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Everything posted by speedracer5
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After seeing Sheridan in Silver River and They Drive By Night, I've been wanting to see more of her films. I'm so happy that TCM programmed this evening of Sheridan films. I recorded all of the films they're showing. I'm watching Kings Row right now, but will have to re-watch later, because I am watching it live right now, and I started about 15 minutes into it and then made dinner while it was on. From what I've heard and the parts I've watched, it looks like a very good movie. Of course, the movie I wanted to watch the most, Torrid Zone, is on at midnight, so I'll have to watch later. I'll be watching Ann Sheridan movies for the next couple of days. Yay for TCM!
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I'd Rather Stick Needles in My Eyes Than Watch.....
speedracer5 replied to Bogie56's topic in General Discussions
I'd rather stick needles in my eyes rather than watch South Pacific ever again. I usually enjoy musicals (however, I like the ones that have more dancing rather than straight singing) anyway and I like Mitzi Gaynor. However, this movie was so boring I couldn't stand it. I was watching it thinking that it should almost be over and it was only 30 mins into it! For whatever reason, I watched the whole thing waiting for it to get better and it never did. It only got worse somewhow. What was up with the different colored filters to make the image blue, yellow, pink, etc? I also second Tiki and cannot stand Kathryn Grayson and my the newest addition to my annoying actors list, Jeanette MacDonald. I can't stand either of their singing. I like Anchors Aweigh, because it stars two of my favorites: Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, but Grayson is so irritating. I usually fast forward or go to the bathroom or get a snack, hit the mute button, anything to not hear her sing. I just saw San Francisco a few weeks ago and Jeanette MacDonald's singing was relentless and equally annoying each and every time. I kept watching hoping that a piece of debris would fall on her during the Great Earthquake, or that Clark Gable would punch her in the mouth or something, but no such luck, she just kept on singing. I find Esther Williams irritating as well. She's so stiff and dull. Even her water routines aren't that interesting. I'd much rather watch musicals starring the likes of Vera-Ellen or Ann Miller where they're dancing on dry land, not swimming around in water. I hate to say it, but I find Bubsy Berkeley's musical numbers tedious and boring. The only thing that makes them interesting is that a lot of them are pre-code and thus, the chorus girls are usually a little scandalous (for the early 1930s), other than that, his routines are monotonous. -
I second the vote for Wall-E, a great film about mankind's effects on the environment and what it could do to not only Earth, but to humans in general. It's sad how accurate Wall-E is, at least in terms of the effects of laziness on humans. For an environmental film I remember from childhood, I would nominate Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest that depicts the inhabitants of FernGully trying to save their rainforest homes from the human loggers who want to tear the rainforest down and build on the land. The fairies and other creatures in the forest band together to save their homes. There's also The Simpsons Movie, the town of Springfield is so horribly polluted that the EPA decides to enclose the town in a glass dome to keep the pollution contained. Of course, the town quickly runs out of resources and the town is in ruins as people are flipping out, rioting, and whatever else being enclosed in a dome would do to you.
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Errol Flynn would have been an interesting choice. When the film was filmed in 1943, Flynn wasn't yet in his physical decline. He would have definitely had more personality than George Brent. Throughout the film, I couldn't figure out why Barbara Stanwyck didn't seem to care for lawyer Frank. The only reason I could see why Stanwyck wasn't interested in him was because he was who her mother wanted her to be with. Perhaps by being nothing more than cordial (or perhaps a platonic friend) it was an act of rebellion on her part. With Flynn playing the Major on leave, I think it would provide a larger reason why Stanwyck would be attracted to him, if only because he would be such a stark contrast from conservative Frank. George Brent's Army Major and Warner Anderson's lawyer Frank were very similar. Overall, I think Flynn and Stanwyck could have made a sexier "forbidden love" type film. I really liked them together in Cry Wolf.
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I was just reading the TCM Programming Article that is included in the TCM database for this film and it states that it was George Raft who suggested Ida Lupino for the role of Lana. It seems that Raft was good at finding starmaking roles for others, just not himself. Haha. Apparently he turned down the role that would eventually go to Bogart in High Sierra because he didn't want to die in another picture--seems like a rather petty reason if the script was good. I suppose Raft thought he was trying to keep himself (or maybe break himself) from being typecast as a gangster. I must be the only one who thought that Hale did notice Lupino's disdain for him, but laughed off her insults as just being her sense of humor. I'll have to watch the film again sometime to see if I get a second opinion after a second viewing. While I agree that the film may have a couple weaknesses, overall I found it very entertaining and would definitely watch it again.
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I agree. Lupino didn't have to plan a big scheme, she didn't have a weapon, nothing. I think Hale's murder was also a murder of opportunity. I don't think she set out that evening with the idea of killing Hale. In fact, throughout the party, she keeps trying to get him to quit drinking and to drink some water to try and sober up, and he rebuffed all her efforts to cease his drinking. He was having fun dammit! When they got into the garage, she realized how easy it would be to kill him and how it could be completely believable it would be that it was an accident. When she spoke to the DA the first time, she was cleared of any wrongdoing. They had declared the case closed. She really screwed up by trying to frame Raft saying he was a co-consipirator. I believe she was just mad at him that her scheme didn't work and Raft still wasn't interested. She probably figured that she told one lie to the DA, why wouldn't he believe this lie? I think that if she had just confessed to Raft, but didn't try to implicate him in the murder, I think Raft would have stayed quiet also. Although, it's difficult, because on one hand, Hale was his friend and he was loyal to him, so I would think he'd want Ida brought to justice. However, he also seems like he kept to himself and tried to avoid drama, so I think he ultimately would have kept to himself-- although, if he didn't go to the police, perhaps Ida would forever be hounding him. I don't know if he'd go to the police to rid himself of her. It's difficult. Or perhaps Raft wouldn't have gone to the police, but he would have relayed the story to girlfriend Ann Sheridan and maybe she would have gone to the police to get rid of Ida who keeps throwing herself at Sheridan's boyfriend.
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I also felt bad for the Alan Hale character. He seemed to genuinely adore Ida Lupino, even though she obviously did not reciprocate those feelings. I got the impression that Hale did notice her disdain of him, but laughed it off as just her sense of humor. Perhaps he didn't want to admit that his much younger wife did not love him. His laughing off her insults was more of a defense mechanism. I imagine that Lupino was only with him because of what he could give her. She seemed to have fairly nice clothes, a nice car and a nice home. I imagine that Raft appealed to her because he was younger. It seems she really only wanted to have an affair with him at first (the best of both worlds: the wealth of Hale and the youth of Raft) but since Raft was loyal to his friend Hale, he refused. She then went over the edge and decided to "off" Hale as a means to rid Raft of his excuse to not be with her. Poor Alan Hale, it seemed he was a nice guy who had a bit too much to drink one night, only to have his selfish wife kill him. I felt bad for Hale and felt vindicated for him when Lupino was taken into custody for the murder of her husband. I'm glad Raft stayed strong and ignored all Ida's come ons and stayed with Ann Sheridan. Run, George, Run! She's crazy! I'd be curious to know how Ida felt when filming the scene where she considers killing Hale with the carbon monoxide poisioning, seeing that she was so close to the Thelma Todd case a few years prior.
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Thanks MissWonderly. I highly recommend this film. I think you nailed my opinion of George Brent square on the head. There's nothing wrong with him, but there's nothing memorable. He doesn't have a memorable voice (ala James Stewart or James Cagney), he's not ugly but he's not insanely attractive (ala Errol Flynn), he doesn't have a strong personality (like Humphrey Bogart or Edward G. Robinson), he's just there. I have to imagine that his presence appealed to people like Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck because he wouldn't steal a scene from them or end up overshadowing them like some of their male contemporaries may have. He's there to exchange dialogue and/or participate in a love scene with his leading ladies, but the film really belongs to his female co-star. Are there films that George Brent carries on his own? I have seen the thread you referred to, I haven't noticed that Brent's backside is any bigger than those of any other male actor, but maybe I'll need to see more so I can compare. There are worse things to do in films than check out the male lead's rear end right? Lol.
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I watched this film after seeing it recommended by TopBilled and also seeing that it starred one of my favorites: Barbara Stanwyck. I'd seen George Brent mentioned on this board many times and I'll admit, prior to this film, I had no idea who he was. It turns out I've seen him in quite a few films with another of my favorites, Bette Davis (Dark Victory, Jezebel, The Great Lie) and Tomorrow is Forever with a couple of my other favorites: Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles. So apparently, I've seen quite a few of his films but couldn't place him or remember anything remarkable about him. Even after seeing him in My Reputation, I still couldn't place him in any other film I had seen him in. I watched this film as a double feature with Baby Face and I hardly recognized him in that film either! Anyway, I really liked Stanwyck and Brent together in My Reputation. Lucile Watson as Stanwyck's mother cracked me up. Watson, along with May Robson and Jessie Ralph are the epitome of the cranky old-school mother. I always get these three women mixed up. These old cranky women are hilarious. Anyway, in My Reputation, she was the very traditional woman who is now a widow and is committed to wearing black until the day she dies. While I was aware of widows wearing black for a set amount of time to show they're in mourning, I didn't know there was a tradition of wearing black forever. I found this film to be a very interesting film showcasing old vs new customs. Stanwyck, a new widow, didn't want to face life in perpetual mourning, of course, she was upset and sad, but she also wanted to live the rest of her life. Everyone else in her life however, wants her to be alone and mourn her dead husband forever. I was happy that Stanwyck had a friend like Eve Arden who recognized that her friend needed a happy diversion from her suddenly empty home, and took her along on the ski trip where she met George Brent. I loved that Stanwyck finally stood up for herself and basically told off her old friends basically telling them that she didn't give a damn what they thought about her. Go Barbara Stanwyck! Her children were like the typical overly saccharine and obedient children that are present in movies, they cracked me up though. Both boys who were I think supposed to be 12 and 14 had such baby faces that I couldn't take them seriously going out on dates with girls. When they got into the car with the girls to go out, it looked like a car full of children driving. Typically teenagers look like adults in older movies, but these kids looked much younger than I'm used to. I also found Robert Osborne's opening comments interesting, regarding the fact that this film was made in 1943, but held over for 3 years do to a backlog of films created during WWII. While I was aware of films being made in one year and released in another, I always assumed that was due to technical problems with the film. I had no idea that films were held over for years due to a surplus of product.
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Following "Singin' in the Rain" which is probably my favorite movie about making movies, I also love (in no particular order): The Muppet Movie Ed Wood Saving Mr. Banks Sullivan's Travels King Kong The Bad and the Beautiful Chaplin Sunset Boulevard Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It's a Great Feeling! (If only for the cameo of my boyfriend at the end).
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I agree that this film seems like two different films, but I think the storylines were intertwined well enough that the story was easy to follow. I haven't seen Bordertown, so I can't make any comparisons between Ida Lupino's performance in They Drive By Night and Bette Davis' in Bordertown. Robert Osborne mentioned the similarities between the two films in his introduction and commented in both his opening and closing remarks that Lupino was seen as competition for Davis, however, Davis didn't see it that way. I liked the melodramatic subplot involving Lupino, Alan Hale and George Raft. The friendly relationship between Hale and Raft provided an avenue for Raft to continue to make money after his and Humphrey Bogart's truck was ruined and Bogart is recovering after losing his arm. Lupino's interest in Raft makes her character more interesting. If she was merely Hale's unhappy wife, she would be wasted in the role. The unrequited love angle between Lupino and Raft and later her murdering Hale as a means to get closer to Raft I think made the film more interesting. After Hale dies, Lupino appoints Raft to head up her husband's business. This keeps Raft close and provides Lupino a reason to hang around. It also gives Raft an opportunity to hire Bogart and help him continue to make a living after he loses his arm. I do agree with the criticism that Ann Sheridan should have been given a larger role. I liked her sassy waitress character and then after Raft begins working for Hale, Sheridan disappears. We're to assume that she's living in the place Raft put her up in and working. I like how she confronted Lupino at the end and conspired with Bogart and the rest of Raft's employees to keep him involved in Hale's business-- after all, Bogart and Raft wanted to make a career out of trucking. This way, they achieved their goal, albeit, not the most conventional way, but they did it! Lupino is just bonkers and I loved her role in the film. I'm always a sucker for melodrama--especially ones with attraction gone wrong, a la Fatal Attraction. You can't get much more bananas than someone murdering their husband "for you."
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I really liked Baby Face. This is one of those films that I kept seeing scheduled and kept intending on recording it and always seemed to forget. I'm so happy I finally managed to remember to DVR it. I loved this movie. I hadn't seen many of the pre-codes until the Pre-Code Fridays we had in September and the ones I managed to see here and there. Prior to TCM featuring the Pre-Codes last fall, I unfairly dismissed the early talkies as "creaky" and "boring." As a result, I had been avoiding them. Obviously, I was watching the wrong movies. Baby Face was a great film. While sleeping your way to the top is probably not the best way to go about attaining wealth and success, I loved Lily's reason why she went about being independent the way she did. For years (since she was 14), her father had been w horing her out to his speakeasy customers. For years men used her for her body and she received nothing in return. With the advice of the old Nietzche reading friend (I missed his relation to her), she decided to turn the tables and use men to get what she wants. I think what makes the Lily character are Barbara Stanwyck's facial expressions. Without her smirks, the knowing glances, the flirtation, etc. this movie wouldn't have worked. With barely any words, Lily could get any man to do what she wanted. I also liked her character's change at the end. In the Production Code era, Stanwyck's character would have been run out of the city and shamed, or she would have been killed, or faced some other type of punishment for her actions. In this film, Stanwyck realizes that she's finally found a man who loves her for her and not for her body. At first, she selfishly tries to take the monetary gifts she was given and then realizes on the train that she is in fact in love and doesn't want to see husband George Brent go to jail. I liked that he didn't die at the end. I like to think that Brent recovered fully from his injuries and he and Stanwyck started back down at the bottom and perhaps went into business together to attain wealth again. I'm looking forward to all the Barbara Stanwyck Pre-Codes in July.
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July 2015 schedule available-- Shirley Temple is SOTM
speedracer5 replied to TopBilled's topic in General Discussions
While I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Shirley Temple (movies centering about cutesy, precocious children usually don't do anything for me), there's no doubt that she is a Hollywood legend and deserves the honor. I don't believe she's ever been SOTM, so all in all, I'm happy with TCM's choice. I'm interested to see Shirley's films she made in the latter half of her career, in the 1940s, when she was a teenager-early 20 something. I've seen The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer and really liked her in that. Per usual, there are a ton of things that look interesting to me. I'm glad TCM is continuing with film noir Fridays. Can't get enough of those films. This is what caught my eye when I perused the schedule: 7/2 Disney Vault -Johnny Tremain -2 Documentaries: The Liberty Story & The Living Desert 7/3 Summer of Darkness -The Big Clock 7/5 The Best Years of Our Lives- I keep DVR-ing this movie and something always happens to the DVR that I end up not being able to watch it. 7/6 Pete Kelly's Blues, airing during a Janet Leigh birthday tribute, this film sounded interesting: 1920s, jazz, speakeasies... I don't know what else I could want in a film. 7/7 Leave Her to Heaven, Gene Tierney. I watched this once but want to see it again. 7/8 Heaven Can Wait, a Gene Tierney film I haven't seen. 7/9 Evening of Alien Invasion Movies -Earth vs. The Flying Saucers -It Came From Outer Space -The Day the Earth Stood Still -Invasion of the Body Snatchers -Invisible Invaders -They Came From Beyond Space 7/10 Summer of Darkness -Caged, I like Eleanor Parker and Agnes Moorehead and haven't seen this film. -On Dangerous Ground, stars Ida Lupino. My new star to discover and watch. 7/12 Ball of Fire, want to watch this Barbara Stanwyck film again and give Gary Cooper another chance. Divorce, American Style. I like Debbie Reynolds and DIck Van Dyke. I saw this beginning of this movie that last time it aired and didn't see the end. 7/15 Barbara Stanwyck Pre-Code -Illicit -Night Nurse -So Big -Ever in My Heart -Ladies They Talk About -Gambling Lady -A Lost Lady Pitfall, noir starring Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott. It sounded interesting. 7/17 Summer of Darkness 7/19 Mrs. Parkington, love me a good melodrama 7/20 Penelope, I saw this film I think during the last Natalie Wood birthday tribute and really enjoyed it. It's too bad it's not available on DVD. A Cry in the Night, a Natalie Wood film I haven't seen. It sounded good. SOTM Shirley Temple, these films feature Temple during the latter part of her career. 7/22 Keeper of the Flame- A Hepburn/Tracy film I haven't seen. 7/23 Claudette Colbert Marathon -The Secret Heart -Without Reservations -Tomorrow is Forever -Three Came Home -Parrish 7/24 Summer of Darkness 7/25 Love On the Run, I like Clark Gable and am trying to enjoy Joan Crawford more. 7/26 Roberta, I recorded this the last time it was on and it started in the middle for some reason. I'm going to try again with this film. 7/27 More films from the adult part of SOTM Shirley Temple's career. 7/29 William Powell Birthday Daytime Theme: -The Kennel Murder Case -Rendezvous Robert Osborne's picks, both featuring David Niven whom I enjoy: Separate Tables Bonjour Tristesse 7/30 Pennies From Heaven, This film sounded fun. AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: Steve Martin 7/31 Summer of Darkness I Died a Thousand Times, interestingly enough, it features Shelley Winters. I wonder if she's knocked off in this film too. -
I just saw this movie for the first time tonight. I loved it. Seeing George Raft in comparison to Humphrey Bogart, I can see why Bogart eventually became the bigger star. While I didn't have any issues with Raft in this film, I thought he was fine, Bogart just seems to have that extra "something" that makes him more interesting than Raft. It was excellent casting on Warner Brothers' part to have Raft and Bogart play brothers, they sound very similar and have similar builds. It made sense. I really loved Ann Sheridan's sassy waitress character, I will definitely seek more of her films out. However, I agree that this was Ida Lupino's film. Prior to this film, I'd only ever seen Lupino in High Sierra, Escape Me Never and an episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour where she plays herself. Lupino was fantastic in this movie and I'll definitely be looking out for more of her films on the TCM schedule and on Netflix. I loved the scene where she confesses to Raft trying to get him to stay and I loved when she goes completely bonkers in the courtroom and has to be carried out. At the end of the film, was Lupino in jail? or was she committed to a sanitarium? I wasn't sure. Awesome film. I may have to get the TCM Greatest Legends Collection: Humphrey Bogart just to get this film.
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Did anyone watch the documentaries last night?
speedracer5 replied to midnight08's topic in General Discussions
I DVR'd all the documentaries and have been trying to get through all of them. I just have the Spencer Tracy and the Henry Fonda one left. The reason why these documentaries were scheduled is because they were all done by the team of Joan Kramer and David Heeley who co-hosted these documentaries with Robert Osborne. They've written a book, In the Company of Legends, and I think this night of programming and their appearance with Osborne was intended to promote their book. I found their anecdotes of working with all these huge Hollywood stars to be very interesting. I love hearing stories from people who were actually "there" and actually met these people, and not just people repeating things they've heard. BACALL ON BOGART: This one was fun. Having Bacall be involved with and narrate the documentary was a nice touch, as she would obviously have more intimate information and more of a stake in participating in an accurate documentary about her husband. Most of the time I love watching these documentaries solely for the photographs and rare video footage that is shown--especially candids. It gives you more of an idea as to who someone was and what they were all about. I knew that The Big Sleep had scenes that were reshot, but I had never seen the original version of the "horse racing" scene. The redone scene was definitely better. JAMES STEWART, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. James Stewart is one of those actors that I don't dislike but don't go out of my way to see either. If he happens to be in a film I'm interested in, then I usually enjoy his work. He always seemed like an "aw shucks" kind of guy with a stutter. This documentary gave me a new image of him and I may seek more of his films out in the future. I really liked his dry sense of humor. His "poems" that he read on Johnny Carson were hilarious and I also liked him singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" on The Carol Burnett Show. I had no idea he appeared in a musical, Born to Dance. His documentary was fun. My favorite (so far) though was KATHARINE HEPBURN: ALL ABOUT ME. I loved that the writers mentioned to Osborne that Jane Fonda wanted to narrate the documentary about her friend, Hepburn. Katharine Hepburn said that while she liked Jane Fonda, she was fully capable of telling her own story. I really liked Hepburn's approach and it was fun seeing her running errands in NYC like it was no big deal. I laughed when her assistant got into the back of the car and Hepburn filled it with flowers. Her Connecticut estate was beautiful. What I found interesting about the documentary, is her mentions of Oscar nominations and awards. She never accepted any of these awards in person, I always assumed it was because she didn't care. However, her mentioning her awards and accolades makes me think that these things were important to her, she doesn't strike me as a shy person, so I wonder why she never accepted her awards? Also, her telling her story of her life with Spencer Tracy was very touching and sweet. She genuinely loved him and think that will only enhance my experience when seeing the films they made together. Katharine Hepburn is one of my favorites and I found her life fascinating. -
LEAST & MOST FAVORITE of the week...
speedracer5 replied to ClassicViewer's topic in General Discussions
I've been really busy the past few weeks between moving, painting, working, etc. but I have managed to fit in some time to watch some movies. PIN UP GIRL- This was a typical wartime musical, not too serious, just fun escapist entertainment. Betty Grable was as great as always. I love her persona in her films. Martha Raye was good as well. It seems that much of this film was built solely around Grable's pin up status during WWII and her famous pin up photo which appears routinely throughout the film. THE SHOCKING MISS PILGRIM- I really liked this film. I didn't know who Dick Haymes was, only that he was one of Rita Hayworth's husbands (one who hit her) and he married Errol Flynn's second ex-wife. He was okay, nothing amazing though. I liked the women's suffrage angle and Betty Grable standing up for her right to work where she wants. The film did take the typical love story angle and the ending was pleasant. The movie poster for this film is horrible though. I would have never believed that that was supposed to be an image of Betty Grable. HARD TO GET- This film starred Olivia de Havilland and Dick Powell. This movie was one of the typical fluff 1930s films, it definitely was not going to bring Oscars to anyone involved. I liked the two leads and Charles Winninger who played her father. It seems these 1930s films that involve heiresses always have an eccentric father or grandfather. Also typical in these films is that the rich girl usually gets in trouble with the more blue collared male lead for not having any money to pay for services rendered. This film was no exception. I thought de Havilland's character's reaction to having to work at Powell's motel to pay off her debt was a little outrageous, but it was needed for the plot of the film. I liked Penny Singleton's maid character, she was funny. Everytime I see and hear Singleton in a film, I can't help but think that I'm watching a film with Jane Jetson. Powell was also a very good singer. Although crooning "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" to de Havilland was a little corny. FARMER TAKES A WIFE- Another Betty Grable musical. Many of these Grable musicals seem like they're basically the same movie with different songs, but Grable is charming as usual. The male lead, Dale Robertson, is kind of bland in this film. The real surprise was seeing Thelma Ritter. I had no idea she even appeared in a musical. She was rather wasted in this movie--not many hilarious one-liners. THE ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE- This film was entertaining although the title was misleading. It was of course cheesy, but I thought that the special effects were rather good for a 1958 movie. One of the girl "puppet people" sings a song, and I thought she was very good. The premise of the movie was good: a man, afraid of being alone, kidnaps and imprisons people and shrinks them to doll size using a machine in his doll factory. He takes the "dolls" out when he wants to be entertained. Some of the puppet people seem committed to this life, but the two latest puppet people aren't. They take matters into their own hands to escape and grow back to normal size. While overall, the film was entertaining, I was disappointed that the puppet people do not attack anyone. THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE- This film was hilarious. The telepathy between the girlfriend's head and the creature in the closet, the maniacal driving in the beginning that led to the girlfriend being decapitated, the scientist's botched hand transplant, this film had everything. I think I may have liked this film better than "The Attack of the Puppet People." FLAMINGO ROAD- I'm not normally a Joan Crawford fan, but I liked the grittiness of this film. I really liked this movie. Michael Curtiz, despite what I've read about him as a person, there's no denying that he knew how to make great movies. SAN FRANCISCO- While I like Clark Gable and I liked the earthquake footage, I discovered I am not a fan of Jeannette MacDonald. Ugh. That singing. While I'm not saying it was bad, I am not just not a fan of her style of singing and there was way too much of it. It drove me crazy and made me dislike the film very much. I was wishing that Clark Gable would belt her in the mouth or that she'd get hit by falling debris during the earthquake. No such luck though. I disliked MacDonald so much, that she might even be a deterrent to seeing another film with her in it, unless I could be assured that she doesn't sing. Per usual I've got a bunch of films to watch on the DVR: Spencer Tracy Legacy Documentary Fonda on Fonda Documentary Stage Fright Scaramouche Escape From Fort Bravo Invisible Stripes BF's Daughter Breakfast for Two The Ghost and Mrs. Muir I Could Go on Singing A Child is Waiting Footlight Parade Test Pilot The Forbidden Street People Will Talk Passage to Marseille Yankee Doodle Dandy Klute Witness for the Prosecution City for Conquest Lust for Life Baby Doll The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone Thelma & Louise Sweet Rosie O'Grady A Yank in the RAF Humoresque Bird on a Wire So much to watch... and I only keep adding, never subtracting. Lol. -
10 Performers Who Should be Star of the Month on TCM
speedracer5 replied to TopBilled's topic in General Discussions
I'd love to see: Fred Mac Murray Betty Grable Joan Blondell Paul Newman Anne Baxter George Sanders Agnes Moorehead Thelma Ritter Priscilla Lane Adolphe Menjou Basil Rathbone Dean Martin -
There are so many movie moments that I love. Sometimes for me, these moments are what elevates an otherwise average film into something special. *In Summer Stock, there are a couple of scenes I love: 1) When Judy Garland sings "Friendly Star" after finding herself falling in love with Gene Kelly. I love how Garland's eyes are watery during her song and I love the moment when we see Gene Kelly listening to her singing about him. 2) When Judy is practicing her role in Gene Kelly's play and Eddie Bracken walks in threatening to break up with her if she continues. She tells him off, which is awesome, but Bracken dares speak up again and Judy gives him the most hilarious "f--- off" look. *In All About Eve, I love when Bette Davis tells off Anne Baxter by telling her not to worry about her heart and tells her to put her award where her heart ought to be. *In Gilda, I love Rita Hayworth's entrance. Her husband calls her name and she enters the scene by flipping her head back and saying "sure. I'm decent." *In The Philadelphia Story, the opening scene when Cary Grant puts the palm of his hand in Katharine Hepburn's face and pushes her backwards. It cracks me up. *The scene in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House when Myrna Loy tries to explain to the painters as to what colors (and what shades of each color) she wants the various rooms in her house painted. *The look on Cary Grant's face when he realizes where his aunts have hidden Mr. Hoskins' body in Arsenic and Old Lace. *Pretty much every scene of Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim. Yum! So many great movie moments. I could go on and on forever.
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Reminder! The next programming challenge starts next month on Saturday, May 3, 2015! Here are a few teasers: The required theme is called: "There's No Place Like Home" There will be a twist to the SOTM feature. Participants will be required to feature someone behind the cameras. The date range for schedules will be June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016 There will be three optional themes involving: Disney, Oscar and TV. More premieres will be permitted. More details to come later!
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I have to DVR most things as well, because seeing that TCM's programming is based around the Eastern Time Zone (e.g. Primetime programming starting at 8pm EST) many of the programs that I want to watch are on while I'm still at work, because I'm in Pacific Time Zone. For me, the Primetime films start at 5pm, which is too early for me to settle down for the evening and start watching movies. For me, while I can understand the sentiment of wanting to watch things live and not seeing it after the fact, for me, this applies more to watching sports. I don't like watching games after they've already happened and the result is already known. If the game has already happened, and the winner/loser are already out in the open, it kind of ruins the game for me. With movies though, while for the most part I have to DVR things in order to be able to see anything I want to see, I have had a few opportunities (mostly on weekends) where I've seen a specific "Essential" film or a Friday Night Spotlight or something like that that I've wanted to see and will run all my errands and complete other tasks in order to be ready at 5pm (or whatever time) to settle down for the night and watch movies. I understand both sides of this sentiment and for me, I have to do what I need to do in order to take best advantage of TCM's programming.
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I haven't seen Blue Skies. Hopefully TCM will schedule it in the near future. What I love about Holiday Inn are all the musical numbers. After all, they're pretty much the point of the film. Some of them I like more than others, but I love how each number is unique to the holiday represented and how different they are from one another. A concept of a film with a musical number for each holiday could easily become tedious and it would be easy for the filmmakers to start becoming somewhat lackadaisical in staging and creating these musical numbers, but they didn't. Each subsequent number is just as good as the one that preceded it.
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2-Part HBO Frank Sinatra Documentary Starts Tomorrow at 8pm
speedracer5 replied to speedracer5's topic in General Discussions
Lol. Well of course Frank doesn't hold a candle to Errol in the looks department; but I don't find him as hideous as your wife does. I agree that he looked better as he aged-- while still thin, he did fill out a little bit and his face wasn't so pointy (it's the only word I can think of right now). I also liked that he ditched the curly hair. He wasn't a big guy, but I think his tough personality and put together persona made up for what he lacked in stature. -
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hbo-sinatra-all-or-nothing-20150402-story.html This is a two-part documentary. The first part airs tomorrow and the second part on Monday. Both parts are set to air at 8pm. This documentary sounds really interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I really like Sinatra's music and his films. I'm looking forward to learning more about his life and career. Like most performers, his career had its ups and downs, but he always seemed to bounce back. In the early part of his career, "the bobby soxer years," he was the young crooner--appearing in many musicals. His three films made with Gene Kelly were among his most successful. By the 50s, his career was in the slums and he scored a supporting role in From Here to Eternity for which he won an Academy Award. This film (and subsequent award) revitalized his career and gave him a new image. While he did make some comedies and musicals, he also took on more serious roles like in The Man With the Golden Arm. I find some of Sinatra's more serious roles among his most interesting, even though I definitely like his comedies and musicals. I find that he's often cast as the suave bachelor playboy (The Tender Trap and Come Blow Your Horn), which for whatever, seems to suit his image well. By the end of the 50s, he took on his role as "Chairman of the Board" in The Rat Pack (or The Summit as I believe Sinatra preferred them to be called). This set off a string of successful films and nightclub performances starring members of the group. I think my favorite of The Rat Pack films is Robin and the 7 Hoods. He also had his political connections and alleged mob connections, but I am not particularly interested in this aspect of his life. I am more about his music and his films. Frank Sinatra was just a cool guy and I think that's what I like about him.
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I love Holiday Inn! For some reason, I always associate it as being a Christmas movie, even though I know that an entire year's worth of holidays are recognized. I loved the pairing of Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. Astaire's dancing combined with Crosby's singing is what makes this film-- this and Irving Berlin's great music. My favorite number in this film is the one that Astaire performs for Washington's Birthday. Crosby, upset with Astaire for taking his girl and taking over performing at his inn and conducting the orchestra, purposely keeps changing the style and tempo of the music. Astaire manically adjusts his dancing to keep up with the style and pace. It was amazing to see him move from a waltz to a tango to a minuet to jazz, etc. I also love Fred Astaire's firecracker dance that he did for the 4th of July routine. I remember I first saw this film on some random channel on satellite. They edited out the controversial Lincoln's Birthday number. Unfortunately, the editing was done poorly and it was very obvious that footage had been cut. It was very apparent that something was missing, even to someone like me, who hadn't seen the film before. I wanted to know why this footage was cut and found out it was due to a blackface routine. I actually went out and bought the film just because I wanted to see the film in it's entirety and how it was originally intended.
