faceinthecrowd

Deleted Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

Deleted Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

To: ALL In case there is anyone who hasn't seen ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW, try to catch it. In addition to our Gloria, there's Robert Ryan, at the top of his form. Great work by all concerned.

I'll make a habit of looking to see if there are any messages. It's easy to miss that if you're not familiar with all of the options. For actors' last movies to be good ones is probably more the exception than the rule. Happily, Jean Arthur's last one was SHANE, and Walter Huston's was THE FURIES. Checking Scott on Wikipedia I see that there's a plot spoiler for MILDRED PIERCE -- they give away the identity of the person who killed Monty Beragon (which, BTW, didn't happen in Cain's novel -- no one was killed).

One of the first movies in which the theremin was used was THE LOST WEEKEND. It's the only musical instrument I know of that the musician plays without touching it. Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

Correct! And a terrific movie it is. I was preparing clues about Hope Emerson and Berry Kroeger, but you got it first. Your turn . . .

Negative on CITY ACROSS THE RIVER. Next clue: The fugitive is helped by a woman. She's played by an actress who, later in her career, went on to win two Oscars.

I'd be interested in your pm -- it sounds intriguing. But I haven't learned all of the options available on this site. Do I have to adjust my settings to allow a pm to be sent? Even though this has turned into a three-person Zachary Scott fan club, I see that there have been more than 130 views, so a lot of people must have some interest in him.

Not WE OWN THE NIGHT. It's from the late 1940s. The crook is sent to a city jail. He escapes with the aid of a trustee.

Research update on "multiple musicians" question: Did two violinists flank John Garfield in HUMORESQUE? Oscar Levant -- who was there -- says they did. No one who was there says otherwise. Did two cellists flank Paul Henreid in DECEPTION? Bette Davis -- who was there -- says they did. No one who was there says otherwise. As far as I'm concerned, that settles it. The statements of eyewitnesses must take precedence over mere speculation. Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

It was only your last clue that jogged my memory -- Vancouver, and the actor who went on to become the (co-) star of a TV series. I saw it on TV years and years ago. My first clue for a classic movie: Two Italian-Americans grow up to be a crook and a cop. I know, that could describe a hundred movies (at least), but it's a start.

Dogpound Shuffle?

coffeedan: My birthday is in January, but I wasn't born yesterday. Yes, I realize that not everything on the Internet -- or in The New York Times -- is true, but after seeing so many eyewitness accounts -- including Oscar Levant's -- saying that it happened that way, I'd like to see just one saying that it didn't. One thing we seem to agree on, though -- the music was great. And anything that introduces classical music to a wider audience is fine with me, no matter how they did it. Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

Welcome to the message boards, AliciaHuberman. Seeing what you chose as your user name, I'm not surprised that NOTORIOUS is your favorite Grant film. I agree -- I think he gave his best dramatic performance in that one. For comedy, I'd pick HIS GIRL FRIDAY.

Oscar Levant wrote music for CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA, which I don't think I've seen. About that four person performance in HUMORESQUE, that was also done in DECEPTION, in which Paul Henreid was a cellist playing a concerto written by an egotistical composer named Hollenius (reportedly based on Jean Sibelius), who was played to the hilt by Claude Rains. The concerto was written by Erich Korngold and performed by Eleanor Aller Slatkin. As in HUMORESQUE, two performers crouched behind Henreid, each one extending an arm around him. DECEPTION -- which one critic described as being "like grand opera, only the people are thinner" -- was released the same year as HUMORESQUE, and it reunited the three stars of NOW, VOYAGER. Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

Very interesting pick, but for what reason? And in any particular movie, or time of Demarest's career? The first movie of his that pops into my mind is THE LADY EVE, one of the all time great comedies. He was perfect as the third wheel between Stanwyck and Fonda. And he had the movie's last line: "Definitely the same dame!"

I would like to have been Orson Welles on any day during which he was acting in (and directing, and co-writing) CITIZEN KANE. He famously said that having the resources of a studio at his disposal was like owning "the greatest toy train set any kid could have." And at this time he was still the boy wonder, at what would turn out to be the apex of his career.

I have a feeling that a lot of people who thought they didn't like classical music discovered that it could be very enjoyable.

Have you seen AMAZING ADVENTURE? Grant can make even a trivial picture like that one worth watching. In HIS GIRL FRIDAY, I love the way Grant whinnies like a horse when he's frustrated. And he and Roz Russell bounce lines off each other as though they'd been working together all their lives. Grant: "Want my fingerprints?" Russell: "No thanks, I've still got those."

I never heard that quip of Levant's (I had to figure out what the missing letters were, but I finally got it). I think I'm going to have to buy either the biography or, better yet, his autobiography, "Memoirs of an Amnesiac." Without Levant the picture wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. And let's not forget, as a curious footnote, that Paul as a child was played by Bobby Blake. As to the director, Jean Negulesco also directed THREE STRANGERS, ROAD HOUSE, and, to get back to Zachary Scott (yay!), THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS.

Your answer is definitely correct. I don't think you need to wait for further confirmation.

Since Levant was a noted wit -- Google "Oscar Levant quotes" for a sampling -- my guess is that practically everything he said in HUMORESQUE was his own. There is some controversy in this thread about whether Garfield was actually flanked by two violinists, but every reference I've seen appears to confirm that he was. It must have been a hilarious sight.

Speaking of make-up Oscars, just think of Paul Newman getting his first (was it his only one?) for THE COLOR OF MONEY. That was obviously a case of belated recognition, when you consider what he did before that. It would be easy to name half a dozen he should have been honored for. I see that Zack was born and died in Austin, Texas -- that doesn't automatically make him a cowboy, of course, but I remember SOUTH OF ST. LOUIS, in which he was convincing as one of three partners in a ranch called Three Bell. Since he's the one who turns bad, he has to die at the end, saying to Joel McCrea, "Don't go changin' the brand on me, will you?" McCrea answers, "It'll always be Three Bell." I haven't seen TREASURE OF RUBY HILLS, but when I start using Netflix I'll try to catch up on the movies I've missed. There are many stars who weren't appreciated for long after their death, but Scott's time will come -- eventually.

It's useful to get the point of view of someone who actually knows something about musicianship. IMDb repeats the account of the two violinists flanking Garfield, but some stories pass into legend. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." -- THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. Clifford Odets was co-screenwriter, and no one could write dialogue the way he did. Some of the lines have to be credited to Oscar Levant, who presumably knew whereof he spoke when he told Garfield what was necessary for making his debut: "Who goes to debuts? Relatives and enemies. . . What are you going to play on, that fifty-buck fiddle? . . . You have to have some first-string critics there, that's important." Garfield: "What about my playing, doesn't that count for anything?" Levant: "Sure, you fill the lull between intermissions." Message was edited by: faceinthecrowd

The Jimmy Carter line -- no idea. The Social Security line -- just a guess: George Burns in 18 AGAIN!