ThelmaTodd

The producers are taking a huge gamble, making a black and white silent film in this day and age. Such a risk must make them want to resort to more than the usual amount of hype in order to put it over. The TCM fan community (God bless them!) is not totally representative of the general moviegoing audience, many of whom may have little or no experience watching classic films. Our familiarity with vintage film gives us a standard against which to judge such a production, something the average movie goer may not have experience with. I'm with the producers on this one. The important thing is to raise popular awareness and appreciation for our classic film era heritage with the general public, most of who are primarily affected by current popular culture. The masses need a contemporary film to stimulate them into appreciation for that earlier era of filmmaking. I wish them the best in box office returns. (A constant in the business that hasn't changed since the silent days!) I'm even hoping for a sequel. It would be nice if this film could be the start of a retro trend. Imitators are more than welcome to jump in!

That's Gary Cooper, one of a number of stars who appear in this short There's Ben Turpin, comic star of silent films, with a couple of aspiring young ladies. I am delighted to announce that a great short is coming up in a few minutes on TCM: *LA FIESTA DE SANTA BARBARA (1935)* I have included it on my *exploitation filmography thread* with pictures and comment at: *Posted: Dec 18, 2011 8:33 PM* http://forums.tcm.com/thread.jspa?threadID=161844&start=75&tstart=0 For those that will miss it, you can also watch it on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kayTXeFs82M I have included it because of the not so subtle pot humor in it, where the whole gang acts very dejected because the roach has gone out! The words to *La Cucaracha,* which they sing: *La cucaracha, la cucaracha,* *ya no puede caminar* *porque no tiene, porque le falta* *marihuana que fumar.* *The cockroach, the cockroach,* *can't walk anymore* *because it doesn't have, because it's lacking* *marijuana to smoke*

It's a remarkable film, one that would likely suffer in it's cinematic effect by being watched at home on a small screen. With it's novel three screen projection, it is a theatrical experience through and through. One other concern I would have is that the historical events and personages depicted are obscure to most American viewers. Gance was quite the fanatic. I read that several extras were killed during the filming of the scenes on horses. Gance said that he was happy that the "boys" are putting their hearts in their work! *"Impossible is not French!"* A great line to deploy when you aren't getting cooperation or good service in Paris!

My experience with actors and drama school types is that they are willing, for the sake of their art and ambition, to forego what conservative minded people value very highly- financial and employment security. Many accept unemployment and under employment at marginal jobs while they are hoping for that big break. Their politics usually reflects a sympathy with the underdogs and the working class. By temperament they can also be bohemian and non-conformist. Many relish being social misfits and outcasts, considering that a badge of artistic integrity and honor. Voting Republican doesn't seem to come naturally for these folks unless they become more middle aged and very successful. Even after becoming multi-millionaires, many show business people retain their liberal leanings. As this subject pertains to Hollywood 1940, the Depression radicalised a lot of the artists and intelligentsia in the 30's. Petitions and joining political groups was very common. Many college students and people in the arts signed things and joined groups, whose "provenance" was later questioned by people like Joe McCarthy.

Hello Otis, (by the way, his username is one of the amusing alias "nome-de-plumes" that W.C. Fields resorted to!) You're right. The Criterion Collection DVD came out in 2003. It is a French documentary short made in 1955, back when the French still had fresh and unpleasant memories of the Occupation.

The Germans had a terrifying "system" for dealing with armed resistance in occupied territories, one they imposed from the very beginning of the war in Poland- hostages. They would arbitrarily round up a certain of number innocent people when entering a town. Some "formula" would be publicly announced: that so many of the hostages (usually at least ten) would be summarily shot for the death of each German soldier. The death of a high ranking officer would be avenged by even more lives. The Germans did this a lot in Poland, France, Italy and many other places where an active partisan resistance occured. In spite of these dreadful and draconian measures, armed resistance none the less continued throughout the war. The partisans had guns and bombs. The Germans had numbers and organisation. To give this a cinematic context, refer to the movie *Night and Fog (2003), (available from the Critierion Collection) *dealing with the life and death of *Reinhard Heydrich* an SS officer killed by the Czech resistance. The town of *Lidice *was wiped out in retaliation. An armed citizenry might be able to hold out against a mediocre dictator fighting with demoralised troops. Against an evil genius backed by well organised and fanatical followers, they are far less effective. Many people in Europe found this out the real hard way.

As a tongue-in-cheek observation, I say people can be divided into two camps: those who immediately recognise which film these motion GIF's are from, and those who don't! (I ain't tellin'!) Dave O'Brien (as Ralph) truly steals the show. He immortalised himself for all time to future generations as everybody's favorite stoner. It was his laugh; it had to be! All that's missing from this GIF is the crazy piano music. The inevitable bad trip. *Some recent additions to the Exploitation Filmography thread in Your Favorites* ** http://forums.tcm.com/thread.jspa?threadID=161844&tstart=0 *LOT IN SODOM (1933)* *SALOME (1923)* *WOMEN KNOW YOUR LIMITS (1950's)* *A series of independent erotica shorts (1940's):* *HUNTING BARE* *HOT NUMBERS* *TILLIE'S TEMPTATION* *UNTITLED* *THREE GIRLS IN A CABIN* *NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING* *FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING* *WHAT THE BELLBOY SAW* *A series of early erotica shorts from Saturn Film (Austria) 1906-1910:* *UNTITLED (1906-1910)* *FEMALE SCREENING (1910)* *THE FAMILY DOCTOR (1910)* *EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE COLLECTION- FEMALE SUBJECTS (Late 1890's)* *BEIM FOTOGRAFEN (1908)* *THE SAUCY CHAMBERMAID (1907)* *DAS SANDBAD (1906)* *NO SWIMMING (1906)* *MICKEY'S GALA PREMIERE (1933) Walt Disney* *SEXTETTE (1978) Mae West* *MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON (1943) Maya Deren* *THE DIVINE HOESEMEN- THE LIVING GODS OF HAITI (1940'S) Maya Deren* ** *I'm delighted with the eclectic range that the overall subject allows for; it's a "big tent". Something for everyone.* *Enjoy!*

** *LOT IN SODOM (1933)* ** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QOyH8DyME0 *Full film* ** ** *Just a short 10 years after* *Cecil B. DeMille's Ten Commandments (1923) and Nazimova's Salome (1923)*, *the producers of this short took the principle of using the Bible-as-fig-leaf to it's logical cinematic conclusion. The film maker and their target audience most likely weren't overly concerned about what the Bible had to say, nor were they interested in moralism and conventional piety. They wanted to create something that would fly in the face of prevailing mores, and scripture would be caught in the crossfire between them and the censors. This was strictly for the "art house" crowd.* *Lot in Sodom (1933)* *is a short silent experimental film, based on the Biblical tale of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber.* *The movie uses experimental techniques, Avant-Garde imagery and strong allusions to sexuality, especially homosexuality.* *Sodom is a place of sin. An angel appears there and he is welcomed by Lot. The people of Sodom want to have sex with him. Lot refuses; then the angel tells him to escape the city with his wife and daughter. Sodom is then destroyed by the flames; Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt for having looked back.* *All intertitles are quotes from the Bible.*

Nazimova's famed and celebrated Garden Of Allah bungalow hotel on Sunset Boulevard (since torn down), where many stars and writers have resided and partied hard. *SALOME (1923)* *Nazimova Productions w/ Alla Nazimova* http://free-classic-movies.com/movies-02/02-1923-02-15-Salome/index.php *Full movie silent with English titlecards and undertitling in German* *The saga of King Herod's daughter has fascinated show people for centuries; a staple of the stage, the story inspired a few film adaptations of which this version is the most stylistic and remarkable.* *The character of Salome, who demands John The Baptist's head as a token from her father, sets herself up for all time as the archetypal degenerate "bad girl". Small wonder that Gloria Swanson's "Norma Desmond" character in* *Sunset Boulevard (1950)* *dreams of making a big screen comeback playing her!* ** *Using the sanctity of the Bible as cover for nudity, salacious scenes and wild partying is one of the oldest exploitation film tricks in the book; the biggest "perpetrator" being Cecil B. DeMille himself in his "epics". Here in her own production, Nazimova uses the theme to present a stylistic extravaganza of which she is at the center. Although a nod was given to the Art Nouveau artwork of Aubrey Beardsley, the costumes and set design are firmly influenced by the brand new Parisian Art Deco style.* *Salomé (1923)* *is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name. The play itself is a loose retelling of the biblical story of King Herod and his execution of John the Baptist (here, as in Wilde's play, called Jokaanan) at the request of his stepdaughter, Salomé, whom he lusts after.* *Salomé is often called one of the first art films to be made in the U.S. The highly stylized costumes, exaggerated acting (even for the period), minimal sets, and absence of all but the most necessary props make for a screen image much more focused on atmosphere and on conveying a sense of the characters' individual heightened desires than on conventional plot development.* *Despite the film being only a little over an hour in length and having no real action to speak of, it cost over $350,000 to make. All the sets were constructed indoors to be able to have complete control over the lighting. The film was shot completely in black and white, matching the illustrations done by Aubrey Beardsley in the printed edition of Wilde's play. The costumes, designed by Natacha Rambova, used material only from Maison Lewis of Paris, such as the real silver lamé loincloths worn by the guards.* *No major studio would be associated with the film, and it was years after its completion before it was released, by a minor independent distributor. It was a complete failure at the time and marked the end of Nazimova's producing career* *A longstanding unsubstantiated rumor, which seems to have started while the film was still in production, suggests that its cast is composed entirely of gay and bisexual actors in an homage to Oscar Wilde, as per star and producer Nazimova's demand* *In 2000, this film was selected for preservation in the* *United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress* *as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".*

*WOMEN KNOW YOUR LIMITS! (1950's)* *BBC* ** *Women- Know Your Limits! From Harry Enfield and Friends BBC* ** *2 and half minute short* *"Look, Listen and Take Heed- A Public Improvement Film"* *If you know anything about the* *British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)* *today, (where I have had the honor of being a guest panelist on their World Service on a number of occasions!), they are utterly and abjectly ruled by "PC"; a fear of giving offense to ethnics, women, etc. A charge of "sexism" would send them running to the hills and ducking for cover! (The moderation standards on their website comment board are more restrictive than that of the TCM message boards.) The left is very powerful and much more organised in Britain than it is in the States. One sign of it is the absolute rule of political correctness throughout politics, the education system and media. Violate it at your peril.* *With that background, it is hilarious to see just how times have changed. The mere title of this feature would raise alarms today, as suggesting that women have their limits in anything would be deemed sexist in modern day Britain. The short depicts a dinner party where the after dinner discussion by men goes to politics and economics. A woman guest commits a grave social faux pas by "interjecting" an opinion. The fact that her comment sounded intelligent and informed is no matter; she has committed the equivalent of letting out a **** at the dinner table by butting in to men's conversation and venturing an opinion! Obviously "bad form" as they used to say over there, and the commentator weighs in sternly.*

*HUNTING BARE (1940's)* *Hollywood Q. T. Productions w/ Bebe, Zona and Lou* ** *3 minute short*

*HOT NUMBERS (1940's)* *Hollywood Q. T. Productions w/ Bebe, Zona and Lou* ** *3 minute short* **

*TILLIE'S TEMPTATION (1940's)* *Hollywood Q. T. Productions* ** *2 and a half minute short* ** *These Hollywood Q. T. film uploads were posted by someone who bought the 16mm originals in an estate sale. That's the thing about collecting porn; people find your stuff and get wise about you after you pass away!*

*UNTITLED (1940's)* *Hollywood Q.T Productions* ** *3 minute short*

*FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING (1940's)* *Hollywood Q. T. Productions featuring "Bebe, Zona and Lou"* *3 minute short*

*WHAT THE BELLBOY SAW (1940's)* *Producer unknown* *3 minute short* *Soft porn erotica. Posted from a 16mm master. Bellboys, like bartenders, no doubt got to see and hear a lot of things!*

*SATURN FILM EROTICA- (Title unkown) 1906-1910* *One minute clip* *Saturn Film* *was Austria's first film producer. They got to the point and down to business immediately, publishing nothing but erotic shorts in their brief 4 year life. About 52 features were produced, of which about 30 survive. To get their entire extant collection on video, go to:* http://www.hoanzl.at/saturn-filme.html *(Click on the video cover image and it opens up like a book, complete with mouse activated floating magnifier. Very, very slick!)*

Why not? I take an interest in the Superbowl if by the grace of God and luck my my home town team (the Chicago Bears) happens to be playing! Otherwise I'll be flipping the channels to see what else is on!

Re: TCM in 2032. I keep praying that *Jeffrey Bewkes* continue as Time Warner CEO. Under his stewardship, I'm confident that the present TCM format will continue; may he have a long tenure and a long healthy life! As corporate chief, he must be well aware of the financial ramifications affecting TCM, as well as the possibilities of some alternate format. I'll start worrying when he has a successor, who may be inclined to make a different set of decisions. TCM is Time Warner's "crown jewel" and I hope that will continue to carry weight through successive management regimes. I'm inclined to consider purchasing some Time Warner shares, for no other reason than to give me standing to attend annual shareholder meetings and to champion the cause of TCM before the board of directors. Others are welcome to join me and to lend their voices. Let profit maximisation rule throughout the organisation, by all means! But when it comes to the TCM part of their holdings, God preserve us from the "beancounters" and corporate finance men! (Who no doubt will have a different business model to propose.) TCM is a legacy from another business titan, Ted Turner. His unique vision and mission is worthy of preservation. Let's stay true to it; it is a masterpiece of broadcasting. There is no need to "improve" the Mona Lisa with crayons and airbrushing; best to leave it as Da Vinci painted it!

*FEMALE SCREENING (1910)* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47m4y6nJIr4&feature=related *4 minute short* *The film maker is unknown to me, but it's probably Saturn Film of Austria. It could not have been American made; this level of film nudity and salacious appeal was not possible in the US until the late 1960's*.

*THE FAMILY DOCTOR (1910)* *Saturn Film, Austria* *6 minute short* *It's an age old story familiar to physicians: a randy female patient (usually a housewife) feigning illness to get attention and coming on to her doctor.* *At first it looks like just another one of those early silents, except when the woman bares her breasts and eventually, her lower part! This could not have been exhibited in America back then, as doing so would have landed both the film maker and exhibitor in jail!* *The film was seized by the authorities in 1911, and the fact was announced in the **** Zeitung, the Official Journal of Vienna, Austria.*

*EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE COLLECTION- FEMALE SUBJECTS (Late 1890's)* *4 minute short* *Muybridge was a British born photographer who did a lot of pioneering work in stop motion photography. His earliest interest was capturing animal motion in multiple shots, which became the technical groundwork for cinema itself. He soon "graduated" from animals to nude subjects, especially women. He claimed his work was artistic experimentation (which it was), but his depicting of women was noted by some to be driven by more than a purely artistic appeal. No sooner was film invented than it's prurient appeal discovered and delved into! This harkens to the VCR revolution 80 years later, where a new viewing technology was driven in it's early years by the sale of pornographic videos.* *Muybridge died in 1904, and the above video link is some early film footage indeed, thought to date from the 1890's. The stills which comprise this feature were made between 1880 and 1887, and years later assembled as motion picture film by Muybridge.*

*BEIM FOTOGRAFEN (1908) (AT THE PHOTOGRAPHER)* *Saturn Film Austria* http://www.123video.nl/playvideos.asp?MovieID=545724 *2 and a half minute film short* *The ladies bare it all for a photographer who ends up doing a lively trade selling the pictures. The clientele appears to include a policeman as well as a gentleman in a top hat.*

*THE SAUCY CHAMBERMAID (1907) (Das Eitle Stubenmädchen)* *Saturn Film Austria* http://www.youtube.com/user/VintageFilmArchive#p/c/878EC36200CF24A4/0/mq6FoEYT8Mo *3 minute short* *A pretty maidservant is absent-mindedly dusting with a feather duster. Suddenly intrigued by an antique sculpture with a perfect figure, she amuses herself by striking the same pose. With a little simper at first, then positively beaming, the maid strips right down to her birthday suit.* *When the master of the house suddenly appears on the scene, the pretty statue in the flesh does not leave him cold.* *This film is typical of the productions by Johann Schwarzer, who studied photography and chemistry before founding Vienna’s first cinematographic production company, Saturn-Films, in 1906. For a long time, historians failed to mention that he produced Austria’s very first films. This might have something to do with the fact that Saturn did not work with the most “prestigious” genre – they made only erotic films.*

*DAS SANDBAD (1906) (THE SAND BATH)* *Saturn Film Austria* http://www.123video.nl/playvideos.asp?MovieID=545720 *One and a half minute short* *In a Saturn film, the undressed protagonists are always women. The excuse for undressing is sometimes a theme, which might be exotic: as in Slave theft (Sklavenraub), or mythological: Diana bathing, Amazons (Amazonen), Fauns and Spirits (Faunen und Nixen).* *But not everyone was amused. As early as 1910, a few radicals demanded the Viennese authorities shut down the Saturn production company. Catholic associations took advantage of the situation to denounce the film-maker as immoral. Most of the films were literally axed, following a court order in 1911. The catalogues, negatives and copies all suffered the same fate.* *Between 1906 and 1911, Saturn’s activity quickly flourished and found many fans across Europe. But after only five years in business, the Vienna government ordered the company to shut down operations on the grounds of immorality. The ethics police hacked the films to pieces. The catalogues, negatives and copies all suffered the same fate.* *The majority of Saturn films come from collector Albert Fidelius, the son of a German distributor, who began collecting primitive films in 1933. The collection was then purchased in the 1950s by German film director Gerhard Lamprecht, who founded the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek several years later.* *In the 1990s, original nitrate-based films (mainly negatives) were entrusted to the Filmarchiv Austria, where they were duly restored.*