The Lady Eve

Delphine Seyrig was in *Stolen Kisses*, directed by *Francois Truffaut*

What made this classic movie lover...growing up in Southern California in the 1950's and seeing the classics of the 30's and 40's on TV - films like "Lost Horizon" (1937), "It Happened One Night" (1934), "The Great Lie" (1941), and many others that caught my fancy as a young girl. Living in Dana Point, CA, in the the early 70's, I discovered an LA station that aired the classics during the day, Mon - Fri. I was going to school at the time and on my days off I started watching the channel. This was when I had my breath taken away by Astaire and Rogers, first in "The Gay Divorcee" (1934). That was the beginning of my deep love (to put it mildly) for classic films. Around the same time, "revival" theaters began to proliferate and many featured classic foreign films - inexpensive double features. The most memorable of these, as I remember: Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast" (1946), Carne's "Children of Paradise" (1945), Powell & Pressburger's "The Red Shoes" (1948)... Like h cue I was also a great reader as a child. & I think one thing that goes into making a classic movie lover is possession of an active imagination and being something of a romantic. Seems that for most of the last 25 years, little is left to the imagination in most films. Like one who posted here noted, mainstream movies today seem to be amusement rides, thrills & chills, not always much in the way of depth, character, good writing. As to romance, the current "chick flicks" seem pretty thin. I very much agree with h cue that curling up with classic film is like curling up with a good book...a pleasure to be savored. Being the age I am, I was fortunate enough see some of the classics of the late 50's thru mid-70's in theaters. I'm thinking of "Gigi" (1958), "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "Charade" (1963)...I remember standing in a long, long line (for the first time) to see "The Godfather" (1972), and being mesmerized by Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby (1968) and "Chinatown" (1974). These later classics come out of the auteur and indie movements rather than the studios, but are defnitely classics in their own right. I could go on and on about my favorites - Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, the Marlene Dietrich/Josef von Sternberg films, Hitchcock (especially "Notorious" and "Vertigo") Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder, Vincente Minnelli, John Huston... In closing, bless TCM and my DVR. The world of classic films is a blissful realm and it's great to hear from a younger generation being drawn into it.

Laurence Harvey became a star in *Room at the Top* with *Simone Signoret* (note: Was Dmytryk in "Walk on the Wild Side?" or was he strictly the director?)

Neil Jordan directed the 1999 version of *The End of the Affair*; the 1955 version was directed by *Edward Dmytryk*

Cyd Charisse appeared in *The Harvey Girls* with *Angela Lansbury*

Gene Kelly directed *Invitation to the Dance* with music by *Andre Previn*

Susan George was in *Billion Dollar Brain* also starring *Francoise Dorleac*

Harry Joe Brown produced *The Tall T* starring Maureen O'Sullivan and *Randolph Scott*

Dwight Frye was a featured player in *Bride of Frankenstein*, memorable for Elsa Lancester's performance as the bride...Elsa was the wife of _Charles Laughton_

*War and Peace* also featured Anita Ekberg who "made a splash" in *La Dolce Vita*, directed by _Federico Fellini_

Waris Hussein also directed *Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972) with Charlotte Rampling who also appeared in *The Verdict* directed by _Sidney Lumet_

Fay Bainter was in the 1961 version of *The Children's Hour* with _Shirley MacLaine_

Van Heflin was in *Shane* directed by _George Stevens_

Anthony Quinn was in *Lust for Life* directed by _Vincente Minnelli_

Oliver Reed was in *Women in Love* with _Alan Bates_

I meant to say (correction): Robert Mulligan directed *The Summer of '42* which featured a clip from *Now, Voyager* with _Bette Davis_

Robert Mulligan directed *The Summer of '42* - which featured a clip from *Now, Voyager* with _Bette Daveis_

Steve McQueen was in *The Thomas Crown Affair* - directed by _Norman Jewison_

Jennifer Jason Leigh was in *Road to Perdition* with the late, great _Paul Newman_

George C. Scott was in *Taps* with _Sean Penn_

Nina Foch was in *Executive Suite* - directed by _Robert Wise_

Lana Turner was in *Ziegfeld Girl* (1941) with the equally luscious _Hedy Lamarr_

Ken Annakin was one of the directors of *The Longest Day* - and one of the many stars of that film was the incomparable _Richard Burton_

Dorothy McGuire appeared in *Old Yeller* with _Tommy Kirk_

Eileen Brennan was in *The Last Picture Show* with _Ben Johnson_