misswonderly3

THE MALTESERS FALCON A group of quirky treasure-hunters of questionable moral character spend a lot of time and effort seeking the fabulous, legendary Malteser Falcon. Crafted centuries ago by the Knights Templar to pay tribute to some emperor or other, the Falcon is said to be encrusted from head to foot with delicious Malteser balls.... Like so: ....thus rendering it a priceless concoction of a confection. Blood is spilled, pride is broken, and objects are moved about a mantelpiece in the search for the prized Malteser treasure. "Hmm....Sorry, Gutman, but I see no sign of any Malteser candy balls affixed to this Falcon. I'm afraid it's a fake." Note: The producers of The Malteser Falcon discovered too late, after the film was already shot, that Americans do not have access to this crispy chocolaty treat. They considered substituting the Maltesers with "Whoppers", but since the latter is an undeniably inferior imitation of the malty confection, they decided to leave well enough alone. "We didn't want to compromise the quality of the Malteser Falcon" said one studio spokesperson, who declined to be named. Another expressed pity for the American filmgoing public, and in fact, for Americans period, that they can not experience the delight of consuming the true Malteser treats. Brigid O'Shaughnessy was unavailable for comment.

Lonesome Polecat, you are on a roll ! Thanks for giving me some laughs with your last few posts here !

It seems to be the generally accepted wisdom that "A Day in the Life" is the best song on Sergeant Pepper. I'm not sure if I agree with this. It's not that I don't think "A Day in the Life" is a truly great song; I love it. Who doesn't? But then, who doesn't love just about every track on Sergeant Pepper? As I may have stated on these boards before, I have a bit of a problem with the concept of "the best" of anything. For instance, when it comes to Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, every track is a great piece of music. At the same time, every track is unique, quite different from all the other songs on the album. So it's hard, and maybe pointless, to compare them. I suppose I do have a few favourites...the aforesaid "Day in the Life", "Lovely Rita", "She's Leaving Home", and "Fixing a Hole". Oh, and "Good Morning-guh". But even the songs I've not mentioned are a joy to listen to. It's just a great recording from beginning to end. And, "after all these years", while people who were born long after its release may not understand the iconoclastic nature of Sergeant Pepper, how amazing and different it was, different from anything that had gone before, anyone of any age can delight in the wonderful music it contains. These songs were beautiful, fascinating, unusual, even funny ( some of them), and undeniably memorable then, and are just as much all those things now. As far as I'm concerned, the news today, oh boy, is that this music never goes in and out of style. It's beyond style.

But, hey, sometimes "La la la la" is the exact perfect lyric. I say, nothing wrong with "La la la la". Besides, the music is the most important part of a song, not the lyrics. "That said", I have no idea which song you're talking about in this Eurovision competition; maybe it was a complete piece of rubbish. (Hey, did they sing "La la la la" in Spanish? )

Yes, word has it that George Martin was jealous of Paul's growing production talents, and whacked him over the head with one of the French horns that was hanging around in the studio.

CRIME OF PASSION as usual, don't read if you haven't seen the film and dislike spoilers Well, for once they aired a film in Noir Alley that was less than fascinating. Oh, what the hell, I'll just say it - I did not think it was very good at all, whether you call it a "late 50s noir" or a melodrama. Yes, the leads were all great. I love Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden. Raymond Burr, too ( who's not really in it that much) is fine. It's not the actors that make this would-be latter day noir silly and borderline dull - it's the screenplay. Stanwyck's character is all over the place; she starts out as a hard-boiled newspaper writer - although her main job at the paper seems to be the resident advice columnist. But then she meets Sterling Hayden, decides she's in love with him ( one of the quickest and most arbitrary falling-in-love sequences I've ever seen), and gives up an exciting new reporter position in New York she's just been offered to marry Sterling's detective and play the loving devoted little housewife, a role her character is patently unsuited for. She even utters one of the silliest lines a newly-wed wife has ever had to say on screen; something like, "I hope you have hundreds of socks with holes in them, because I'd love to darn your socks all day." ! ! The film is a mish-mash of boring upper-middle- class suburban life ( did the men and women really hang out in separate rooms at their social gatherings? If they did, I'm so glad I didnt' live in the 50s....), misdirected ambition, and confused ( and equally misdirected) sexual attraction. Crime of Passion can't make up its mind if it wants Barbara's character ( Kathy Ferguson) to kill Anthony Pope ( Raymond Burr) because he spurns her sexual interest in him ( they really only sleep together once, it's no wild lust-filled affair) or because he refuses to promote her husband to L.A.P.D. force captain. Either way, her decision to shoot him -which is NOT a crime of passion but premeditated - seems just slightly over-reacting, whether to Pope's rejection of her as a lover or of her husband as a police captain. Sorry, Eddie, and any noir fans who enjoyed this movie. I wanted to like it, and I thought I would. But it just became increasingly over-wrought and silly as it went on. It felt like the writer was just throwing any old idea into the mix. Like Kathy's decision to stage a car accident ( just a fender bender, of course) with Pope's wife by way of getting to know her. Shirley there's an easier way to make friends with your husband's boss' wife. How about an invite to a nice middle-class bridge game, or an outing together to the Ladies' Hydrangea Society? If Kathy's bored with the stultifying life-style of a suburban housewife then why doesn't she just go back to work? I know it was the 50s, and married women stayed home and darned their husbands' socks and played bridge, but some women - especially women who had no children - continued with their career after marriage, and were just fine. But of course, if Babs had done that, there wouldn't be any Crime of Passion. Which in this case, might have been just as well.

As someone who's spent her entire life in Ontario, I can assure you that the "O.P.P." badge Paul is wearing is indeed that of the Ontario Provincial Police. The whole "Paul is dead" thing was an exercise in silliness. I suspect, when the Beatles - Paul included - heard about it, they had a laugh. And possibly did a few things to encourage it, just to lead the believers on a bit.

Is this a thread about the 50th anniversary of the release of one of the greatest albums of all time, or a somewhat pointless conversation about the mostly rubbishy covers of that album's songs?

There's already a perfectly good thread about Noir Alley here: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/126251-noir-alley/ Or, you can go to page 4 of General Discussions. I think it's currently at the bottom of the page there. As for blondes in noir, there are so many fascinating ideas to ponder and discuss in film noir, I feel this particular question is one of the lesser points to talk about. "That said", I'm surprised Eddie neglected to mention Lana Turner ( as in, The Postman Always Rings Twice.) But the whole obsession with the "femme fatale" thing in noir is misguided and overdone. I would say that at least half the movies classified as "noir" do not feature such a character. You don't need a so-called "femme fatale" to have a great film noir. I think it's the kind of thing people who are new to discovering this genre (or, ok, style, or whatever you want to call it) get caught up in these tropes, and don't pay attention to the movie as a whole. Maybe they just like the alliteration of the phrase.

More from The Band. This is heart-breakingly beautiful. I especially love the part, around 2:30, when the two voices follow one another.

Here's one of of the best bands ever to come out of this country ( ok, they got their start with a couple of Americans, and the drummer's from Arkansas....but still, 80% Canadian. And all their songs were written by a Canadian.) Ophelia, where have you gone?

Damn, db ! You're always coming up with Canadian music I've never heard - or even heard of. Sounds like 54-40 had a good strong pop sensibility.

I'm with darkblue on this...I can't agree with your dismissive assessment of this great movie. Not sure what exactly you mean by "obvious manner" - personally, I think Goodfellas incorporates both classic - what you call "typical"- gangster storylines and themes along with a few different ideas. Scorsese captures both old and new gangster tropes in this wonderfully entertaining film. And you have to admit, there's never been a gangster movie with a soundtrack like Goodfellas'.

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.

I dunno, Palmerin, but I'm sure glad they made it, whatever their (possibly erroneous) reasons for doing so. Hard Day's Night is just a delight from start to finish; fun, joyful, light-hearted -oh yeah, and with absolutely fab music all the way through.

Uh, just to bring it back to the original topic ( not that I have a problem with tangents), I've been meaning to say something about the selection for "Essentials" host. I really would have liked it to be Ben. I always thought it would be Ben. I know he has his share of detractors here ( I'm looking at you, Lorna), but I always figured Ben Mankiewicz was the natural successor to Robert Osborne. He's been around TCM even longer than Alec Baldwin - and in a more permanent role than Baldwin - and I associated him with the TCM "brand" almost as much as I did with Mr. Osborne. Again, sorry detractors, but I think Ben has it all: style, movie knowledge chops, and a long history of hosting for TCM. I'm really disappointed it isn't going to be the Mank. Wonder why not? Did the TCM powers that be ask him, and he declined? Or were they going for Baldwin's current popularity - and of course, his 3 year stint with Robert Osborne as guest host on "The Essentials". Anyway, I'm just a little surprised that I seem to be the only one who had expected the new "Essentials" host to be Ben Mankiewicz, and am sorry to hear it's someone else. "That said", I don't mind it's being Alec Baldwin, I thought he was fine as guest host with Robert Osborne; he obviously knows and loves old movies. If it isn't going to be Ben, I'll settle for Alec.

Really ? I know this is incredibly trivial, and - full disclosure - I've never even watched "The Riffleman" or whatever it's called -but I'm pretty sure almost nobody except a cultural historian would notice the difference on a tv show (or any kind of show) between 1892 and 1882.

Right, Tom, I see what you're getting at. However, for some people, (like my husband and me), Saturday night is our main movie-watching time. It's more fun to relax and tune in to TCM knowing you don't have to go to work the next day. I like to think I'm not one of those people who constantly complain about TCM's faults ( I mean, I love TCM !), but if there is one thing that does bother me a bit, it is the tendency they have to air movies I'm really interested in at awkward times (like the middle of the night. Or 6 in the morning.) I would love it if some of those rare films were aired during the "Essentials" time slot of Saturday night. (Of course, I'm very old-school and tend to watch TCM in real time. I am aware that many if not most viewers record whatever they're interested in and watch it later at their convenience....makes sense.)

you is one funny poster, Monsieur Vautrin.

Yes yes yes.

Wow, Lorna....for some reason I would have thought that you'd like All About Eve. I'm surprised you don't. Edit: Oops, I did it again. I've got to stop posting on threads before I've read the whole thing. Of course right after I posted the above, I read Hibi's asking you the same thing I just did, and your reply: "yeah, i've brought it up 1,000 times, and it's a good example of a film that has deteriorated in stature for me largely because it has been an Essential Perennial (and has appeared in prime hours and as part of spotlights numerous, numerous times) it's a film that really does not hold up well on repeated viewings- the disappearance of Thelma Ritter; the pretentious and slightly didactic nature of the dialogue, the notion that someone with NO EXPERIENCE OR TRAINING would go on to an instant headlining stage career, the third act, Anne Baxter's performance- there's a lot I don't like about it. " Good points, all, Lorna. (Except for the part about Anne Baxter's performance - I like her in it.)

LornaHansonForbes wrote: "i'm a little disappointed that they're showing the same old same old same old same old same old as "Essentials." " Hmm, judging by that list, I'd have to say you've got that straight, Lorna. Off-hand, I'm tempted to say almost all of the above have been aired as "Essentials" already. Some of them several times.

Do you mean " Comme ci, comme ça " ?

No, that's a rumour that Tony Curtis started, not sure why. Being a fan of Mitchum's, I was disappointed to hear this, so I researched it a little and discovered that it wasn't true.

I don't see how commenting that a rabidly racist actor who actually refused to act in the same scene as a black person is "despicable" amounts to being political. Shirley no matter what else Americans disagree about, they are all repelled by such a blatant display of racism. The times Pallette grew up in is no excuse.