rohanaka

She is also conflicted at this time in her life, like many eighteen or nineteen year olds, and perhaps every one is just politely waiting for her to make up her mind what she wants to be.... It's a restless age to be sure... and I think she does sort of show that at least at the beginning... (ps.. I am still wondering what I am going to be when I grow up... if ever I do, that is!! Ha.) PS.. Barb... ANOTHER nice catch w/ the train... the Grey Guy is right. Your have a watchful eye. PSS... Mr. Grey... when I made my comparisons between Uncle Charlie and Danny Boy, I should have pointed out that they have VERY different styles... Danny is more or "fawner" and a "pleaser" but he is a bit of a showman too... and Uncle Charlie is ALL for show... he comes off bigger than life and seeks to overwhelm and impress in order to sway those he wants to victimize... different methods... still the same sort or result.

Mr. H... you left out the part where the town constable left the city gate wide open to allow the ghouls free access and then was too ill equipped to keep them from having free reign...

Howdy do Uncle Char... I mean Mr. Grey... actually saw Shadow of a Doubt before It's a Wonderful Life. Now why doesn't that surprise me one bit?? I enjoyed all your screencaps... you always find just the right moments to make your points... nicely done. I believe most every film of that era would cast the dynamic male as the attractive good guy while the bad guy would be viewed as the ugly, unlikeable jerk. I agree maybe MOST were like that... but not all of those old black and white films were so "black and white" about their bad guys... Ha. (two examples... Night of the Hunter...pretty OBVIOUS bad guy... Night Must Fall... NOT so obvious and terribly good looking bad guy... at least for the first 1/3 or the movie or so... (the REST of the movie he IS pretty obvious though) there are several movies where you don't really know if the monster is a monster until he (or she) is revealed somehow... but you are right... this one... you know more or less from the start.. so whatever thinking that you are called upon to do as a viewer doesn't involve trying to decide at least THAT part of it... The film is about deception. What we see on the surface isn't always true. Young Charlie comes to learn this while others remain fooled, including her own family and the respectable types in the community. This is how an evil force can take over a house or a town or a country or... I like how you put that all together... and I about like what you said later on about complacency being a part of the problem that leads to his success too. I think the Uncle Charlie is like "Danny Boy" in NMF... (YOU REALLY NEED TO SEE THAT MOVIE BY THE WAY) They are both "Watchers" and they look for EVERY opportunity to weasel their way into a victim's life. They look for human failings and capitalize on them to their own advantage... For some victims it is because they are just too nice or too ignorant..and they are easily fooled because they only think the best of everyone. For other victims ... they are too arrogant or too self absorbed to think anyone would see them as "weak" enough to be preyed upon... which makes them possibly the most deserving target, yet still a target none the less. Other victims are poor and pathetic and easy pickings... and you likely feel the most sorry for that sort of victim... but it is all too easy to see how they can be used and tossed aside. There are a lot of different scenarios for how a monster chooses his target... but it all boils down to the fact that a good "watcher" takes advantage wherever he can find it... and like Danny, Uncle Charlie is no exception. And also like Danny a part of the package is that he sees them ALL as deserving what he gives them... they are all justified kills in his mind. (even the ones that aren't neccessarily "killed" in a literal sense but only are only a figurative "kill" by being used.... (That might not make sense... I guess I am saying... For Uncle Charlie.. EVERYBODY is a victim... whether he kills them literally or just kills their "innocence" by abusing their trust... he has targeted them all as his victim... and some of the ones that he leaves alive have no idea they've even been targeted... he is that good at being bad...) I view Uncle Charlie as a predator and Young Charlie as his young prey. The victims of abuse tend to be petrified of their abuser and the threats they levy at them. Many of these threats are aimed at the victim's family. Those on the outside of these situations usually say like you, "just get out, speak up." Fear makes such a simple task extremely difficult. Now see.. I don't see her like that as much as you do... I do agree she was his "prey"... and I even agree she was afraid... but I don't think she was "too afraid to act". I think she WAS fighting him... but just not on as equal a footing... she WAS a kid.. or at least a very young adult. And (I hate saying this) she WAS a woman and he was a very strong and threatening man. But I think if it had just been about HER and HIM... she'd have stood up to him and blown the whistle on him in a heartbeat... it was all about her FAMILY. As it is... she DID stand up to him several times.. She tells him to get out and get out soon. And she finds several different ways to let him know she is watching HIM now too. And even when she is laying on the ground half dead from carbon monoxide... the first thing she says when she sees his face (and you can HEAR the hate and fight in her voice) is "LEAVE!" And then later... when she goes into that bedroom and finds the ring and puts it back on as she is walking down the staircase... she KNOWS she has him right where she wants him.. and he backs down immediately... She was a victim... but she wasn't too afraid to stand up to him.. I thought Jack's falling in love with Young Charlie to be waaaaaaaaay too easy. I can see him being very attracted to her, but the love angle was pushing it. It felt weird to me. Why? Because I did take Young Charlie to be 18 years old. He seemed to be in his 30s, although, he was actually 29/30. He was called "young" in the film, so I believe Hitch was going for him being in his mid-20s. It just felt forced to me. Oh you MEN!! I think that her age was likely supposed to be close to what you said.. 18 or 19.... but 18 or 19 back THEN is a lot different than it is now... and many young women then had a much different mindset (as did families in general) about age and what was acceptable... I think Carey's character was played to be mid to late 20's... but I think Charlie's was played to be a VERY mature and grown up 19. And if you compare her to her classmates (two goofy and giddy girls and one poor "dim" cocktail waitress) she was old enough and mature enough to handle such a relationship with someone who in a few more years would NOT have seemed so much older than her as time went by. It was a different era... and I don't think audiences back when this story came out would have given both her "staying home after graduation" or her "age difference" with Carey a second thought. Viewed from TODAY's standards...I see how you and Rick have a point and I can see how it seems "a stretch"... but back then, BOTH those things were very common... especially in smaller cities and towns like the one in the story. PS... BARB... Wow... great insight about the library... sometimes... knowledge IS a VERY scary and menacing thing... PSS... Jackie... I liked your thoughts on the "growing up and coming of age" angle... and from a parent's perspective... color ME scared too! :-)

Hi Butterscotchie... My most favorite would be "Don't Bring Me Down"... I also like "Telephone Line, Evil Woman, and I Can't Get it Out of My Head"... there are others I like too.. but those would be my more favoite ones... And YOU??? PS... OH WAIT... It has been so long since I listened to any of their music... I can't believe I almost forgot about this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hMXnUty6s I don't know now... Don't Bring Me Down... may be TIED with this one as my all time most fave for them..... I hate choosing favorites.. Ha. (ps... both DBMD and HOTTYD are a lot less "orchestral" than some of their earlier stuff... but still I like them a lot for the harmonies and they are just a lot of fun to sing too.) :-)

Wow Rick Spade... tell us how you really feel about Shadow of a Doubt! (Ha!) :-) Ok.. I think maybe you are right about it not being a "top notch" film in the style of most Hitchcock films... it IS different from many of them in a lot of respects.. and I can also see where that and a lot of the "hard to buy" plot lines might be a turn off for you because I see from some of your other writings that you are a hard core noir kinda viewer... And based on my very limited knowledge of all things noir, I think sometimes those sorts of films are a lot more blatant in their honesty and often go out of their way to show their character's motivations in the harshest light of reality... (and if I am off on that... forgive me... I truly do NOT have a "nose for noir") But that may be part of what makes you want to "buy' the story more in order to like it... (at least I think... forgive me if I read you wrong) If it helps you to understand better why none of the stuff that bothers you about this film bothers me... First of all, I never knew this was an Alfred Hitchcock film until several years ago... long after I had already seen it and liked it at least a couple of times... so I didn't have that sort of "Hitch" expectation about it... And I do agree, it doesn't necessarily seem "Hitch-ish" but not all of his films did... But I think you CAN see his influence on the film in a lot of the interesting "shots" and the way some of the story was filmed... but again... I am no expert on HIM either... so I likely would not explain it as well as others could. I don't know really what sort of "class" this film would best be called... Also, to me, it is not so much a "noir" or even a "mystery" or a "thriller".... but maybe it is more of a "psychological drama" with a certain level of "on the edge of your seat" suspense (at least for me) that comes from watching to see how all the pieces of the story will finally be put together and what sort of end result will come of it all. For me, this film has never really been about "buying" some of the hard to buy plot lines so much as it has been about the characters and how they interact... especially the two Charlies. And it is also about "doubt" and how it plays on a person's perspective... first with young Charlie... and then also with Uncle Charlie as well. (And then also eventually with Ann too, which by the way... THAT is one of the things I never noticed before... how SHE seems to not want to be around Uncle Charlie all of a sudden and then later we find out that she and the "photographer" detective have been having all sorts of interesting conversations... he probably planted some seeds of doubt in HER mind about her uncle as well.. only maybe a little less "openly" than they did with Charlie... ) But anyway... Young Charlie goes from loving her uncle and more or less "worshiping" him to suddenly hating the very ground he walks on... And "doubt" becomes the running shoes that more or less lead her little feet down this sudden path of change. She doesn't waste too much time trying to ignore it all. Rather than rest in the blind faith she may have had for him as a child... the "new" young adult Charlie sees that she MUST put an end to the "wondering".. no matter what the consequence.. and she is very "proactive" in putting the doubt to rest... one way or another, come what may. I think this is due in part to the fact that she discerned for herself there was something going on with her uncle even before the two detectives told her what that "something" was.. (though I am sure she did not think it would be anything nearly so awful as what it ended up being when all was said and done) And then... when her uncle basically "comes clean" and confirms what she has been able to find out for herself... the "doubt" is all cleared up for her in an ugly and harsh way and the rest of her time in the story is spent trying to wrestle with what to DO about what she knows. And I know you had a problem with it, but I can totally see why she wants to keep things quiet and get him away from there out of love and concern for her mother. She has a sort of "leadership" role in that family... She works with her mother to supervise the children, keep the house, cook, (and there are other times when she even seems to supercede her mother in a way at times.) Her mother really depends on her for a lot... And all throughout the film you can see how Charlie takes that seriously. At that party where the mom goes on and on about how glad she is to have her brother back in her life again and how much she has missed him... you get a chance to see that she is a pretty fragile person emotionally... It would have killed her to know the truth... so Charlie wants Uncle Charlie OUT of the picture with as little fuss as possible. So then once Charlie learns the truth about her uncle... and there is no more "doubt" for her... the story switches a little as HE becomes the one who then begins to "doubt" instead... and that is the interesting twist in this for me. Today for the first time... I noticed a really interesting shot.... when he thinks he is free (after they learn about the guy w/ the propeller) and he tells her is going to stay afterall... he fairly skips into the house... and starts up the stairs... and then... DOUBT starts to be an issue for him. He doubts her faithfulness to her promise to him not to turn him in or tell... he doubts that he can keep her in line and starts plotting little accidents for her... And the way this all becomes apparant for the viewer is the shot of her in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs... and him on the staircase. As he turns around and looks at her, it is almost like you can hear him thinking... "I'm free, I'm free... oh wait... what about...???" And she has become a "shadowy figure of doubt" for him now. Anyway.. I freely admit... if you think too hard about some of the "harder to buy" aspects of this story... it might not be as good a tale as if you just "go with it" sometimes and watch it for what IS good about it... and that for me is the characters and how they interact and come to terms with the "doubt" and what it does to the story as the thoughts they are facing in their mind become reality for them. And PS.... I do agree that the two detectives' characters needed work... they were just about the hardest to believe out of all the characters in the story... but there are a lot of fun and interesting quirks and personalities in a lot of the other side characters (the dad and the neighbor) the little sister and brother.. even some of Charlie's classmates (including the girl who worked in the bar) My favorite was "Herbert" (PERFECTLY played by Cronyn by the way) "He always comes when we are eating!" :-) I love how he and the dad sit around plotting how to kill each other.... all the whole time a vicious cold blooded monster is five feet away... right under their noses. Very fun "twist".

Hi there Mr. Grey.... I haven't seen many Teresa Wright performances, but this is my favorite of hers of date. And it's also my favorite Cotten performance, too. We agree. That means we're both goners. I was so happy I got to catch this one again today... I have not seen it in a while.... there were s few things I had forgotten... and even some things I had not noticed before.. And LOTS of fun getting creeped out all over again. Ha. And PS... you are right... we're goners!! Ha.:-)

I see we have a fondness for ELO. What do you like about them? Hi Chris... I think I like them most because they were so "different" from a lot of the pop stuff that got played when I was a teen... They were "orchestral" but they had a much different take on it. It was a very original sound at the time. I also liked their use of harmony... I am always looking for the backup parts in a song... I'd rather sing the harmony than the melody in almost anything... and they have some really fun parts.. (PS... I think I liked listening to Queen for the same reasons ...at least at first... only I have to say I like Queen more. That Freddy Mercury was SOME singer.. but I digress) What is your favorite ELO? Mine has always been "Don't Bring Me Down".

So, the question is, how did your affection for the group change as the band changed? You know... I was a very young teen when I first started noticing their music back in the mid 70's... and so when McDonald's influence came into that ( I am not sure exactly when it was but late 70s or very early 80s sounds right) I can't say that it was something that I was all that aware of on the whole. I just knew what I did and did not like to listen to at that age... but I couldn't neccesarily tell you why. As I got older and my "musical ear" started to be more discerning I began to see the difference in style between the "before McDonald" and "after McDonald"... but by then the songs were so familiar to me... my affection for the group already included his songs as a part of the package so I never really "took sides". :-) I only ever bought one album of theirs... it was a "Greatest Hits" album and it had a lot of their moer popular songs.. including his. (I have always been so "tight fisted" (ha) I used to buy a lot the "Greatest Hits" type albums so I could afford more of my favorites) . There were a few bands or artists that I took the next step and built a collection... but by the time I became financially able to start "collecting".. the Doobies had stopped putting out new stuff and since I already had my faves all on one album, I never went in search for any of their individual albums. I imagine if I did that now, I would probably lean toward their earlier songs... I like McDonald's music ok... but not as much as a solo act as I did when he was w/ them... (so it is likely their influence on HIS sound that I liked more than his on theirs... (does that make sense?) And maybe that is why I like Blackwater more than the others... because it is a very differnet style than their laters songs.... I have ALWAYS liked it (for the vocals and for the instramentals too) and it's just taken me all these years to understand why... I tend to gravitate more now than I used to toward that style... what exactly you would call it I can't say... cajunish countyrish almost "bluegrassy" ha. Whatever it is, it is way more "up my alley" in terms of what I listen to now vs when I was a kid... *PS!!!!!* Ha... I had to come back and edit my post.. I just reread some of what I wrote earlier about my favorite songs for them being a possible tie between Blackwater and What a Fool Believes...and even though I do lean more to a more "folksey" sound in my music nowdays.... I think I still have to stand by that statement... HA! Maybe I WILL go w/ what I said at the beginning... Although I DO tend to lean more now to their older style of music, I have always liked their work as a package... so maybe I still can't take sides.... the nice part about it is.. I guess I don't really have to! Ha. :-) Message was edited by: rohanaka

Hello there, Mr. Grey.... I took two pages of notes while watching Harvey last night. That's a first for me. Ha. You sound like me.. I do that sometimes too.... I have all these little scraps of old envelopes and post it notes, that have all my many musings about certain films.. Hey... do you think that means we are... "abnormal?" Ha. Why would she say that? Well, she was bothered by his wearing an earring. Normal? Abnormal? Well... I am sure each generation has it's on standard... "normal" sometimes comes in layers. You already know Molo is sane and that I'm insane. Molo works well with me for this very reason. Well............ Ok. I will go w/ you on this one... Molo is sane and you are insane... ha. At least until Molo is proved otherwise... Ha!! Kidding Molo.... Just kidding!!!!!!!! Shopping cart... wrench, it's all the same hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha and HA! I am going out to the shed and getting the biggest wrench I can find... and then I will have BOTH... (The longer I hang around here.... the more "crazy" characters I seem to find.... and it pays to be prepared!) I will look forward to hearing more from you on all of this. PS... MOLO.. I am pretty sure I will be able to get this one soon, I have seen it at the library on a couple of different occassions.

Wow Grey Guy!!! Very fine post!! You are off to a nice start! I can see already that I just need to do what I have been thinking of doing anyway and go check out a copy of Harvey and rewatch it all myself. I can tell this is going to be one of those times when you are going to dive in head first and I want to be up on all the interesting twists and turns you and others are going to take on here... I will look forward to seeing you get to "rumblin" a little further on Old Elwood and Harvey... et al. It's been my experience that those who are different than us end up being labeled as "abnormal." That is, unless, we are very self-aware of our own "craziness." So... are you saying that: A) WE are ALL crazy and we should NOT look at anyone else as being ABNORMAL? : OR.... YOU (and Molo) are the "us" and every one else is labeled as "abnormal" because you are different from them and unaware of your own craziness????????

Hi Jake.... THANKS for Blackwater!! I think that would have to be my all time fave for them... or maybe a tie w/ What a Fool Believes... I also like Long Train Running, China Grove, and Minute by Minute. Which brings up an interesting point... their music really changed a lot over the years... especially w/ the addition of Michael McDonald when he was with them... but they still have a VERY recognizable sound... Thanks for the background info... I haven't followed their careers at all, either way back when or recently... so I can 't say for sure... but I think they have been made and remade more than a couple of times since they started. Still... they always seemed to be VERY easily identifed by that "Doobie sound". My husband saw them live way back in the early 70's. I imagine they were still a pretty young band... but then HE was a pup then too (about 19). Ha. (It was when he was in the army, and I think he was stationed in Germany at the time, but don't quote me) He still says, after all these years, it was one of the best concerts he ever went to.

Hi Jake... Wow..I need to go back and edit my list again... between you and Jackie... I keep finding ones I left off... I love the Doobie Brothers. And I have several fave songs for Aerosmith, Zepplin, and Skynard too... though I don't know if I would list them as favorite bands overall...

Wow, Ms. Favell... that's some list!! Something for every mood!!! (Patsy Cline... I should have thought of her myself..) :-)

you are all just on the edge of your seats about all this aren't you? In a word..... YES!!! :-)

If I had to chose a favorite Bob... it would be the Knocking on Heaven's Door that you and Ms. Cutter discussed over in Rambles the other day...

Bob Dylan I like some of his stuff better than others... the one you chose is a good one!

Dark Side of the Moon, baby... it's a really good album... (I love the song Time... "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...") :-)

I'm liking your lists folks... a little something for everyone.... I don't listen too much to any of these artists any more.. but some favorites have always been: Males: Dan Fogelberg Sting Bob Segar John Fogarty Marty Robbins Michael Card Fernando Ortega Jackson Brown Eric Clapton Billy Joel Females: Twila Paris Alison Kraus Doris Day Judy Garland Aretha Franklin (some) Tina Turner Emmylou Harris (some) Linda Ronstadt Groups: The Eagles CCR The Little River Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band New Grass Revival The Beatles Blue Highway The Police Alan Parson's Project Chicago Dire Straits Queen ELO Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Pink Floyd Kansas (PS... none of these except maybe Dan Fogelberg and Twila Paris are in any particular sort of order) :-) Message was edited by: rohanaka.... yet again... because HOW could I have forgotten to add KANSAS to my list!!!!

I guarantee it. You are very kind as well... And THANKS for the guarantee... but thankfully... (for me, and surely for all of you) I will just be happy to remain a "dreamer wannabe"... I bet you folks had the time of your lives out there.... I can't wait til next month. It's already been great just to read about it all on here. It is going to be even more fun to watch it all on tv and to hear what you all had to say about your films. I bet those are some memories that will last a lifetime. :-)

I was just testing YOU What?? There was a test?? Aw man.... and I didn't study... PS... Barb... though it will sound egotistical... I would name my Pooka "Kathy"... that way if I got caught carrying on a conversation with it... everybody would just think I was talking to myself. And since I usually do that anyway... I'd only look... as crazy as usual. Ha! :-)

You are very kind to say that... but Ms Cutter might not want to have someone like me babbling and babbling with her face in front of it all like that.... Maybe I could just hide behind one of the draperies.... and then Mr. O could say.. "Pay no attention to that woman behind the curtain... roll film!" :-)

Wow Chris... what a fun idea for a thread.... and you have had me thinking all afternoon as to what I would choose. I know... YOU (and probably half the world population thought it would my all time favorite movie EVER.... The Quiet Man) Well so did I at first... then I thought... nah... LOTS of people have seen this film... and it's been shown on TCM a LOT. So then I thought of several other old faves... The Wizard of Oz... It Happened One Night... and of course... I went into my favorite genre... westerns... and thought a bit about The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and also The Searchers... I have SO many old favorites... films I have and could still watch over and over again... and also jabber on and on about over and over again as well. If I were to get on TV and talk about them, I am sure by the time I was finished poor old Robert Osborne would be ready to say, "Kathy, just put a sock in it" :-) So I just kept thinking and thinking of even more titles I could mention.... and I still could not settle on a choice... (did I mention I have been thinking of this since earlier this afternoon?) ha. And then I remembered a film I saw for the very first time back in late October of this past year. It had been on my "Wanna See list for sometime, and I was lucky enough to come across it at the local library. (And PS... I don't know about some of you other "lesser movie educated" folks (like me), but I have found it very helpful to MAKE A LIST of "Wanna See Movies" and then go in search of these films... either by checking TCM's listings or via the library (or if you are less technophobic than I am... you could use Netflix I am sure) Whatever... but try to make it happen. It has been the best fun for me to get to cross off some really great titles lately. I have truly enjoyed getting to watching more "new" old movies that way in the past six months than I have had in years... but I digress.) :-) OK.. back to my "Programmer Choice.. As I mentioned... I recalled a film I saw back in October that REALLY stood out for me for a lot of reasons. First it is a Western.. but it is MORE than a western too. (more on that in a moment.) Second... it was a TOTAL surprise for me as the leading man in this film (Henry Fonda) is one I typically have not been a huge fan of in the past. I am talking about... *The Ox-Bow Incident*. As far as what I would look to discuss with Mr. Osborne (should I EVER have been as fortunate as others to have sat in that chair) it was easy for me, because I went back in to the thread where I was fortunate enough to have had a VERY extensive chat with others on this film back in the fall (it went on for days and days) . The following is a part of my opening "ramble" on this film.... (if you will forgive me the arrogance of "quoting" myself) This is some of what I had to say back then... and would most likely be similar to thoughts I would also wish to share with Mr. Osborne (that is after the first 97 "takes" where all I was able to do was go... "ga ga ga ga ga... stutter stutter" (faint) Ha!! :-) I am NOT an "in front of the camera" sort of gal... :-) Again... here were some of my thoughts from this fall on The Ox-bow Incident: There are several folks that have this on their top 100 western list, (I would have to count myself among them now) but this film doesn't have to be a "western" per se, as the film is more about the "incident and what caused it" and those sorts of things go beyond a certain time or place... But the old west really does fit w/ the themes in this tale because law and justice were certainly more "home style" back then when everyone carried their own little "peacemaker" to help them keep the peace. And I bet the back woods and empty fields and deserts of the American west are filled w/ the remains of plenty of Larry Kincaids and likely many more of the Donald Martins and his unfortunate traveling companions. What I really looked for the most in this story was a point. WHY did these folks just suddenly decide to take the law into their own hands? WHY were they so quick to demand justice based on one second hand accounting of certain events that may not have been fully understood yet? And WHY were there so few present who wanted to stand up and perhaps act as a voice of reason? And when that voice came...in the form of an old man and a "weak willed" politician, WHY did so few people care to listen? I think the answer is a common problem in today's society. And my husband gets the credit for it because he says this all the time...The reason everyone acted in such haste and with such poor judgement is that they did not want to "confuse the issue with the facts". They did not want to believe or be bothered with anyone else's opinion once they made up their minds. And they were easily led along a path they might not normally have chosen had they stopped and thought before they acted... This has to be the best acting I can ever recall from Fonda, though I admit I am not a huge fan of his and only have had a few movies that I can honestly say I could compare with. But boy does he stand out. At one point (when he is standing outside in the middle of the night in the cold talking to Harry Morgan--who was also terrific by the way) he virtually seethes. And you can just see it coming out of him as he is talking about how disgusted he is with all the blowhard "leaders" they are following after in this so-called pursuit of justice... I also really liked the part where he is reading the letter (written by one of the condemned men) to Morgan and all you can see is his mouth and Morgan's eyes...as if the words he is reading are flowing from his lips and sinking into Morgan's brain. Very interesting perspective... And other stand out performances would have to be Harry Davenport...though I must admit I suddenly had a moment where I wanted to break out singing "Meet Me in St. Louis". And the guy who played "Sparks"...I looked him up...Leigh Whipper. What a terrific job and what a great character..."He's kiddin' you Sparks." "I know but he might be accidentally right." I also went on to explain that I wished the movie had been a bit longer as I would have liked to see Fonda's and Morgan's characters follow through on their discussion to visit the wife of one of the condemned men... and then I said... The only two things that I would have "changed" about this film (other than the ending that I wanted to see continued) would be the music (not too imaginative...maybe the director was still thinking of The Grapes of Wrath when he went w/ Red River Valley so often) and the character of Fonda's old girlfriend....what was that all about? It didn't have to be a part of the action of the story...it could easily have been included as background through more conversation than just the bit that was discussed at the beginning. I saw that whole piece as a bit of a distraction, but it did not last long, so I am not really complaining. This was only a part of what ended up being a very long drawn out conversation with several folks over this film... but these are some of the things that still stand out for me with regard to this film and I think it would have to be my choice hands down for my "Programmer" spot... Of course... IF that were to happen... I'd likely faint dead away and then be so "ga ga" before I ever even GOT there... they'd have to just cancel my spot and let Mr. O do the whole thing solo anyway. Which would be OK with me so long as they still showed the film... it is REALLY a great story. And I am sure Robert Osborne would have a lot more intelligent things to say than I could think of anyway (that's why they pay him the big bucks... and I am just content to sit at home and watch!) :-) Thanks Chris, for giving me a chance to "dream big"! :-) Message was edited by: rohanaka

have plenty of Kleenex on hand I went out and bought a years supply after all the mushy talk that Molo and Frank Grimes put us through with How Green Was My Valley!!! (Live and learn!!) :-) So what are you telling me???? Is this movie going to reduce me to a blubbering mess of mush??????? I may have to wait until I am either SO low I just won't notice... OR I am so happy I can survive it before I watch!! HA!! :-)

I don't want to spoil it for Kathy. Oh chat away, little lady.. I am interested in hearing about it all... and if it looks to "spoilish" I will just close my eyes! :-)