Capuchin

*How to Steal a Million* Audrey elevates everything she's in, but this film transcends the usual comedy-caper-romance genre by several orders of magnitude. I also have to put in a word for *Laura* -- isn't it time for Fox to loosen its grip and let this be shown the way it was meant to be seen?

That's good to hear! One of the reasons SansFin made me promise to check these boards every day while she's gone is so she/we wouldn't miss the Challenge. I hope you've chosen some devilish challenges for us!

Since finding this forum, I don't have a 'why don't they get it' feeling about any one movie (while not everyone here loves the same movies I do, they at least understand them), but that describes all classic movies when dealing with real life peeps who see value only in CGI, surround-sound, dull colored modern movies.

> {quote:title=markbeckuaf wrote:}{quote} I'm really enjoying today's Walter Pidgeon fest! Digging on his Nick Carter role now! That's it, rub it in. I had the timer set to record it, but a power outage fried my DVR sometime this morning. It's one of the few Nick Carter movies I haven't seen.

> {quote:title=musicalnovelty wrote:}{quote} > > {quote:title=Capuchin wrote:}{quote}There's a Japanese tv series I knew I wouldn't like. It's anime, it's gory, and it's little girls. Someone had to bribe and force me to watch an episode. I fell in love with it! ..... > What is it? Gunslinger Girl See, even the title turned you off from ever wanting to see it.

I can see setting it up to be done after you've passed away rather than doing it while you're living because people would know it's a one-off and wouldn't keep pestering you to do it again.

> {quote:title=hlywdkjk wrote:}{quote} > This article about TCM's presentaion of *The Mysterious House of Dr. C* earlier this year may help explain what's going on. > http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/374106%7C0/TCM-Lost-Found.html Thanks! I didn't watch all of it, but it looked to me to be the same movie without the narration. I wish I still had the capacity to watch them side by side so I could note what else they did to make it more attractive to Americans.

On a tangent -- in many movies, someone refers to "a ton of money." If you've ever wondered how much that is: In pennies -- $3,628.72 In nickels -- $9,071.80 In dimes -- $39,999.50 In quarters -- $39,999.50 There are 907,180 bills to the ton, so depending on the demonination, it can range from $907,180 in $1 bills to $90,718,000 in $100 bills. Such a quantity occupies 36.1765 cubic feet. The most common briefcase measures 12.5x16x2.5 and holds 6000 bills weighing 13.2 pounds. According to one source, there is no "standard size" briefcase currently made that will hold $1,000,000 in $100 bills.

Thanks for the heads-up about *Underworld, USA.* I might have passed on it because the synopsis doesn't appeal to me. I'm curious about *Dr. Coppelius* -- wasn't there a very similarly themed movie recently? (Oh, that's going to drive me crazy -- I think it was an opera, or at least a musical, but I don't have a clue on how to start searching for it.) The Sophia Loren day looks interesting. Both *Lady L* and *Ghosts -- Italian Style* are a hoot. *The Devil's Disciple* is one of my favorites. I've always wondered why such a brilliant movie with so many great stars is so often overlooked and underrated. Is *Tish* (on Thursday) really any good? *I Married an Angel* is the only one I have to record for SansFin this week. I'm happy to see they're showing two versions of *Back Street* consecutively. I've long wished they'd highlight remakes that way, and I see them doing it more and more lately. (There are, as you pointed out, many great movies this week -- the ones I've mentioned here are ones I haven't seen lately and/or don't have copies of.) Bravo TCM!

> {quote:title=FredCDobbs wrote:}{quote} > So many films in the '30s and '40s mention amounts in thousands of French Francs, but they almost never mention any conversion values to dollars. I'm afraid I don't know of any online converter. I don't recall when/where I ran across it, and I don't know how accurate it is or in what year, but I've always thought 5 francs is about a penny. For my writing, I'm always researching what things used to cost. What fouls me up in French money is that a livre is divided into 20 sous and each sou is divided into 12 deniers. That seems rather straightforward, except that a "livre tournois" is worth about 80% of a "livre parisis," and almost every text only says "livre" without any indication of which one they're talking about.

I'm more likely to put it into my will that someone has to watch certain movies before they can claim any inheritance. I've heard of someone stipulating that their three nephews had to compete in a Jeopardy-like trivia quiz, and the estate distributed in shares according to how well they did. (I heard about it because of the court case where one of them was contesting it.) I wouldn't want movies shown the day of my funeral. Movies isolate me, making me part of them rather than part of the reality around me. As such, I don't see them as a way to bring grieving people together.

I don't know how many movies it was, but some years ago, I watched TCM nonstop for about 30 hours. I was in the hospital, and watching classic films was the only way to take my mind off the discomfort I was feeling (it wasn't really pain, so I didn't ask for any meds). My chronic insomnia also played a part. It wasn't until they compiled the nurses' observations that they realized I hadn't slept and knocked me out.

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}I would need at least ten Harvey Wallbangers to get through anything starring June Allyson. That might actually have a positive effect. I believe it was Flip Wilson who said you should marry an ugly woman because you know what you've got, she isn't going to change, and if you have a few drinks before going home, she starts looking pretty good. I don't exactly share your views about June Allyson, but I could substitute any number of stars to make it true for me.

The best 'fight' movie I ever saw was *The War of the Roses.* From *Rhubarb* to *It Happens Every Spring* to *Angels in the Outfield,* there are a lot of baseball comedies I like. If someone came up with a funny movie about boxing, I'd like to see it.

> {quote:title=MikeBluett wrote:}{quote}Boy, is that ever irritating! Just becuase I live in Canada I get different TCM programming. It appears that TCM is responsible for what we see in Canada; otherwise, their would not be a Canadian schedule on the TCM site. Does anyone have any idea why they HAVE to do this?!!! It's a rights issue -- Canadians don't have the right to see good movies. (Sorry -- couldn't resist! ) Some of it goes back to movie theater chains. Those in Canada preferred to buy all Canadian rights to movies rather than paying rental fees (it was about the same for an initial release, and they had the option of showing the movies again in matinees/revivals). Some more of it goes back to the early days of television, when Canadian companies bought the rights to air movies in Canada irrespective of what was shown on American TV. It's all because no one back then thought there was any lasting value in a movie after its initial release (After all, who could possibly want to watch an old movie?), so the various rights were incredibly cheap.

Will movies have to start having disclaimers as stunts/prank shows do? Two guys were arrested for imitating *Weekend at Bernie's* by toting a dead friend along on their bar crawl. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18907533 Would it work as a defense that I only robbed a jewelry store and smoked dope because *Jewel Robbery* made it look elegant?

Are you saying Hayao Miyazaki never made a great movie?

Fancy dress parties are not my thing, but one year I was obligated to go to one. Everyone knew I'm into old movies, so I told them I'd come as one of the greatest movie characters ever. Afterwards, I acted disappointed no one recognized me and nobody would even talk to me. To this day, I think the host kinda halfway believes I did actually go as the Invisible Man.

> {quote:title=ThelmaTodd wrote:}{quote} > > If *Clooney* was thinking of making a *Michael Moore* type of film about the banking collapse, through a major production house, then he better find himself some very major backing- you know, kinda like a banker! There are many types of backers. Some of my interests bring me into peripheral contact with venture and expansion capitalists (people who put their own money into new or expanding industries). I've just come from a meeting where the main news was one major player in this area is paying 15 million for a share in a new movie rather than financing a factory.

> {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote} > Capuchin, I have to disagree with your view on this. I've edited my post to remove the 'political' portion. (I stand behind my statements, but this is obviously not the forum for such things).

I think there are many reasons unemployment isn't showing up widely in the movies the way it did in the 30s. 1) It isn't as pervasive. The unemployment rate has only doubled from what it normally is; in the 1930s, since the country was having unprecedented prosperity in the decade prior to the crash, it jumped tenfold. Since businesses are still hiring, unemployment is often a case of not being in the proper field or the right location. 2) It isn't as ingrained. Everyone sees this as a temporary thing, and there are enough government programs to ensure the effect isn't as serious on the average person. 3) It isn't politically correct. (Edited) 4) Such issues are better handled by television. In the 30s, movies were the predominant media for social statements. That mantle of power has shifted to television. The majority of moviegoers want mindless entertainment in theaters, but they're more open to significant statements embedded in their favorite tv show. 5) Financing movies is a lot trickier these days. Anything with a social statement isn't going to be big box office, so it's a much harder sell to investors. Adding an element that's a real downer isn't going to endear you to the moneymen, especially since most of them want to believe that prosperity is just around the corner, so your movie will be dated by the time it's aired. Edited by: Capuchin on Sep 11, 2011 4:49 PM to remove political perspective.

> {quote:title=faceinthecrowd wrote:}{quote} > When a man is driving a convertible at 60 m.p.h., why doesn't his hat blow off? They were pasted on by macassar oil (or Brylcreem or whatever the period variant was). I've never noticed the thing about women (that's something I find natural since every woman I've ever woken up next to was beautiful), but the men's hairstyles were so slicked down, I'm sure they could have come through a hurricane without their hair being mussed.

That TCM Shop should also carry new movies isn't much of a stretch. There's an industrial tool supply shop (drill bits by the dozen, ceramic inserts, etc.) which has a very nice display of rolling papers, pipes, and other "smoking aids." Many years ago, in Omaha, there was an excellent archery and tobacco shop -- it was the best place to go if you wanted either a compound bow or English cigarettes. Any good business is going to cater to the widest customer base it can. New movies can also enhance it's core audience -- someone who's interested enough in movies that they're buying DVDs might go to the site solely seeking a recent film but will often browse a bit, exposing them to the wide variety of classics available.

> {quote:title=markbeckuaf wrote:}{quote} > I'm not sure if THE KENNEL MURDER CASE will be a restored print, but the prints that TCM typically screens of this flick are usually pretty decent, comparatively. I recorded all the Philo Vance movies which TCM has shown in the past, both as individual DVDs and on one disc for the "pop in a DVD and don't worry about it all afternoon" sort of thing. Most are good prints, but there's one in the series that's pretty bad. Unfortunately, I don't remember which one it is (and I can't find the DVD because they're all in a total mess right now because of a reorganization). With my luck, it was the first one, which I missed re-recording because of a technical difficulty (had to take apart the DVR to clean the spindle, and forgot to reset the clock).

> {quote:title=Ascotrudgeracer wrote:}{quote}I feel a big group hug is needed. That's a beautiful sentiment. I don't like public displays of affection, but if any of the ladies would like to come back to my place . . .