bagladymimi

Thanks Ollie, there aren't very many of us who are interested in the old character actors. I love them - sometimes, they make the movie for me. What would You Can't Take It With You be, if it weren't for all the characters in it. And I am a big Basil Rathbone fan. He has an autobiography titled "In And Out Of Character", which is a really good book. He actually writes about his ground combat during WWI. But, he also writes about working with John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, and many others. He was a very interesting and popular performer. And of course, I also enjoyed Ethel Barrymore. She, too, was very popular in both Hollywood and New York. She did so much with those eyes! Rasputin and the Empress is the only movie that had all three Barrymores in it. There is another book "The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Movie Character Actors" that just about has all the old greats in it. I have had it for years and still refer to it when I see a name in a cast list that I don't recognize. It is fun to match a name to all those familar faces I have seen for decades.

Well, what do you know - she's actually attractive! She played some really unattractive characters: Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca, Lady Macbeth, etc. However, she still doesn't look all that elated to me. Thanks Joe - I bet you had to look far and wide to find this shot. Maybe that is as elated as she ever got.

Did anyone ever see Judith Anderson smile on screen? She seemed to in Laura, but you could tell if was a fake. I never saw her in anything where she had a "happy" smile on her face.

I keep it on my DVR also, not only because of Ronald Coleman, but because, as Mervyn LeRoy said, "He had never heard the English language so elequently spoken before." I personally don't think Ronald Coleman made enough movies. I know he made a lot of silent movies, but his voice added so much to his overall stature. I wish he had lived and worked longer so that we would have more examples of this eloguent leading man. He and Cary Grant - they just don't make them like that anymore!

I am excited for you - there are so many really great movies for you to see! I wish I could have gotten back to you earlier. I am too late to recommend Friendly Persuasion which is on tomorrow (Weds.) am at 5:00 am EST. If you happen to see this and can watch it, it is a wonderful movie. And I am sure we would all like to hear some feedback from what you watch. So, please join us on this forum. It is really fun and you can learn so much. Enjoy!

Is it Vivien Leigh?

I agree with Ro on some of Loretta's earlier films. Did you happen to see Born To Be Bad? I thought with Cary Grant and Loretta Young, that it couldn't lose. I could barely watch it, although I thought Loretta was better than Grant. And she was lovely to look at all the way through her life, she really was beautiful. I guess most every star had some clunkers and in my opinion BTBB was one of them. And I hope I haven't offended anyone who may have loved it!

I think that the recommendations also depend on how old you are. I find that many younger people (45 or younger - that tells you how old I am) don't want to take the time to get into a movie. I had one co-worker (42) who told me that she just couldn't get into Casablanca - she thought it was boring. Maybe it is just me, but I think Casablanca is very easy to get into. So, with my recommendations earlier with "I Remember Mama, Live With Father, and Bringing Up Baby", I may be way off the mark. Also, it might depend on whether the person is a man or a woman? I think that all the movies that I have seen in response to this question have been really good. They are all classics and hopefully, he or she will watch and enjoy them all!

Well, Ollie, have you ever seen Barrymore in anything else? I have been watching her since I was a little girl. And probably my first rememberance of her is in Pinky, That was "unpleasant" and yet still touched with love. The role she plays in The Farmer's Daughter could be called ruthless, but she does it with humanity. She makes many amusing remarks regarding her son to everyone, including Bickford. The role obviously was about "old school" politics. But, the victim of these politics wins in the end and Obviously, Barrymore is delighted. Barrymore played this type of role (sans the politics) many, many times throughout her film career. And I have seen all of them. I wish I could have seen her on stage. She was a extremely talented and delightful person on screen and off. I was and am not laughing at that type of politician. I was and am amused by the role that Ethel Barrymore played in the film. And I do not equate anything about this type of movie or its characters with your so called "unpleasant" label . And no, serial killers and tyrants are not amusing or hilarious and I doubt that anyone on this blog feels that way. I do not bring personal politics into movies where they do not belong. I am a staunch conservative Republican who happens to love classic movies and their stars. Yes, this was a movie about politics, but it was also a love story and the triumph of good over evil. I don't enjoy "message type" movies that have conspiracies and negativity behind everything we do or have done.( your basic "Oliver Stone" type). Thankfully, this was not one of those. And thankfully, they didn't make too many of those back then. The Farmer's Daugher was and is a good old fashion "good guys against the bad guys" and as almost always back then, the good guys won in the end. Thank God!

Ollie T, I have to disagree with you about Ethel Barrymore - I think that is just the way she carries herself most of the time and I don't find her unpleasant at all. Actually I take it as her sense of humor. The only time I see her as disagreeable is when the script calls for it when she finally gives the boot to the lout the party has nominated. This is my take on it.

Rachel, Rachel is airing on Tuesday, the 5th, at 5:15 (CST) as part of TCM's 31 Days of Oscar.

I didn't realize Huston played a part in the film either. I will have to watch for it. I think Maltese Falcon is on Saturday night at 9:00 (CST) or later. I will DVR it so that I won't miss it. I love to spot supporting performances like this. Thanks Joe!

I think that maybe the last time I saw this was in the movie theater when it was released. That was a long time ago - I was in college. I am a lot older and look at things differently. I probably will enjoy this movie. It really doesn't sound anything like The Three Faces Of Eve. I am going to see if Netflix has it. I'll let you know after I see it.

How about: 1) I Remember Mama (1948) about a Norwegian family in San Francisco in the early 1900's. Wonderful story for any age and had got an amusing and touching part about their cat. 2) Life With Father (1947) about a man and his scatterbrained wife and their 4 sons. Delightful with an outstanding cast. William Powell (won Best Actor Oscar), Irene Dunne, and young Elizabeth Taylor in a supporting role. 3) Bringing Up Baby (1938) Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in a classic screwball comedy about a leopard named Baby, a Terrier named George, and a Bone in rural Connecticut. I think you would like all three of these. And, for that matter, they are all "Classics." Good luck! Edited by: bagladymimi on Jan 29, 2013 7:03 PM

I didn't even remember that this movie was in color. I need to see this movie again. It is becoming obvious to me that I don't remember it well enough to even comment on it. My apologies!

After reading your post, I realized that I had Rachel, Rachel confused with The Three Faces Of Eve from 1958 for which Woodward won a Best Actress Oscar. Although the photography on both films is similar, the story line does differ. And while both Newman and Woodward did a great job on the subject matter, this is just not one of my favorite movies.

I think that you all have to realize that the topic of this movie in 1968 was controversial. People didn't talk about multiple personalities and they didn't talk about sex as openly as they do today. In fact, back then you didn't ever mention the fact that you were seeing a psychiatist or having depression of any kind ( not in Kentucky or Tennessee.) So this movie was kind of experimental. And although it may seem boring to you now, it might not have back in '68. That being said, I did see it in 68 and have to admit that it was never one of my favorites.

Elizabeth Taylor was so beautiful. And from everything I have read about her, she was so down to earth. I was 12 years old when Cleopatra was made, so I grew up with all the negative press about her. But, fortunately for all of us she didn't let her get it down and went on to become an even better actress. I always loved to watch her. Thanks Joe, for the different picture of her.

It's Jan Sterling - " Kneeling bags my nylons" came from Ace In the Hole when she was asked if she wanted to church to say a rosary for the victims down in the hole. I would have never guessed. For one thing, I didn't realize she lived that long - seems as though she just disappeared. I just assumed she had died a long time ago.

Is it Shirley Knight?

Constance Collier lived to be 115 years old - that is amazing. And I don't know who that actress is with Mamie Van Doren. I thought it might be Ann Sothern, but she died in 2001. It is driving me crazy!

Is it Olivia De Havilland?

James, Do you mean Nora Prentiss, with Kent Smith? How observant you are; I would never have recognized that top. I was too consumed with the notion that their relationship could never work - it really bothered me. Not that I didn't like the picture - I really wanted them to end up together.

Thank you so much for the info. I do have more info on the movie and I will add it to the Overview Page tomorrow. And thank you for the link, too. Mimi

The 1935 production of Les Miserables was on TCM this am at 10:00 am. I DVR'd it and watched it this afternoon. I was very irritated and disappointed when I went to the TCMDb to look up background info on this movie and it said there was none. This was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture that year, and is described as the best version made. There was info enough on many of the inferior versions of Les Miserables but not this one. I know that TCM cannot have info on every movie that has been made, but come on - Fredric March as Valjean had already won 1 Oscar for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And he went on to win another for The Best Years Of Our Lives. And Charles Laughton is the best Javert I have ever seen. Not only that, Greg Toland was nominated for his superb cinematography and the picture won the Oscar for film editing. It is pretty sad that I know more than the TCM data base. Thanks for letting me vent - I am tired from looking up all this stuff in my reference books. Mimi