musicalnovelty

I sure do remember PBS's "Matinee at the Bijou" (which is what I assume you meant when you said "Night at the Bijou"). I still have my videos of all five seasons, and the Program Books for all five seasons. That series was where I first saw a lot of the really obscure public domain films that just were nowhere else on any local station in my area back then (early 1980's). Some purists criticized the series for the editing they had to do in order to fit so much into 90 minutes. But I thought it was great just to be able to see so much rare and never-seen-before stuff, especially the rare shorts, cartoons, newsreels and serial chapters. I had never seen these kinds of films on TV before, so the poor quality prints and the editing was tolerable. Some of the stuff they showed I've still never seen anywhere else. .

The families weren't as large as in some of these other movies mentioned, but you may want to check out the various versions of "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch".

To me, anything after 1959 is too new. Ideally, I'd like to see TCM run films from only pre-1950. Or, if they wanted to start a new station that runs only the good old stuff... well that would be great, too!

Here is the plot summary of "Caged Fury" from the Trade Paper "The Exhibitor", March 3, 1948, page 2339. As you will see, it describes a different ending from the one you remember. So perhaps this is not it after all. CAGED FURY Paramount. Melodrama. 60 minutes. Directed by William Berke. Produced by William Pine and William Thomas. "Buster Crabbe, who works in a lion taming act with Richard Denning and Mary Beth Hughes, is in love with Sheila Ryan, Denning's girl. In order to get Ryan into the act, Crabbe bolts an escape door, and Hughes, unable to escape a charging lion, is killed. However, when Crabbe tries ot pull the same stunt on Denning, he is discovered, but escapes, and is believed dead when his car goes over a cliff during a chase. After this, Denning and Ryan marry, and all is well until Crabbe returns, dressed as a clown, goes to Denning's dressing room, and a fierce fight ensues. During the battle, an oil lamp is hurled by Crabbe, which misses Denning, and starts a fire. The animals are let out, and one of the lions attacks Crabbe, and kills him. Luckily, the fire does little damage, and the future looks bright for Denning and Ryan." The reviewer's comment: "Good entry for the duallers. A modest, unpretentious entry, this manages to use the circus background to good advantage, and gains a great deal from the many scenes where the lions go through their paces There is also excitement, sufficient suspense, a smattering of romance and a good performance by Crabbe to recommend this as a good bet for the duallers." (Duallers meaning the B-movie in a double feature). We are even given "ad lines" for the movie: "Taming the Savage Lions in A Never-To-Be-Forgotten Spectacle" "Thrills, Suspense, Excitement In This Blaze Of Screen Entertainment" "A Tense Melodrama...Teeming With All The Excitement Of Circus Life" So "Caged Fury" could be worth a look, whether or not it's indeed the one you remember. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

How about the Ma And Pa Kettle movies?

I saw "Broadway" several years ago at a film archive with a friend, and I'm afraid to say we were not enjoying it as much as we had expected to. My main problem was how mean Glenn Tryon was to Merna Kennedy when the story didn't seem to call for it. He is so likable in such movies as "Lonesome" that his unpleasant character in "Broadway" was detracting from our enjoyment. We were watching the movie one 35mm reel at a time on a Steenbeck, changing the reels ourselves, but after a few reels we were asking eachother whether or not we wanted to continue. My friend likened the prospect of watching it to the end to climbing a mountain! Of course, we did stay with it to the end. It was certainly good to have seen it. And I think, after all this time, I would like to see it again if I can. .

Thanks whistlingypsy for the Annette Hanshaw picture! I trust you saw my recent post on Annette over on the Hot Topics forum? The other pictures are all cool, too! Thanks!

Thanks... great images!

You had me confused there a moment about "The Shakedown". I couldn't place it. Then I realized that you have the studios mixed up. "The Shakedown" was Universal, not Columbia. Yes, I have seen it. It was shown in 35mm last August at Capitolfest in Rome, New York (where I also saw "Show Folks" which I am not forgetting you had asked me to tell you about.) Perhaps the most interesting thing about "The Shakedown" being shown that weekend was that the 1932 remake was also shown, but until the second one was actually up on the screen, nobody realized they were the same story! A few people there had seen "The Shakedown" before, but nobody had ever seen the remake, "Fast Companions", as it's one of those Universals that just hadn't been out of the vaults since 1932. But I tackled the job of writing the Program Notes for it, and even during my extensive research into it, nothing was said about it being a remake of "The Shakedown". So what an interesting surprise we all got when both were screened. They were different enough that nobody minded seeing both. Where the original was silent and a boxing story the remake was sound and had a horse racing theme. The print of "The Shakedown" was silent with no track, but I knew it originally had a soundtrack. I have the 1929 music cue sheet that lists all the selections recorded for the score, and it looks like a good fun score, so I was disappointed to find that the print we got was silent. Do you think that copy you have includes the real original 1929 music score? I can list the titles of the selections if that might help you to determine if your copy has the original score or something added later. If it's the original, I sure would like to hear it! How does one access this cool stuff from Italian TV? By the way, I TOTALLY agree with what you said about Barbara Kent vs. Garbo. Barbara any time and every time! You mentioned posters (from "Lonesome" or "The Shakedown"? Or both?) yes please do try to find them. And by the way if you're able to come to Rome, New York in August, the annual Capitolfest film weekend is highly recommended! This year it will be the weekend of August 7.

That's a great picture of Paul Whiteman with Barbara Kent and Paul Fejos. I have another silly shot of Whiteman posing with two of the kids in Universal's comedy shorts series "Sunny Jim" from the same period. Seems that when Whiteman got there to make "The King of Jazz" Universal must have made him pose with everybody! (Although posing with the charming Barbara Kent couldn't have been a chore!) Anyone have any more Whiteman stills like this? Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

The song "Happy Days are Here Again" was actually introduced in the 1930 MGM movie "Chasing Rainbows". Now, there's one that TCM hasn't run in quite a long time, and when they did, it was missing the Technicolor numbers.

Yes "Lonesome" (1928 - Universal, starring Glenn Tryon and Barbara Kent) is a terrific and a must-see film. But anyone describing it please DO NOT reveal the ending to anyone who has not seen it. This is one movie that really needs a proper restoration and to be made more widely available, and then I think it will finally be rightfully recognized as one of the greatest silent films ever, compared favorably by many to "Sunrise" and "The Crowd". But it is frustrating that when I want to show it to anyone who hasn't seen it, there is no definitive copy to run for them. Every one has something wrong with it. Every copy has one, or a combination of more than one of the following problems: One has the original 1928 musical score but is missing the first couple minutes. One is complete but does not have the wonderful and essential original 1928 music score. In other copies the three talking sequences are silent. Truthfully, they're pretty lame and unnecessary, but for authenticity should be included. In some prints the color sequences are faded or in black & white. In some copies some scenes are out of sequence, such as in the night-time and dance hall scenes. Then, of course there's the problem of the intertitles. The only known source is a French print with the titles in French, and every different copy I've seen has a different interpretation of the translations. A defintive original listing of the intertitles in English from the original US Universal 1928 release has to be found and used for the proper intertitles restoration. Then there is the isssue with the titles on the existing source print. First of all, it begins with the early 1940's Universal globe logo. While I love that globe as much as I'm sure all film buffs do, it DOES NOT belong on this 1928 movie! Then, the title on the print still is "Solitude" (from the French translation of the title). That needs to be changed back to "Lonesome" and a cast and credits need to be added, as they're missing from the French print. Also, the soundtrack needs work. The music score as noted, is great, but the sound level is off. Every time an intertitle comes on, then back to a scene, the volume level changes noticably. In summary, the print, with its French title and uneven sound levels, looks like a restoration in progress. But ever since the first time I saw it (at The Film Forum in New York on November 25, 1996...yes it was that memorable, I remember the date) that's the way it has been. So I hope that recent reports that there is a restoration in the works are true, and that they'll do it right. This is one classic that deserves it! Incidentally in 1935 Universal remade "Lonesome" as "The Affair of Susan" with ZaSu Pitts and Hugh O'Connell in the leads. This version is totally out of circulation and is actually rarer than "Lonesome" as far as locating a print is concerned. Nobody I know has ever found a copy, although Universal surely must have material to have a new print made if anyone (TCM ??) would request it. The remake, unlike "Lonesome" is full of familiar Hollywood character actors, almost as if Universal felt that the leads and the story were not strong enough. In particular a major new role was written for loud fast-talking Walter Catlett, a character totally new to this version. One of the many charms of "Lonesome" is the fact that we are not distracted by spotting familiar supporting players everywhere. We therefor are able to focus more on the story. Yes, we will recognize a very young Andy Devine, along with Fay Holderness, Eddie Phillips, Edgar Dearing, Louise Emmons, etc. but they are not major characters in the story and do not get in the way. In one regard, though, there is one aspect of the remake that may have been an inspired idea. In the original the lead characters are supposed to be lonesome and spending their time alone. But I have always had a slight problem with that because Glenn Tryon is such a handsome guy and Barbara Kent is such a cute girl I find it difficult to accept that they could really be so desperately lonesome! In "The Affair of Susan" though, the leads, while certainly not unattractive, are a little more "plain" and make the concept of "lonesomeness" a little more believable. I would very much like to read anyone else's thoughts on "Lonesome", one of my favorites. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

That movie is "Pot O' Gold" (1941 - United Artists) starring James Stewart, Paulette Goddard, and Charles Winninger. I am sure TCM will have it on again.

Oh sure, I remember "Devlin Daniel Webster". Wasn't Joe Devlin portrayed by Jack Oakie in that long lost cinema classic? See you at Cinefest...

For more on the song "Georgy Girl" check out this post; http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?threadID=139977&tstart=15

Why has there been continued discussions on this question after ChelseaRialtoStudios first answered that the actor is Joe Devlin? ChelseaR.S... has spoken! I know him, and you can believe me, he knows his stuff. Also, I know who actor Joe Devlin is, what he looks like, and the kinds of roles he played. And I totally agree that the actor in question is Devlin, not Jack Oakie or anyone else.

If you like the title song from "Georgy Girl" and may have the hit record of the song by The Seekers, or maybe you just hear it on oldies radio stations, you might want to hear an alternate version. The song as heard in the movie is a completely different version from the hit record. Just record the song as sung over the opening and end titles, edit them together, and you have a new version. It's still by The Seekers, but also has some different lyrics.

Yes, "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" is a great one, and I like it especially for Diana Lynn, the little sister you mentioned. She was not only beautiful and funny, but a very talented pianist. She made some records in the 1940's and 1950's. Unfortunately she died way too young in 1971. But she was able to keep making good movies as she grew up, and worked a lot on TV later in the 1950's and 1960's. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

I also am sure that "The Story of Temple Drake" has never been shown on TCM.

Thanks for posting those nice poster images from "Artists And Models". Yes there was a technical problem on TCM when they ran the movie on February 1, resulting in the first seven minutes of the film to be shown without picture, just sound. But if one stayed with it when the picture came on, it was fine to the end. There is a long and interesting thread on this in the Hot Topics forum (including two posts by me!) By the way, the 1955 movie called "Artists And Models" is NOT a remake of the 1937 movie. And there's an error in the TCM article. It says that "Artists And Models" was the only movie appearance of artist/cartoonist Rube Goldberg. But he was in at least one other movie, "Soup To Nuts" (Fox, 1930), which he also wrote, and which also features several of his wacky inventions.

''Murder By Contract" (1958) has been on TCM a few times already and it probably will be on again. I have seen it several times now, including on other stations. And I am not usually as much a fan of 1950's movies as I am of 1930's movies. But there's something cool about that one. And being a major fan of Thelma Todd, I found something else of interest in "Murder By Contract". Early in the story there is a scene where star Vince Edwards asks to be driven around to see the sights (before he gets down to his murder business). Driving down the highway they drive right past Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe, which was the restuarant she owned in the early 1930's up until she died in 1935. Having visited there several times I recognized it in this movie right away. Of course, by 1958 Thelma's name was no longer on the big sign above the building, but the place still looked (and still does today) the same. So, Thelma Todd fans, be sure to check out "Murder By Contract" next time it's on.

Regarding the vote for Ann Sheridan as Star of the Month: Yes! Great idea. And hopefully that might inspire TCM to acquire the mid-1930's Paramount pictures in which Ann was starting out under the name Clara Lou Sheridan. Admittedly, she had very small roles in those, and was even unbilled in some, but anything to get TCM to run more of the 1930's Paramounts! Another Ann Sheridan movie that I'd like to see on TCM is the 1956 Republic Picture "Come Next Spring", always a favorite of mine.

Good to see from these posts that there seem to be so many Bowery Boys fans out there. Regarding the picture & sound quality of the film prints, very generally it can be broken down as follows: The Warner Bros. "Dead End Kids" features of the late 1930's look great. The Universal "Little Tough Guys" features of the late 1930's to early 1940's also look great because Universal still has good material from which to make prints, and we would see the evidence if only TCM or some other station would get them out there, or if MCA/Universal would release them on a DVD set. The Monogram "East Side Kids" features of the early-to-mid-1940's usually are not in very good shape. Most have been Public Domain for decades, so there hasn't always been anyone to take good care of preserving and/or restoring the prints. TCM has run several of them over the last few years, so we have seen how variable they can be. The post-1946 Monogram "Bowery Boys" features generally are in very good shape. As has been noted, TCM did show many of them back around 2000, usually two or three in a row on Sunday afternoons, but I don't believe they ran all of them all the way up to the final entry from 1958. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

Yes, I agree that a birthday tribute to Jean Simmons would have been very fitting. But if we keep requesting them, we can hope that TCM will run more of her movies, and hopefully look into acquiring some of the lesser-seen titles. I would especially like to see them run the original 1949 version of "The Blue Lagoon" starring Jean, with Donald Houston (British production, released in USA by Universal-International). I saw it late night on a local station in 1973 and until only recently locating a fair quality DVD I'd never seen it anywhere since. It was so frustating over all those years waiting for it to be shown again, while totally inferior and unnecessary remakes, sequels, remakes of sequels, and sequels to remakes were being made. A nice new color print of "The Blue Lagoon" is way overdue for a station like TCM to show. When they started running several other British movies from the same period, such as "The Red Shoes" I hoped that "The Blue Lagoon" would be coming up, too, but so far, not yet. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty

The 1929 "Syncopation" exists but I've never seen it on TCM or anywhere else on TV. "His Glorious Night" does exist in a nice restored 35mm print that was shown in August 2007 at the Capitolfest in Rome, New York (and boy is it creaky! But you do have to see it once.) As was just posted, MGM sold the remake rights to Paramount, but I don't think it ever was remade. So as a result Paramount still owns the rights to the original MGM version, too. So until TCM makes a deal with Paramount to show it, we will not be seeing it on TV. "It's A Great Life" (1929) has been on TCM, in their first couple years (1994-96) and I'm pretty sure again since then. The print they showed was missing the two Technicolor numbers "The Hoosier Hop" and "I'm Sailing on a Sunbeam", the latter of which was apparently later found separately and has been shown on TCM occasionally as filler between features. "On With the Show" and "So Long Letty" also have been on TCM, but again, not in a long time. "Under a Texas Moon" so far has not been on TCM, or any other TV station. It is a relatively recent restoration and so far has been shown only in 35mm at film festivals at locations such as UCLA. The 1929 version of "The Desert Song" also I don't believe has ever been shown on TCM. But It will be shown on 16mm on the big screen at Cinefest, Syracuse in March. And to answer a previous question, yes "The Perfect Specimen" has been on TCM. Message was edited by: musicalnovelty