misswonderly3

Well, if it's any consolation, finance, I never thought that either Robert Redford or Warren Beatty were in the least attractive, and I'm sure I'm not the only woman who feels that way. Yes they are both "good looking" in a conventional football player way, but they're not "interesting" looking. They're like mannequins. I like the looks of men like Robert Mitchum, who is not conventionally "handsome", but is extremely attractive (ok, sexy.) A current male star like that? I can't think of any offhand, but I know they're there, not in the mainstream. I like men who look smart. Dumb-looking men are irritating (not that Redford or Beatty look dumb, they don't. And aren't. )

MovieMadness, while I respect your movie knowledge in coming up with a list like that, I have to disagree with it. Now some of those films I haven't seen, so can't comment there, But the Preston Sturges comedies? You think they're even slightly noir? I accept the Sturges had a cynical vision which he infuses into all his comedies; but to me there's nothing even remotely noirish about, say, *Miracle at Morgan's Creek* . Just because its subject matter was a bit outre for the time doesn' t make it even an honourary noir, in my opinion. And even though I myself mentioned *Arsenic and Old Lace*, I didn't seriously mean that it resembled a film noir. I think what you had in mind with that list was comedies that had slightly "underground" subject matter, "black comedies", and films involving crime , including murder sometimes, that are also funny. Fair enough, I agree with that and pointed that out to finance in an earlier post: that is, that you can have a film about crime, even murder, and it can still be funny. But that doesn't make it noir. Not that I want to get into yet another discussion of "what defines film noir?" because we've been there so many times. The only title on that list I'd count as film noir is *Lady on a Train*. But in all fairness to your list, I haven't seen the first three. Or *They've Got Me Covered* .

Did I hear Bobby Bare say that Dropkick Me Jesus was Bill Clinton's favourite country song? Well, that fits with the "politicians of the past" discussion going on here. Although I don't think anyone ever made a Hallowe'en mask of Clinton's face. Maybe the Hallowe'en mask should be regarded as an emblem of whether you've truly succeeded in politics or not. cujas, the other day you mentioned your dog's aversion the Jive Talkin' . I must be honest -there are actually quite a few disco songs that I like ( although I wouldn't admit it to anyone at the time disco ruled), and that BeeGees number is one of them. Here goes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZkMNcawOto Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 9, 2011 11:16 AM Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 9, 2011 11:18 AM Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 9, 2011 11:22 AM Sorry about all the edits, it has something to do with not being able to "save as draft" anymore.

Well, I only ever saw one or two Three Stooges episodes. I think they were in re-run on some obscure American tv station. My mother wouldn't let me watch them, so I only saw the Stooges once or twice, on the Q.T. I think the only reason I like Moe was because he seemed marginally smarter than the other two. As for Bugs, he had more smarts in his two bunny ears than all three of the Stooges had put together. From my kid's point of view, he was witty and cool. I still like Bugs Bunny cartoons, at least the unexpurgated ones. Although I have by now accepted that Bugs and I were not fated to meet.

I'm going to be honest here. Also a bit self-promoting. I've always regarded the American Civil War as one of the most important, defining, influential events in American history. I always get the feeling, when the subject comes up, that the emotions and ideas engendered by that war still have repercussions even today, 150 years later. I must admit that when I started this thread I thought that almost everyone would have an opinion about it; or at least, if not about the Civil War itself, then about the movies that have been made about it. Yes, this has gotten quite a few responses, and I appreciate the contributions of those who have posted here. But -maybe I'm greedy, since it's a post I started (that's the self-promoting part) - or maybe I'm naive in thinking there'd be more interest in this subject, but I am a little surprised and disappointed that more people didn't jump in with something to say about it. Surely it cannot still be "controversial", not after 150 years ! So come on, Americans - none of you have anything to say about one of your country's most nation-changing events? Or how the movies have treated it? Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 9, 2011 11:31 AM

I kind of had a crush on Moe when I was really little.But then, I also had a crush on Bugs Bunny.

But as I said earlier, are we talking about actors/actresses who irritate us, or who are not particularly good-looking? I don't think it's the same thing, and hopefully others don't either. I do find Hepburn irritating, but not because of her appearance. And Davis is in her own category of looks; she's such a good actress that she can make you believe she's beautiful, even though she isn't. But either way, pretty or plain, I don't see what that has to do with her being irritating or not. Hmm, I notice this discussion about stars and their looks and the irritation factor is only being held about women. Nobody's talked about a male star who irritates them because they're not good-looking enough. Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 8, 2011 5:08 PM Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 8, 2011 11:35 PM

But if you eliminate all the movies that have people who wind up dead in them but that are also funny at times, then you're saying that if a film has a murder or some other kind of death in it, it cannot ever be considered as having humourous elements to it? There are many "dark comedies- not necessarily noir, true.But it's almost a genre in itself, movies that are comedies and are also violent. Most of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers' stuff falls into this category. And even *Arsenic and Old Lace.*

Has Glen Beck recently joined these forums?

You know, I think there actually were Pierre Trudeau Hallowe'en masks. But Trudeau was less fun to mock than Nixon was. You couldn't call Trudeau "needle nose". He just wasn't as obvious a target.

I was in grade 9, so I guess I was 13 or 14 . Most of the kids in the class didn't really know what it was all about, and were slightly bored.I remember the teacher saying "Guys, this is history in the making !" (He was a history teacher). I think he honestly believed he was doing us a favour, giving us the opportunity to watch these hearings. Being Canadian, we were kind of distanced from the whole thing. I do remember people wearing Richard Nixon masks at Hallowe'en that year.

You know, I find it really interesting that this thread topic has so effectively captured the imaginations of posters here in a way that very few do. It's now 14 pages long and counting, and has engaged the attention and participation of more people than most threads do. People must be attracted by the opportunity to vent - it's always enjoyable to express your views on someone you don't like, especially if it seems like almost everybody else does like them. That's why I was gratified to see that I'm not the only one annoyed by Katharine Hepburn, for instance. There seem to be three different thought processes going on here: 1- actors - or actually, mostly actress - who are considered not good-looking enough to be in the movies 2- actors who people think can't act 3- actors who, by something that can't always be defined, irritate the viewer. Maybe it's that they seem pretentious, maybe it's a grating voice, maybe it's heavy eyebrows, could be a comedien who doesn't make you laugh, could be overly-dramatic emoting -the list is endless. I just think it's interesting that the first two items play just as big a role in whether someone likes them or not as the last. (One example: Someone cited Tim Holt because he's not as strong a presence in *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* as is Humphrey Bogart. Does this mean he's a poor actor? Does this mean he's irritating? ) Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 8, 2011 11:19 AM

If someone in another forum can claim that *Psycho* is a comedy, than I suppose we can allow that some noirs border on the comedic. *The Big Sleep* is hilarious.

I like Margaret Sullivan. It's true she was not "glamourous" but not all female movie stars should be or are expected to be. She was neither beautiful nor ugly, just an ordinary-looking young woman who by means of her personality and acting style made us believe she was prettier than she actually was. She certainly wasn't "horsey-looking". In fact she had rather small features. She had a lovely voice, and was very good at playing sympathetic characters who were struggling with a problem, either of their own making (*Shop Around the Corner*) or of a much more serious nature (as in *The Mortal Storm*.)

> {quote:title=Ascotrudgeracer wrote:}{quote} > Somehow, I'm going to find that interview wherein the reporter asks Hitchcock, "You're saying PSYCHO was a...a comedy?" > Hitch: "Yes, of course! The movie is a comedy." Astrotrudgeracer, (hey, where'd you get that name? It takes me ages to type it out), there's no need to find the interview, we believe you. Anyone who knows anything about Hitch can easily imagine him making such a statement, completely poe-faced as he always was. There's nothing to debate here: Hitchcock's saying that *Psycho* was a comedy does not contradict what the majority of other posters have said on this thread: *Psycho* is a suspense/horror flick ( a lot more suspense than horror, actually) that has some very funny dark comedy moments. We agree, there are many scenes that would make the viewer laugh, especially if they were given to appreciating that kind of humour. But nobody's going to categorize *Psycho* as a comedy in the same way that *Some Like it Hot*, for instance, is a comedy. Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 8, 2011 10:34 AM

Some real reggae, that. Change of pace - let's check out Robert Johnson, the legendary blues guitarist, singing Sweet Home Chicago. The video alone for this is worth checking out, authentic film footage from sometime in the 30s (I think). You won't see images like this in those beloved 1930s TCM movies. It's like a three minute time machine !

I had a teacher who was so excited about Watergate, he abandoned the curriculum , brought a television set into the classroom, and for four weeks all we did was watch the Watergate hearings. We kids didn't mind, we weren't given any homework on that or any other subject for a month.

But can Leonard dance? "Seriously", I'm mad that they put the Maltin star ratings on the schedule because that renders my expensive "Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide" trade paperback that I just got a waste of $31.00 (CNDN).

"Ain't no big thing, the toll of the bell." Got to play Roxy Music if you're going to talk like that. Love is the Drug , the "other" version, although it sounds just like the original to me:

> {quote:title=willbefree25 wrote:}{quote} > I am, of course, totally against colorizing anything. > > As if any other opinion has any merit. How funny to even consider the counterpoint. willbefree, I'm not clear if you'[re agreeing with ValentineX or not. He seems to think you're sarcastically insinuating that he's too opinionated and close-minded about colourizing classic b &w movies, but it sounded to me as though you're just emphatically seconding his point. Which is it? I will go on record -in fact I already have - as saying that I don't believe colourizing black and white movies is a good idea, 99 times out of 100. There may be one or two movies (someone once suggested the 1930s *Midsummer Night's Dream* ) that might look good in colour, but they would be the exception. I still wonder why someone who presumably cares about old movies would even consider this. The classic films that are black and white are just fine in black and white. Some of them, as Valentine said, were meant to be b & w and would be diminished visually and artistically if they were colourized.

> {quote:title=redriver wrote:}{quote} > ... By the way, I just learned Robert Redford has a Lincoln themed movie coming out soon. THE CONSPIRATOR. This is one I'd like to see. red, I'm excited to hear this ! When I was in Savannah in October, 2009, I stayed at a (fabulous) bed and breakfast right across the street from an old house that appeared to be undergoing some kind of construction. The b & b proprietor told me it was going to be one of the main locations for a film featuring Robert Redford, about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Savannah is a great city for location shooting for period films, because much of it is so little changed since the 1860s and even earlier. (General Sherman did not destroy Savannah as he did so much of the rest of Georgia.) I am definitely going to see this movie when it comes out. It will be a thrill for me to see the houses, the street, the square, so close to where I stayed when in Savannah.

I wish I could post a picture of them both , but the General Discussions forum won't let me. I will say, I'd be more intimidated by Edna May Oliver than by Secretariat.

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote} > Speaking of equine, SJP (whom I like), reminds me of the great British actress Fiona Shaw. Shaw is monumental on stage -- but too "equine" in films. I love the film Mountains of the Moon, but in all that Victorian drag, with her horsy face, Shaw seems ridiculous. > > I've seen SJP on stage. She may not be in a class of a great classical actress like Shaw, but she's very good. And I like SJP because she isn't perfect. Too many of today's glamour girls are meant to look like people we see every day (as opposed to the leading ladies of the classic films). SJP at least is a bit of a welcome throwback. Maybe sort of a Jean Arthur character. Come to think of it, there are quite a few "horsey" faced ladies in cinema. If they have style and screen presence , they can pull it off. After all, America is a land of horse fans. The French have an expression, "jolie laide", meaning literally, "pretty/ugly" (NOT as in "she's pretty (quite) ugly" but as in an oxymoron, both "pretty " and "ugly" at the same time. They recognize more than North Americans do that there is more than one way for a woman to look sexy and attractive, they don't subscribe to a cooke-cutter approach to looks. Some examples: Sarah Jessica Parker (yes !), Angelica Huston, Maria Callas, Jeane Moreau Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 6, 2011 12:13 PM Edited by: misswonderly on Apr 6, 2011 12:18 PM

Heard some nice white reggae here the other day with The Clash's Junco Partner. So good, and I always thought it had kind of a nursery rhyme vibe to it, somehow. So here's Patti Smith with another white reggae tune, Redondo Beach. I like Patti Smith and was going to post this song anyway, but by a fortuitous chance, I came upon a video of the song with a collection of film clips from famous movies. Perfect for this TCM fan site. See if you can identify them all:

Probably most people know this: PBS is recognizing the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War by re-running the Ken Burns documentary about it, titled simply "The Civil War", throughout the month of April. I believe it's on at 8 every Monday (competing, I suppose, with TCM's Civil War -themed movies airing on the same night. However, I'm sure neither television station sees it as "competing" - my guess is they respect each other.)