path40a
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Posts posted by path40a
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You've done it again filmlover, created another great week of programming for TCM. Congratulations! Knowing that you had to adjust your themes and/or change your plans due to others (like me, who stole your ideas!), makes the quality of this one all the more special.
I like your chosen themes, and LOVE the film Life is Beautiful as well, a tear-jerker for me. Your salutes to Colman, Bergman, Sheridan, and God (twice, LOL!) are terrific and cleverly done. But I especially like your John Glenn around the World tribute to foreign films - that took some thought and effort, I know.
Funny we both chose February, a month in which birthday salutes and other day-specific recognitions aren't really possible given TCM's annual 31 Days of Oscar festival. I'm sure the programmers have some clever ideas that they're never able to utilize that month as well. OTOH, they've done some pretty clever things (like this year's 360 degrees treatment) given the restrictions anyway.
Again, excellent lineup!
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Er, this is Hitchcock Trivia. See what you get for changing the subject line;-)
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Happy Mother's Day, and thanks TCM for the lineup which includes:
The Catered Affair, Mildred Pierce, Bachelor Mother, Imitation of Life, and I Remember Mama
an excellent tribute for this special day!
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Since you've been MIA for a while, I knew you must have been working on this; it's outstanding, of course.
Great lineup, lots of perennial (and personal, for me) favorites, but also a lot of new ideas around the Holiday! I like the fact that you've explicitly put the shorts (like Star in the Night) on the schedule as well. There are also several films you've scheduled which I've yet to see and would like to - perhaps tcmprogrammer will use them?
Your political films are choice, and include a couple I was going to use but thought I'd have to deem them premieres 'cause I didn't know they'd been previously scheduled. I've written about them, but I couldn't remember if I'd seen them on the old AMC (when it was worthy of those call letters) or on TCM. Your "escapism" theme is cleverly done and your choice of Toshiro Mifune as SOTM is certainly inspired; and I've always wanted to see the other two (George Sanders) Falcon movies too.
All in all a super week with a bang up ending (love The Joker is Wild). The only question I've got is about your Silent Sunday night entry, could you explain it?
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Beau Geste
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I don't know much about inventors or other artists, but I am a novelist. My literary agent, who does all the negotiating for the deals, gets 15%. I get 85%.
You're talking apples to my oranges. You're talking about an agent's percentage of a contract, I'm talking about profits. BIG difference. Say your agent sells your novel to a film studio for $100,000; your agent gets $15,000 and you get $85,000. Your $100,000 came out of the studio's $100,000,000 budget to make the movie which, because of some screenwriter's great adaptation of your material, made $120,000,000. The profits would be $20,000,000 and 20% of that would be $4,000,000, which is probably less than what they paid the star but WAY MORE than what they paid you. You actually made less than 1/2 of 1% of the profit.
In my opinion, since I am black and so is Mr. Bogle, the whole issue of feeling that it was nice for Bea to offer Delilah 20% of the profits of her own recipe is just another case of a black person being exploited by a non-black (although takignn advantage of someone is never right, no matter who's doing it.). I feel it's just one of those things - a legacy of slavery, the biggest exploitation of all - that runs too deep for someone non-black to understand.
While it's true that I probably don't understand your POV wrt being exploited, the situation in this particular film is not unlike any other real world situation where someone has a "thing" of value, but doesn't realize it and/or doesn't have the means (financial, knowledge, etc.) to turn the "thing" into a marketable product. That someone would (and should) probably feel fortunate if someone else who does have the means comes along, recognizes the value of said "thing", and is able to turn it into a good or service that others want which generates a profit. Genius (indeed, success) is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Should Beavers character, who merely had a recipe, get the same amount that Colbert's character, who created something from nothing and did all the subsequent work? Not in my book, and race has NOTHING to do with it. Of course, in the history of the world (business or otherwise), people with "things" have been taken advantage of because of their race or ignorance by unscrupulous, immoral, and/or unethical persons, but I don't believe that's the case in this film (at least, there's no evidence of it).
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After watching last night's intro and outgo for this film, and finally seeing the clip in between films earlier this week, I have to say that Mr. Bogle's comments last evening (while sitting with host Robert Osborne) were perhaps less inflammatory (though that's too strong a word, I believe). He still makes the comment about Colbert going upstairs and Beavers going downstairs but the author seemed most offended by the fact that Colbert's character gives Beavers's only 20% of the profits for her recipe.
On this "issue", there seems to be a lack of understanding and/or respect for the entrepreneur, who recognizes the market need, takes all (or at least the majority of) the risks, and uses other (perhaps, unrecognized and certainly under appreciated) skills and means to make the product a success (if in fact that even happens). Let's not forget the negotiation skills that Colbert's character exhibits (e.g. with Hale's character), or Sparks's contribution(s) either. Remember that without Colbert's character, Beavers's character (whom Colbert's had befriended and taken in off the street) would still be poor and have NOTHING.
In our society, with the way that inventors, writers and other artists are paid, 20% is more than GENEROUS, if not unprecedented.
That being said, I noticed something I never had before, watching this film's closing credits. The type font used was larger for Colbert et al (Warren, Sparks, etc.) and smaller for Beavers, Washington, and the others listed below. I don't, however, think this was racial motivated but instead was a reflection of who the known actors were at the time the film was produced.
Message was edited by:
path40a
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Subject to subsequent editing (and in no particular order):
Actors - Bogart, Stewart, Grant, Cooper, Cagney, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster
Actresses - Bette, Kate, Greta, Claudette, Audrey, Olivia de Havilland, Irene Dunne, Greer Garson
Directors - Hitchcock, Wilder, Wyler, Lubitsch, Capra, Preston Sturges, Ford
Films
To Kill A Mockingbird
My Fair Lady
It's A Wonderful Life
North By Northwest
Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia
Ninotchka
Dr. Strangelove
All About Eve
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Maltese Falcon
High Noon
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It's one of my favorite Westerns, CharlieT.
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I don't know where you could possibly have heard or read something so untrue, unless your definition of "a lot" means a couple of persons, who happen to be male, that hate classic movies;-)
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BTW, The Uninvited (1944) will be on TCM June 16th and again on July 22nd.
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Jack, I don't know what to say besides THANKS (and to you too, spencer); it's always great to hear that one's efforts are appreciated. I think it would be really interesting to have a TCM fan convention, hosted by Robert Osborne. I would certainly love to meet so many of the contributors to these boards, like yourselves, and put names with faces while seeing if there is anyone (unlike me) who would look good on television;-) Then, perhaps tcmprogammer & company could select a guest from among our ranks to present selections we would choose collectively. What fun! Hey, I can dream can't I?
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Two Weeks in Another Town?
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Thanks for posting this Kyle!
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This week's TCM Picks have been posted:
http://www.classicfilmguide.com/index.php?s=tcm#may11
which begin Thursday morning with a continuation of SOTM Bette Davis's second night & day of programming and includes a pretty good boxing drama that's not shown very often, Kid Galahad (1937), in addition to the campy remake of the first classic version of The Maltese Falcon titled Satan Met a Lady (1936) and the original Bordertown (1935) with Paul Muni (though I prefer the Ida Lupino version); that evening, the fourth installment of "Race and Hollywood: Black Images on Film" includes Imitation of Life (1934) and Show Boat (1936); Friday is Katharine Hepburn's birthday, her film tribute is followed by the TCM premiere of perhaps the best sports drama ever, Hoosiers (1986); Sunday's Mother's Day salute is terrific and that evening's silent is Chaplin's The Circus (1928); next Monday is Joseph Cotten's birthday and although you've probably seen all of the classics being shown, you may not have seen Walk Softly, Stranger (1950) which is definitely worth a look as is that night's Judy Garland: By Myself (2004) documentary and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) (which I just discovered was inexplicably not among my picks, but now is); next Tuesday is a Henry Fonda birthday tribute followed by Gone With the Wind (1939) and other films included in the fifth installment of RaH:BIoF; and finally, next Wednesday, which begins with one of feaito's favorites, The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), is followed by another night & day tribute to May's Star of the Month.
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Check out the May 21st lineup, starting at 8 PM ET!
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Since Imitation of Life (1934) doesn't air until later this week as part of TCM's "Race and Hollywood: Black Images on Film" series, I'm guessing what you saw (with Donald Bogle's comments) was shown in between films on the channel, right? In any case, I've not seen what you're talking it about yet but I will certainly be looking forward to this Thursday night's program. This film is a terrific one and a favorite around here with many on these message boards. In fact, there's a thread in the Favorites folder about which version (this or the 1959 remake) is best. I have to agree with you - "with all the films to choose from (e.g. which have racist viewpoints), why pick on this one" ... indeed! I've always felt that it dealt with several issues very well, personally.
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Bogie, welcome and WHAT A LINEUP, it's great! As you may have noticed, fathers are "big" with me too. In fact, I had sent Lynn a message asking if I could use it (and had intended to) until I noticed that filmlover (whom I'd voted for in the first challenge) had used it in the first one, and decided to do something different. I like so many of your other selections, themes, and choices (like Giant, A Free Soul, your noirs, Garson & Wilder, and Spartacus!) too. This serves as an excellent introduction of yourself to the rest of us. Again, welcome!
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I agree, I liked it very much when I saw it several years ago for the first time. I can't remember if it was on TCM or not, but I'd really like to see it again!
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Three Came Home
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You might want to avoid Roald Dahl, L. Frank Baum, J.M. Barrie, Dr. Seuss, The Brothers Grimm, and other Walt Disney works as well; all have written or adapted stories that have characters and plots to which you may object.
BTW, you seem to have missed the "rest of the story" wrt Mary Poppins;-)
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Excellent post, and welcome back moira!
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Okay, I can understand why whites may like this film and some blacks may dislike this film.
It appears to me that you haven't been reading what others have been posting here; I doubt seriously if you've been watching the context within which TCM has been presenting these films. The commentary, both here and from Robert Osborne and author Donald Bogle (who selected all of the films being shown), has been terrific.
I always said, TCM should show Oscar Micheaux's answer to Birth of a Nation, Symbol of the Unconquered: The Storry of the Ku Klux Klan
Within Our Gates, The Symbol of the Unconquered, and Body and Soul all aired in January and no context was provided, nor was it necessary (what does that tell you?).
You began your participation on these boards a short time ago with a chip on your shoulder about the month's "Race and Hollywood: Black Images in Film" series, before giving TCM a chance to explain its context. You've seemingly ignored all the other input provided and have intentionally baited and/or insulted others who are regular participants. Up until now, I've tried to stay out of this incendiary fray, but I felt I had to speak up when you called someone an Uncle Tom (e.g. black on black racism). As volatile as this topic is, please try to be more respectful of others and their views.
BTW, there is a spell check button available.
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Yes it is; boy, that was fast! FWIW, he appeared in Jamaica Inn (1939) and wrote the plays: "Night Must Fall" and "The Corn is Green".
Your turn ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
in Staff Discussion Forum
Posted
Happy posthumous Birthday to James Mason, always great!