bagladymimi

How about Anne Baxter in All About Eve? She was a really good villain.

I am familiar with Clooney's charity work - I just don't like men or women who are stuck on themselves. I am not a great fan of Brad Pitt, but he seems as though he is a likable guy. Since I have seen none of these performances, I really can't be a good judge. All I know is that I don't like Clooney - period!

I have seen My Cousin Rachel on either TCM or Fox Movie Channel within the last couple of years. I was so surprised to see it, because it had been years (35 or more) since I had last seen it. Maybe it will come around soon - now that I think about it, I think it was FMC. You could always go to their website and request it.

Basil Rathbone was a great leading man on the stage and terrific supporting actor in films. It is ashamed that other than Sherlock Holmes, he really didn't get the leading parts very often on film. He was very popular on and off the set. I really enjoyed his autobiography "In And Out Of Character." It was so interesting to read his "take" on the different films, as well as the actors. The man was a very talented writer, actor, and all round good guy.

I haven't seen "The Artist". Obviously it has been very popular. I wonder if it isn't part of the nostalgia craze that we have been going through for a while now???

I worked with her daughter-in-law in the late '90's up until 2005. She was using the Paxton name at that time. Her one time husband, Geoffrey Horne, was in The Bridge On The River Kwai. He was listed in the credits at the beginning of the movie as "Intoducing Geoffrey Horne." Apparently they thought he was going to be a big star. Obviously that didn't happen.

Thanks Izcutter for these suggestions - they all look really good. I think it will be interesting to get a different take on the biographies of the studios versus the stars.

One other suggestion - Audrey Hepburn movies. She is always glamorous! 1 Sabrina - she wears great clothes after she comes back from France 2 Funny Face - she models beautiful clothes for photographer Fred Astaire 3 Breakfast At Tiffanys - Talk about glamour and style, this is the movie for you! Enjoy whatever you find - you have a whole lot to choose from!

I have three movies that I think you will like. 1) The Women from 1939 This is a great movie with an all female cast that keeps you laughing and crying (a little bit). These well-to-do women head out to Reno to get divorces. It is a camp for divorcing women who have to live out there for awhile so that they can qualify for the divorce. Then they return home and the fun really begins. The clothes are fantastic - there is once fashion show that you will love. I think you will really enjoy this movie. Stars: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine 2) Riptide - 1934 This is a fun movie about a woman married to a " stuff shirt" , and then she sees her old flame and the whole thing is about which man she is going to end up with. I really liked this one also. Stars: Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery (really good) and Herbert Marshall 3) Dinner at Eight - 1933 This is about a dinner party and the guest who are invited to it. One couple is Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery. (and they are the funniest ones). The other stars are John Barrymore, Billie Burke, Lionell Barrymore, and Marie Dressler. Her conversation with Harlow is classic. There are so many good movies that you would like - the best thing to do is to go to TCM and look up a star, then find a movie and get a description of the movie to see if you like it. You can also go to IMDb and do the same thing. Good Luck!

Leanox, It was my pleasure to research this - I learned a lot of info about Citizen Kane that will enhance my experience the next time I watch it. Mimi Edited by: bagladymimi on Feb 4, 2012 12:01 AM

One thing that I found fascinating was that almost all the people involved were actually thrilled to be working on this film with Orson Welles. Welles had rocked the studio system world with his Mercury Radio Broadcasts. With the exception of RKO, the studios thought Welles was mad and didn't want to invest in any of his wild schemes. But there were lots of studio employees that wanted to participate in the innovative Welles' projects. Many thought him to be a genius, a mad genius, but that creative madness was what made Kane the film it was. And from everything that I have read, Citizen Kane was just as much about Welles as it was about Hearst. Two other people that should be given ample credit of the film's genius are Greg Toland and Bernard Herrmann. Greg Toland was responsible for the atmospheric cinematography that truly disguished this film as something different than anything else that ever had been presented on film. And of course, Bernard Herrmann' s score defied the fixed limits of movie music with his "symphonics ranging from brooding to hopeful that fits a large imagination and a tragic hero." Herrmann said that Welles was the most sophisticated director he ever worked with. Welles was at times a joy to work with and at times, a tyrant. Most admit that they would be ready to quite, then Welles would come up with another idea that was so ingenius that they couldn't wait to work it out. So whether it was Mankiewicz, Wise, Lederer, Hearst, or Orson Welles who created "Rosebud", it was just a tag line as MovieProfessor stated, that added to the aura of the Citizen Kane cult. Perhaps you could say that Rosebud was Kane's "MacGuffin".

In reply to "Sprocket_Man, the stuff I wrote about Rosebud was just a guess on my part about what was cut from the film. And whatever "Rosebud" meant to Hearst is immaterial to probably one of the most recognized words in film history. And to MontyC, I have a biography of Orson Welles titled "Rosebud" written by David Thomson. I am embarrassed to say that I read the first part of the book and found that it was not an easy read. Anyway, I got distracted, started another book and never read any more of it. After I read your posting, I started reading the part about Citizen Kane. The theory in this book says that the "Rosebud" idea did indeed come from Mankiewicz. As late as 1989, Gore Vidal declared that the information came from Charles Lederer. Lederer was a screenwriter and was a nephew of Davies, "a frequent guest at San Simeon, and a good friend of Mankiewicz's," This book also suggests that "rosebud" was some part of Orson Welles's sexual fancy.(???) In fact, Mankiewicz suppposedly came up with the ideal of the making a movie about Hearst. Then he and Welles worked out the whole story! This book also states that it was Mankiewicz and John Houseman who wrote the screenplay. And of course Welles as the director of the film, changed things to his liking as he directed it. The way it is described in this book, the whole film was a thrill ride for Welles and Kane was probably as much about Welles as it was Hearst. I have to quit now, as I have to go read more of this book!

More than likely, it had to do with the term "Rosebud." According to several books I have read, Hearst was absolutely livid when he heard that that term was being used in the movie. It was at that point that he was going to do anything he could to block the film from being distributed. Apparently, after lawyers and all got involved, RKO & Hearst came to a compromise to the point where they cut out some of the references to that word being used. I am sure you all know by now that "Rosebud" - the name of CK's boyhood sleigh, was called that. But, that was also the name that Hearst used for Marion Davies so-called "private parts." How in the world Orson Wells got ahold of that information was probably the best kept secret in Hollywood. I am not sure if it is known today. Regardless, it certainly made Hearst determined to ruin this movie, if he could. And all it did was add publicity for the release of the film when it premiered - people wanted to see it more than ever. When I finally saw Citizen Kane in the middle of the night ( no VCR's back then), I thought it was good. But I had to watch it a couple of more times to see the significance of important events as they unfolded in the movie. It was a totally different style of movie - totally new and unique. You really had to watch it closely to see everything. And considering the importance of the subject, this film was and still is an amazing presence in American film history. I know a lot of younger people than me (63 yrs. OLD) don't appreciate this movie, but it is a remarkable story about a time in Hollywood that no longer exists. For those of us who know the background, this movie is one of the most important movies ever made. It should rank up there with the very best - fortunately it still does.

I do have to admit that part of my dislike of Marilyn in this movie is just that. I don't like the movie - it is depressing to me. But I find that all Miller's plays are depressing - same with Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neille. I would rather watch a mystery, suspense, comedy, etc than a depressing film. And I don't think this type of thing served Monroe very well either. And I find it particularly depressing that several of these people died right after this movie was made.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but to me Marilyn Monroe was a terrible actress. I tried to watch the Misfits again but all I see is Marilyn playing herself. Every performance was just another phase in her life. There were and still are an awful lot of unhappy and unfortunate actors in Hollywood, but somehow they seem to get through a movie shoot without making all the other people on the set miserable. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Basil Rathbone was a great actor in the theatre as well. He did many Shakespeare plays where he played the lead. He also was a very interesting man. His autobiography "In And Out Of Character" is really well written and shows what a great personality he was. Like so many of the great stars, it is ashame that they had to die. I thank God that their personalities are preserved in the movies that the made. And I also thank TCM for helping to do that by airing those movies.

I just ordered the Victor Fleming book. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for the recommendation!

Valentine, Thank you so much for that - I am so glad to know how that movie ended! Mimi

Probably the best biography I have read is "On Sunset Boulevard" by Ed Sikov. It is about Billy Wilder and his life in the movies. He not only was an award winning director, he also wrote many of the scripts he directed. He actually was a writer, director, and producer. What I like about this book is the detail that it goes into about each of the movies he made. His movies are some of the best Classics that were ever made. Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Stalag 17, Sabrina, Double Indemnity, and Irma La Douce are just some of his hits. It also gives you particularly interesting information about the artists in Germany before WWII. I loved this book and cherish the works of Billy Wilder. Another good book is "The Dark Side Of Genius" about Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto. In fact, I have read several biographies by Donald Spoto and would recommend any of them. The Hitchcock book also goes into all his movies in detail and like the Wilder biography, it deals with the whole movie making process. I counted 44 biographies and books about the stars, directors, etc. in my possession right now. There are countless others that I have lost track of, but I enjoyed reading them all. These are just 2 that I think are outstanding. There are so many good ones out there. I hope you can take your time and enjoy them all. One last thing I like to do is when I find a movie that is going to be on TCM, I go into their archives and pull up that movie. It will give you whatever they have on the making of that movie. The 'Notes" and "Articles" sections include a lot of details and trivia that you won't see anywhere else. When I read the article about Oklahoma, there was a nice little tidbit about Gloria Graham that I found interesting. I hope these suggestions help you.

I have enjoyed the James Whale Fridays. I just finished watching One More River - I loved the cast, but was disappointed in the ending. I wanted retribution for you know who.

I haven't seen The Mark of Zorro in years. I think that maybe that I have always liked Errol Flynn more than Tyrone Power and I need to re-evaluate to Zorro. Your comments have made me become interested. I look forward to seeing the film.

How about The Sea Hawk? That's a pretty good swashbuckler. I do have to say that Robin Hood is my favorite. I think that the supporting cast in Robin Hood was outstanding. As you say, Basil Rathbone was great at sword fighting and of course the ultimate foe. Then you have Claude Rains, Alan Hale, Eugene Pallette, Patric Knowles, Ian Hunter and of course, Olivia de Havilland and Una O'Conner. I think that everything just came together to make a wonderful adventure.

Was Evelyn Rudie that unusual looking little blonde girl? I had forgotten all about her. Whatever happened to her? I only remember seeing her in a couple of things - I think one may have been on TV. Then she seemed to disappear. Or maybe I just lost track of her.

That the woman who finds the corpse is always going to leave either her purse, compact, lipstick, or glove behind. And that's the type of thing that the super sleuth picks up before the cops find it.

That when they are finally accused of the murder and trapped either by the super sleuth or a policeman, they try and run away. Where do they think they are going? On one episode of "The Closer", he was in a police station surrounded by cops, and he still runs. Go figure!