JackFavell

Oh, dear. Do you have any bromo? Poor thing. I haven't been watching today at all. I've tried watching La Bete Humaine before, and Grand Illusion, too, but could not really get into them, and turned them off. I am waiting for the right fatalistic moment when I can really appreciate them.

OMG< that is hilarious! I should be careful whose pictures I post on here.... who knows what dreams they might inspire!

I could seriously call any of these top 30 comedies my favorites. I've ranked them in groups of ten, favorite to least favorite. As you say, Frank, I am a comedy person, however, I think the comedies I like most have a little something extra to them - a commentary on society perhaps? And any in this top thirty could leap into my top ten at any time. *1. My Man Godfrey* *2. Pygmalion* *3. Miracle of Morgan's Creek* *4. Harold and Maude* *5. His Girl Friday* *6. Midnight* *7. The Philadelphia Story* *8. Mon Oncle* *9. The Ladykillers* *10. Twentieth Century* *11. Clueless* *12. The More the Merrier* *13. Palm Beach Story* *14. Mr. and Mrs. Smith* *15. Blazing Saddles* *16. It Happened One Night* *17. Ball of Fire* *18. The Lady Eve* *19. The Major and the Minor* *20. Paper Moon* *21. Desk Set* *22. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House* *23. Comfort and Joy* *24. Tovarich* *25. What's Up, Doc?* *26. The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer* *27. The Talk of the Town* *28. Pat and Mike* *29. To Be or Not to Be* *30. The Good Fairy* *Holiday* would very likely be in my top thirty, if I had seen it recently. I remember liking it very much, and it definitely has a social commentary running through it... I just don't remember it well enough to add it to the list in good conscience. I was tempted to put *The Quiet Man* and *Mr. Lucky* on my list, but finally decided they fit into the romance category instead. The rest of these are movies I am very fond of. I love them all. I will not miss them if they are on. I just couldn't knock any of these films off of a list of favorite comedies. *31. Trouble in Paradise* *32. Topkapi* *33. Nothing Sacred* *34. Adam's Rib* *35. The Ghost Goes West* *36. Quality Street* *37. The Hudsucker Proxy* *38. The Awful Truth* *39. The Guardsman* *40. Father of the Bride* *41. The Court Jester* *42. Topper* *43. Local Hero* *44. How to Marry a Millionaire* *45. Some Like it Hot* *46. Easy Living* *47. Theodora Goes Wild* *48. The Devil and Miss Jones* *49. Ninotchka* *50. Harvey* *51. A Christmas Story* *52. The Little Minister* *53. Bachelor Mother* *54. We're No Angels* *55. Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of the Were Rabbit* *56. While You were Sleeping* *57. Airplane* *58. O, Brother Where Art Thou* *59. Impromptu* *60. Four Weddings and a Funeral* *61. The Player* *62. Delicatessen* *63. The Inspector General* *64. The Mad Miss Manton* *65. This is Spinal Tap* *66. It Happened Tomorrow* *67. Little Miss Sunshine* *Liliom* is a film I kept putting on my list, and then taking it off again, deciding it was not a comedy. It definitely ends as a comedy - _Frank_, I think you will understand this the best of anyone, since you seem to be the only one besides me who laughed at the wood chipper scene in *Fargo*. And I just realized I forgot to include *Raising Arizona* on my list... try to squeeze it in at 35 1/2. Thanks for inviting me to post this supersized list. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 18, 2011 4:09 PM

Yes, I saw the Betty Compson photo! I would love to see that restoration of Monsieur Beacaire.... any hopes for a dvd of it?

Eugenia, you probably already realize that Murnau directed *Sunrise*. I just checked Netflix, and it looks like they haven't changed out their copy of *Street Angel* yet.

> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}*I think I'm in love.* > > Again? Always.

I had no idea they were the same story! I watched the end of *Guele D'Amour* (what a great movie!), and kicked myself for not getting up in time to record that one. Gabin completely captured me. ooooh, he's smoky! like scotch, he's harsh at first sip but warm once you swallow. I never knew..... :x And golly, he was doing this before Bogie really hit his stride.... Luckily, I'm recording all the rest of Gabin, except for *Grand Illusion* and *La Bete Humaine*, which I already have, but haven't actually watched. I think I'm in love.

> {quote:title=hlywdkjk wrote:}{quote}*"Thanks for the Fred Thompson poster, Kyle."* - JackFavell > > You're welcome. The palette used for that poster is so... surprising. It's like someone was anticipating the day-glo '60s forty years early. > > And "Thank You" for the background on Fred Thompson. I am surprised that only one of his films still exists. Or do more exist but only one is available on video? > > Kyle In Hollywood I've found only two Fred Thomson films on video, one only on VHS - *The Love Light*, which is a Mary Pickford film in which Fred is the love interest. I believe this is the movie that made him a star. *Thundering Hoofs* is a western and Fred's film. During filming, Fred did a dangerous stunt, jumping from a runaway stagecoach to the horses in front - fell and received a compound fracture of his right leg... Yakima Canutt completed the stunt, but Thomson was laid up for weeks after and completion of the picture was delayed. And I really enjoy the day-glo look of that poster - it's 40 years ahead of it's time! The artwork on the *Flaming Frontiers* poster is gorgeous! Interesting to show the Native Americans so prominently. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 18, 2011 9:07 AM

It is a beauty, smileys.

Ha! And you think what I wrote was good? You have me beat by a green mile. Maybe if I write near you a little talent will rub off on me.

What I really liked about DFD is how natural Maureen and Lucy were, while each retained a totally different style. I don't think I've ever seen a more simple heartfelt performance from Maureen, who later on seemed to be more worried about her enunciation. And how Arzner refrained from judging Lucy's character too harshly....

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}BAWLING: > > *I've been watching Lon Sr. all morning. I still bawled my eyes out at HE Who Gets Slapped, after not seeing it for what seems like a hundred years.* I watched *He*, and *The Unholy Three* (1925), my two Chaney favorites. I got everything but *The Hunchback*, *The Unholy Three* (1930) and *Ace of Hearts* recorded, darn it. I really wanted to see *Ace of Hearts*, but could not wake up in time. I did compare the two *Unholies* and still found the silent version better. What always astounds me is how good looking Chaney was, and yet he hid himself under makeup and character for the major part of his career. He never fails to make me shed a tear at his heartbreak. His face is a goldmine - he can register evil, hardness, weakness, greed, deepening pain and loss, sweetness, humiliation, agony, want, self-loathing, deluded joy, you name the character trait or emotion and it's at his fingertips. I wait through each movie for him to simply lift one of his massive expressive hands in the air. He's terribly, terribly modern and yet, rather old fashioned at the same time - I guess that's what timeless is. We still recognize what he does to express longing or pain, and it's no cartoon. It's pure emotion, cathartic and deep, dramatic but never overdone. CANTANKEROUS KVETCHING ALERT When was the last time you saw Johnny Depp, Matt Damon or any of the stars nowadays really express any of those emotions I listed above? We have boiled down naturalistic acting so far that there is no depth anymore, no expression at all, it's really just a flicker of movement and the director cuts away so the actors don't strain themselves by actually having to act. Not that that's the actor's fault.... I really despise the way movies have (in general) taken all the emotion out of drama. Now drama is a guy staring into space cryptically. Ennui is the emotion of the day. Normal is the word, and I don't really want to see the everyday. Used to be, there were actors who were considered the best of their generation. Lon Chaney, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando..... these men expressed pure, _strong_ , sometimes conflicting and complex emotions. But when I try to wrack my brains as to who might be this generation's best actor, the only actors I know who have actually shown any emotion in recent films are Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day Lewis and Javier Bardem. I know some would include Leo in there, but to me, he is another cipher - someone who squeaks out a tear and everyone says it's earth shattering when it's merely OK. These stars now know how to pick scripts, I will give them that. Anyhow, to pick someone as the greatest actor nowadays seems almost ridiculous, given the climate of underwhelming emotion. 'Great' just doesn't really fit. A beacon of light to future generations? I don't know. Are we in a doldrum? Oh yeah...Jeff Bridges is pretty darn good. END OF TIRADE >Yes, of course you're right. I choose to have mine a little higher, but not where today's modern movies are concerned. Today...they'd better make sense at $12.50 a pop. I am not one to pass up the chance to go to the movies, and I find that there are some really good movies out there, mostly with women who I like. But when filmmakers take the primary reason out of going to the movies, I get P.O'd. I want to see a grown man cry for a change!!!! Dang it, I want my money's worth! I ain't shelling out the big bucks for ennui. > Yeah. Aaaargh! These young whipper-snappers talking about things they know not. Don't get me started on writers and critics nowadays, after that last vitriolic diatribe. I'm really a pretty easygoing person, who can accept change and doesn't get too upset over things. But..... > Yes, the hotel scene WAS funny. I liked when she didn't realize she was looking at her OWN reflection in the mirror. And I liked her talking to herself too. She gave herself a litmus test to see if she was still herself and even gave herself a caustic response in the privacy of her mind. You know, seeing "MIDNIGHT" and "THE AWFUL TRUTH" in such close proximity to each other...I now really truly see the casting genius of putting Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche together as brothers in *"TRADING PLACES."* Eddie Murphy would have done well to learn all he could from those two gentlemen veterans. I hope he spent time picking their brains apart while on set. Ha! I never thought of it that way, but I really loved them together in that movie. They show the rest how it's done. Thanks for the compliment on why I like Claudette. She's a smart cookie and that's got to count for something in this world.... *Cleopatra* _should_ be smarter than anyone in her own picture! Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 16, 2011 1:14 PM

Dance Fool Dance is a good movie! Maureen is fresh from ireland, and very natural, and Lucy is a pip - they are classmates at a girl's dancing school, the two best pupils. Maureen has ideals of becoming a serious ballet dancer (this film has some real wackadoo modern dance numbers in it) and Lucy just wants to get out. She becomes a striptease/burlesque queen, and hires Maureen out of the goodness of her flinty heart.

>I don't think he was carrying on an affair, but just spent the two weeks with the guys at the New York athletic club, hanging out, playing golf, cards, shooting the breeze about "the wives", exercising, etc. He picked up the fruit basket at a corner market. Maybe you are right, he was hanging with the boys. >And I love the way they make Dan rather "well-rounded": Yes a well rounded nightmare... What serious movie was I watching just this last week with a burlesque number where the girl had her skirts blown up in the air? Could it have been *Dance Fools Dance* with Lucy and Maureen O'Hara? I had trouble not laughing at the sordidness of it, because all I could think of was The Awful Truth.....

> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}"3 brassieres (fancy)" > > As opposed to? Heeheeheehee....

I know! That scene always makes me think of the one with Jean Arthur.... when I can think at all. The prices in John D. Hackensacker III's notebook always astound me:

Ha! it's taken me years to figure out all the lines in Palm Beach Story, and I still am surprised every time I see it. They are very warm together. The zipper scene.... sigh

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}Well...at least you didn't say "...like poison ivy." It's a Mary Astor line from *Palm Beach Story.* > I haven't seen it in a little while. Hadn't been in the mood during its other airings. But yesterday once I got into it...I'm in. That "marriage is a beautiful thing" with their attorney kills me. He's so caustic with his wife, "...if you don't like it you know what you can do, so SHUT UP!" says it all. I love when the judge tells Cary Grant he'll take it under advisement and Cary says: "But when will you know?" and then they fade out. (I :x fade-outs). I love the way Irene Dunne throws the newspaper at Cary with Asta. That line to the judge ("But when will you know?") caught me by surprise last night too, it's so appropriate even now. >But tell me...why is Armand your favorite character in "THE AWFUL TRUTH"? He makes me think, for an instant, of Louis Jourdan...and I love his reading of "continental mind" and more substance than the Eye-talian they use in the Astaire - Rogers musicals. Why Armand? Why Alexander D'Arcy? Because he's darn good looking! :x I simply like his mix of continental charm, sense of self preservation, vanity, and shrewd knowledge of human nature. He brings it to almost every role he plays, and since he never got the chance to play anything but continental boy toys, I have to appreciate how much he offers in these limited roles. In *The Awful Truth* he adds vapidity to the mix... a little bit of dumbness that I find enchanting. He's just one step behind Cary and Irene all the time. He actually seems to relish coming in second to Cary Grant. And he always has a smile on his continental face, even when he is being ushered out of a room. In a word, he cracks me up. >Also...did Cary Grant have a fling when he was s'posed to be in California? Yes. I'm not sure how far it went, but yeah. Def-i-nite-ly. >Watch Cecil Cunningham in the scene where Ralph Bellamy is introduced. She almost lets him go on the elevator first and remembers she's a lady... the rushed way she interjects: "...you did say your mother?" Oh my gosh that way she stopped herself on the way into the elevator made me laugh! Also the naughty way she picks up Ralph Bellamy makes you wonder if she is going to snag him for Irene.... or herself. > Man, from start-to-finish it is easy breezy fun. It makes me smile to think of it. > > > In fact.................... Me too. > Well...you got me there, Bub. One would have to go a long way to beat Asta. Asta is AWESOME. You are talking to a SERIOUS Asta fan.

I've been watching Lon Sr. all morning. I still bawled my eyes out at *HE Who Gets Slapped*, after not seeing it for what seems like a hundred years. I KNEW you were going to balk at the review of *THE GREAT LIE*. I know I did. And see, that's where my suspension of disbelief falls into place. You said it best: I don't go to classic films for REALITY. If I wanted that, I'd go look in the mirror, or at Hoarders (shudder) or something. but I do go to classic films for TRUTH. And there is truth in The Great Lie, even if the plot stretches credulity...which I'm not sure it really does.... How many of us have a skeleton in the closet (Sorry - I just cracked myself up by accidentally writing Skelton) in our family history - turns out Aunt Sally was really Doris' mom rather than her aunt? Yes, the writers had to have a way for adoption issues to be talked about, outside of unwed motherhood, because of the code.... but there is still something to learn from this movie, and it's a hell of an entertaining ride. So basically I don't care if it's realistic or not. But I do understand that some movies allow me to pull the wool over my own eyes better than others..... I find it really hard to block out sensible thought at the end of *A Summer Place* - really? It's all going to work out OK after all that? No way, man. We all have our own thresholds for the suspension of our disbelief. I don't believe that *Juarez* was anything like Paul Muni's mummy-like portrayal of him.... maybe the man was more like Joseph Calleia. But Muni might be Bronxie's raison d'etre...so I walk carefully when mentioning how stupid I thought his characterization was. (Not really, I just think he carried the still, quiet, calm thing too far. And see how I worked Joe into the dialogue? ) I adore *Midnight* . It has steadily come up in my estimation ever since I saw it a year or two ago until it's in my top ten list. I absolutely love the movie, the cast is TO DIE FOR.... I have a tiny yen for Don Ameche, and Claudette was never better. I LOVE the scene (which just keep on building) where she gets to the hotel she is NOT staying at, only to find a resplendent room all to herself. Then she wakes up to find a wardrobe, a car, and a chauffeur at her disposal. Her talking out loud to herself is great. Barrymore is a ham yes, but his character is so oddly touching, I forgive him. I find this to be one of his really great roles, he's super. Mary, well she's sublime, and I have a big yen for Francis "****" Lederer. One of my favorite actors, Rex O'Malley, makes a wonderful conniving, catty and sassy best friend for Astor's Helene. Check him out in *Camille* for another PERFECT portrayal. I don;t know if you will like *Palm Beach Story*, but it's another favorite of mine, and I appreciate you wandering farther afield to find more Mary Astor films. Mary is the best thing in the movie, unless of course you like looking at Joel McCrea - and I DO. Oh, and while we're at it, what I really like about Claudette is her common sense. You hit on this - She is no blushing girlish ingenue. At her best, she is the thinking woman's role model. The city girl who wants nothing except to _keep on being who she is,_ whether her man is Joel McCrea or Don Ameche or Fred MacMurray. If he's bought a farm, she'll gamely try farm life, but the truth is, she is better at shopping than at milking cows. And I can certainly relate! Claudette makes no apologies for herself. She is what she is, a woman, and that is pretty darn good. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 15, 2011 1:58 PM

This is a movie I really didn't like when I first saw it. I know I know! But over the years, it has grown on me, like moss. I rarely tune in to it and turn it off. I think it's rather subtle for a screwball comedy, and so the main theme of the movie escaped me for a long time. Now I find myself guffawing over and over - starting about here: >Armand: I am a great teacher, not a great lover. >Lucy : That's right, Armand. No one could ever accuse you of being a great lover. My favorite two characters are Armand (Alexander D'Arcy) and Mr. Smith (Asta). I love the confused look Mr. Smith gives in the courtroom when Lucy and Jerry are bidding for his affections.... the way it's edited is hilarious. You have to figure that if Lucy didn't hide that rubber chew toy, he would have run out the door and headed for the hills. I re-imagined this scene with Edith Fellows instead of Asta, but realized that Asta was by far the better choice for the role, he's much more expressive.... and that's saying a lot. Custody battles are always hard on the children. ...um...dogs. The great thing about The Awful Truth is that it gets better and better the more often you see it. One of those few movies where knowing what is going to happen only enhances the delight as it plays out. >Dan : Are you sure you don't like that fella? >Lucy : Like him? You saw the way I treated him, didn't you? >Dan : That's what I mean. Back on my ranch, I got a little red rooster and a little brown hen and they fight all the time too, but every once in a while they make up again and they're right friendly.

Ha!

I'm not sure anyone has that much stamina = taking on those three tall glasses of water.... I'll have to work my way up slowly.

Thanks for the Fred Thompson poster, Kyle. I just love his handsome, character-filled face! He rivaled Tom Mix in popularity, eventually becoming the second most popular western star in 1926 and 1927. Fred had been a college athlete, and also a minister, but he didn't quite find himself till he came to Hollywood. He was a big, good-natured fellow with a philosophical side. He started out to direct westerns. He especially wanted to show kids how to live a good lifestyle outdoors, with a few hidden lessons on how to behave with nobility. He became an actor because one day, an actor failed to show up for a movie shoot. Screenwriter and director Frances Marion, seeing his good looks and lively character, put him in the picture. It was love at first sight. He and Frances married and lived an idyllic existence together. His westerns became hugely popular. He had been training his horse Silver King to do all sorts of stunts and incorporated the horse into his pictures. Frances wrote most of his scripts under the name Frank Clifton. Fred did all his own difficult stunts too, including falls from rooftops and riding tricks. He made 29 pictures in 7 years. Only one of his feature films is available now. After scratching his foot on a nail in his barn, he fell ill. His doctors misdiagnosed the illness, thinking he had kidney stones. He died of tetanus on Christmas day 1928, at the age of 38. He's all but unknown today. Edited by: JackFavell on Aug 14, 2011 8:55 PM

Whoa, now you're talking - Coop and McCrea. Whew! I like em tall easy going and good looking. Add Ben to the list and I'm a goner. Hydrate me!

:x Thanks!!!!!! You too! Aww. man. You made me blush. I ain't all THAT good.