musicalnovelty

Responding to no one in particular...just a comment on the criticisms that this movie is dated - To many of us, the dated angle of old movies is EXACTLY what we like about them! The music, slang dialogue, old cars, art-deco sets, fashions, so much more! And in the case of A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, the old-time radio references. That's why I'd rather see anything from the 1920's through the 1940's than anything post-1960.

> {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote}I'm still uncertain about the ending.... something tells me that the intention was for me as a viewer to question it, like wondering if James Cagney really turned chicken at the end of ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES. That's a great example of another ambiguous movie ending, I mean one that can be taken in more than one way. So, along with A LETTER TO THREE WIVES that makes me think of other movies that had endings where the viewer is left to consider which of more than one interpretation may have been intended by the filmmaker. This may be a good topic for a new thread - but how many other such movie endings can anyone think of? Anyone seen the 1934 Paramount movie DOUBLE DOOR? That story's ending still causes arguments over the actions of the lead character in the final scenes among friends of mine who have seen it!

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}Don't forget Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire ...you get to see Hattie Jacques (later of Carry On fame) dance in this film, as Old Mother Riley sings, "I Lift Up My Finger and I Say Tweet Tweet," one of the oddest musical numbers in film history. Did you know that was a real song, and quite a hit in England in 1929? I have several 78's of it by British singers and bands. And it was even recorded by at least one American band. You're right, it sure is an odd musical number in the Mother Riley movie. But it is one of my favorite parts of the film, so imagine my disappointment when many years ago in my continuing quest to find as many different copies as I could, to hopefully get one with the original titles & credits, I acquired a copy that turned out to have that musical number cut out!

> {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote}It was the early Thirties. While America had new sound stars that caught their delight, so too did Great Britain. Two of the very brightest English stars that the public loved were *Jessie Matthews* and *Anna Neagle* (never to be confused with Anne Nagel). > > I'm enjoying very much your posts and pictures. Thanks so much for the Jessie Matthews coverage and wonderful pictures. She's always been a favorite of mine. Also I look forward to whatever you may come up with on Will Hay, George Formby, and The Crazy Gang (and even the three separate teams that made up that 6-man team), if you get to coverage of such British funny men.. And I'm also an Old Mother Riley fan, so feel free to find more on that series.

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}Stunning stuff, Filmlover! > > One thing has always intrigued me. Alfred Hitchcock never put anything in his films that didn't have some special meaning. His use of music was always connected to the plot in some way. Why, at the end of *The* *Thirty-Nine Steps* did he use a tune from *Evergreen*? I know Evergreen was very popular at that time, but there must be some deeper meaning to the use of the song at the very end of the Hitchcock film. I look forward to seeing Evergreen to see if I can try to figure it out. That's a good point and a good question. But in this case I think it just may be nothing more than convenience. Since both films were made by the same studio (Gaumont-British) perhaps the studio controlled or had at least some interest in the music publishing rights of the song and so didn't need to pay anyone for its usage in the later film (the song, "Tinkle, Tinkle, Tinkle" was written for the movie EVERGREEN by Harry Woods - it was not from the original play). One other thought: Hitchcock, whether intentionally or not, was making sure that the audience (those who knew the song anyway) knew that the story in his movie was set in the present day, as the song was still a popular hit on records and radio at the time. Another thought: it could be speculated that the studio wanted the song used in the later movie to help promote sales of records and sheet music of the song (American studios certainly were frequently guilty of that!) But the fact that only the music is played (without lyrics) in the Hitchcock film then most likely only viewers who already knew the song would have known what it was anyway. So it's doubtful that the song was used to attempt promotion of record or music sales. And another thought: at this still relatively early stage of Hitchcock's sound filmmaking career maybe he didn't yet give the music angle much thought and was content to just leave such things up to the studio (or musical director or sound man). Maybe he just said pick something lively for the scene, like one might hear at a theater. And so for convenience "Tinkle, Tinkle, Tinkle" was chosen.

> {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote} > I hope you enjoyed *After Tomorrow*, I don't believe I've ever seen it. I miss the days when the Fox Movie Channel used to air its early 'thirties films. Actually that one hasn't yet been on Fox Movie Channel, even though it's been preserved and looks great and as such, seemingly should be no problem for them to run there. The DVD we watched was from that Murnau/Borzage box set from a few years ago.

CineMaven, Just catching up with a few "thanks" for your recent comments on SHANGHAI EXPRESS, STAND-IN, and even ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN. Even with movies I know well, your entertaining reviews always bring out things I hadn't thought of or noticed myself.

> {quote:title=mongo wrote:}{quote}HAPPY BIRTHDAY > JODY McCREA (1934 - 2009) > JOHN MITCHUM (1919 - 2001) > JOHN RIDGELY (1909 - 1968) > 'SLAPSIE' MAXIE ROSENBLOOM (1904 - 1976) > IRVING BACON (1893 - 1965) > OTTO KRUGER (1885 - 1974) Happy Birthday today also to actress / singer Julie Gibson - she's 98 today! http://threestooges.net/cast/actor/339/ More info on her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Gibson She had been a singer with Jimmie Grier's Orchestra in the 1930's & 1940's in addition to her acting career. I've been in touch with her and she told me that she had lost all her records from her band singing days. Fortunately, being a fan & collector of such stuff, I have all of them and was able to send her recordings of them. A very nice lady! By the way, the photo links on her IMDb page don't appear to be her - some other Julie Gibson, apparently a 1950's burlesque dancer.

Emory Parnell, right?

> {quote:title=Scottman wrote: > }{quote}It seems that Helene Costello never really had much success in talkies, not sure why that was. She wasn't horrible in her first talkie, LIGHTS OF NEW YORK. There is a very good informative article on Helene Costello, with lots of pictures in the August 2011 issue of the magazine "Classic Images".

Henry Daniell Paul Cavanaugh Mary Beth Hughes

> {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote} Roland Young does have a line in which he refers to Rathbone's Vance as being Sherlock Holmes - nine years before Basil did get to play the sleuth. > There's a similar line in the 1941 UA movie INTERNATIONAL LADY. George Brent calls Basil Rathbone "Sherlock" in one scene. This was about two years after the two 20th Century-Fox Sherlock Holmes movies and about one year before the Universal series started.

> {quote:title=Capuchin wrote:}{quote} > > I'm wondering if *Party Girl* is the movie I think it is. > I'd rather see the 1930 PARTY GIRL but we know TCM will be showing the one from 1958.

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}I've never seen it -- thanks, I'll look for it. The man who was Gish's personal manager in her later years is a friend of mine, I'll ask him about it. Although originally released by Paramount is is actually Public Domain now, so shouldn't be too hard to find. I just hope you can see a good quality copy.

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}Again, maybe it had something to do with the choice of films. Gaynor's early sound films are not really remembered. And -- I actually don't think she was a great actress. So maybe her residual popularity in the early '30s was a holdover from her hugely successful 1927, winning the Oscar for three films, but it couldn't last. Sunny Side Up is fun and has good songs (though Gaynor was clearly not a singer)... > Huge Janet Gaynor fan here...as are most of my movie-fan friends. In fact some of us are actively trying to find her rare missing early talkies. I agree she wasn't always a great singer, but her charm easily made up for it.

> {quote:title=Dargo wrote:}{quote} > > {quote:title=TomJH wrote:}{quote}That Don Lockwood, what a ham! > Yeah, but he sure could sing and dance, couldn't he?! But he didn't have the sense to come in out of the rain!

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote}Gish's first sound film was indeed a disaster... But her next one, HIS DOUBLE LIFE (1933) was an absolutely charming comedy-drama. I recommend it if one can find it.

One of my favorites: Veda Ann Borg I'd have known her instantly even before noticing what appears to be her name printed at the bottom of the picture (very small picture & print but it looks like that's her name printed there).

{font:Arial}It isn't often that I listen (willingly that is!) to any music newer than the early 1980's, but I have discovered a new group that I like a lot, so I thought I'd mention and recommend them here.{font} {font:Arial}They are XYLOS and they're from Brooklyn, NY. I've seen them live three times in the last few months and have had the pleasure to get to meet and chat with them at each show. They are very nice people, as well as excellent musicians and writers.{font} {font:Arial}Here are YouTube links to some of my favorites by them: Not Enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWpNnFviZ-g&NR=1 Second Order: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67vFgZlt3e8&feature=related Darling Dearest: Here's their official site: {font} http://www.xylosmusic.net/ Edited by: musicalnovelty on Sep 4, 2011 1:31 AM to say that I have no idea why the YouTube links got printed here with lines through them. I've tried editing this to fix that but can't figure out how. But the links do seem to work anyway, even though I did not want them to look crossed out.

> {quote:title=mr6666 wrote:}{quote}Cool "Sunset Blvd." pick! B-) That sure is a crazy poster! What country is it from?

> {quote:title=JakeHolman wrote:}{quote}Deep Purple... > > > > Jake in the Heartland That's one of my favorites by them, too, espeially the complete long version, not the 45 edit. I always liked this one so much more than the over-played bigger hit "Smoke On the Water".

> {quote:title=pturman wrote: }{quote}Here's one of my favorite Beach Boy songs. Not their biggest hit but a great song nonetheless. > > That's one of my top favorites by them, too. That version sounds so different in stereo from the original 45 I'm so used to. I remember when it came out in summer 1968 my brothers and I thought the only thing wrong with it was that it's too short! I heard one of the group say in an interview several years ago that the reason he thought the record wasn't a bigger hit was because the label released it too late in the summer (for such a summer-sounding song). But I still think of it as a summer 1968 song.

> {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote} > > Beach Boys favorite (out of many they performed): > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmdmXLBmI7c I saw that program also. Although not a regular follower of the show, I tuned in to see The Beach Boys. But I had to wonder, why was the drummer protected by that large clear shield set up all around him?

> {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}Cowsills > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfwRy94Vz-4 Thanks for posting that one, one of my favorites by them. Here's a rare different version:

Back to the original topic - the NOTHING SACRED trailer - the just-posted November schedule says the movie is coming up again on November 16. I expect we'll be seeing the trailer again in the says preceding the 16th.