemmchen is at the crossroads of innocence and knowledge of the world and Crawford gets a lot of nuance out of her role. Again, Barrymore is pitch perfect with her, kindly, but he's a victim of his love, just as she is. As for Garbo, I am really happy that you liked her, Frank. I think it's amazing that you "got" Garbo, because some think that she is a bit over the top here, I disagree. I see exactly what she was going for, and as far as the emotion is concerned, no one could show it better, that pure emotion, except for maybe Ingrid Bergman. There is something so warm and deep about Garbo. She's kind of like Grace Kelly, a fire roars underneath the ice. I've been thinking about it lately, and I think this is what you responded to. It bodes well for your next Garbo watches. I think *Ninotchka* works well because it is actually a bit of a take off on Garbo's mysterious "I Vant to Be Alone" persona - and how she wore trousers and such outside of the film world. Wilder totally takes off on it. We'll see how you like it. Your track record with comedies is really up and down, so it's very hard to say whether you will like it or not. I;m betting on like, I'm always the optimist. Please forgive me for running off at the mouth, I am just so excited to be here in the 1930's! As for *A Tale of Two Cities,* I think you all have written exceptionally well of it, it is a flawed movie... but for Colman it's tops, and also for Edna Mae. Now personally, I LOVE *David Copperfield,* and I think Frank might actually like it too! I know I know....groan! But it doesn't have the problems that *A Tale of Two Cities* does, and frankly, I think it's one heck of a movie. Edna Mae is even better in it than she is in ATTC, in fact it's my all time favorite of her characters. I think if you could slip it in sometime, Frank, you'd enjoy it. OY! I am pretty bad at predicting, but I wish you'd try it sometime. I think you would like all the plotlines. I think you know I love *He Who Gets Slapped*. This is one I am pretty sure I know what your opinion of it will be. Thanks for letting me vent on all these movies I love. It isn't often I get to chat with friends about so many good movies all at one time that I have actually seen! Yay! Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 20, 2012 9:52 AM

I just watched Raoul Walsh's *Uncertain Glory.* Did anyone else see this one? While not a brilliant film, it has many great moments. It also has a couple of Walsh's earmarks - two leads (it's almost a buddy picture) from opposite ends of the spectrum - Errol Flynn as Jean, a rascally french prisoner fated to die at the guillotine, and Paul Lukas as Bonet, the Javert-like policeman who is responsible for capturing this devil-may-care prisoner. The other Walsh standby is also represented. Flynn is an anti- hero on the outside looking in...he meets an innocent girl who falls in love with him too late to reform him or change his life. Flynn has a nice scene in which he berates destiny for sending her to him only after it's too late. One feels the hand of God playing with Jean's life as he is freed from his death sentence by RAF bombers at the beginning of the picture, only to be put in death's path again and again throughout the picture. God tempts him with freedom, then takes away his choices, one by one. The movie has a fantastic opening. The first ten or twenty minutes are riveting. Flynn loses steam after that in this film (as he would continue to do throughout the forties), but retains his natural charm to the end. He has some particularly fine moments - one in a church, where he confesses to Paul Lukas, and another in a farmhouse with the girl as church bells ring for those prisoners of the Nazis about to die. The girl (Faye Emerson) is fresh faced, but a bit of a let down, but this doesn't really matter to the outcome of the film. Flynn let me down a bit, I got the impression that he was going through the motions a few times, especially in his scenes with Emerson. I just didn't believe the emotion between them - a stronger actress might have inspired more pathos. It's a shame, because this film could have been a spectacular one had the leads sparked a bit more. Paul Lukas was brilliant, and got me weepy eyed more than once. The scenes between him and Flynn were great. The film is directed perfectly, though the script slows down slightly in the middle. Walsh keeps it interesting, going at a brisk clip, but I think the script could have been more exciting, with one tweak. Adding a bit of action in the middle would have benefited the film greatly, but Warners wasn't a careful studio, and Walsh wasn't the type to fuss. There is a lot of Walsh humor and dialogue here which helps greatly. As it was, the gorgeous direction and the unlikely comeraderie of the men kept me watching from beginning to end.

h2. Happy Birthday, Lz! Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 19, 2012 12:13 PM

Hey, Ro! You're never too late! Especially when you bring ooey gooey caramel..... Thank you darlin' for the wishes. Maven- I don't know how you got all my faves in one post (and a reminder that I have to revisit Vertigo)! My Joey is so adorable. I'm glad you saved the best for last. Thanks for everything, especially the conversation. Molo - I've really missed your posts. I hope there's a ramble coming up just to read what you have to say. I still haven't seen Strange Cargo. oops! Frank - I've only seen eight off your list! I am one of those who would put Grand Hotel high on my list, along with Dinner at Eight, Student Prince, A Tale of Two Cities and Black Narcissus, which is a truly great film, full of foreboding and repressed eroticism. Of the eight here is my rating: 1. Student Prince in Old Heidelberg 2. Black Narcissus 3. Grand Hotel 4. Dinner at Eight 5. A Tale of Two Cities 6. A Night at the Opera 7. Dressed to Kill 8. Terror By Night I remember Dressed to Kill better than Terror by Night, since I've seen Dressed to Kill recently, so I ranked them accordingly. I think I saw Spawn of the North when I was a kid, but I have no memory of it except that it was an exciting adventure story, which I usually like. If it's the movie I remember, it does seem a bit like Walsh's work. Walsh worked with Raft a lot, though apparently they couldn't stand one another. I believe I've seen the very end of Backfire - is Virginia Mayo locked in a room with the bad guy after searching for something in a desk? It seemed like a very taut and suspenseful B movie. I know my description is vague, but I literally came in at the very end of it, and did enjoy what I saw, if that's the same movie. I just want to know if I have the right film. The Pleasure Garden sounds really interesting. Edited by: JackFavell on Jan 19, 2012 8:54 AM