speedracer5

Warner Brothers is probably my favorite as it employed most of my favorite stars: Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson... I also love their films: gangster, adventure, film noir, Bette Davis' "weepies," they made a lot of great films. Warner Brothers is probably my favorite studio for the 1930s and 1940s. I also love Columbia, because they had a lot more of my favorite stars: Cary Grant, William Holden, Rosalind Russell, Rita Hayworth, Jean Arthur... They produced many of my favorites: It Happened One Night, The Awful Truth, Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, You Were Never Lovelier, Cover Girl, Gilda, The Lady From Shanghai and Born Yesterday, just to name a few. Columbia, like Warner Brothers, seemed like they took risks with their films as opposed to playing it safe like MGM did. While MGM bragged that they had more stars than heaven, I've found that there are only a handful of stars and films of theirs that I enjoy. I know that Louis B. Mayer was all about wholesome family entertainment and while I'm not against that concept (as I do own my share of goody two shoes movies), I've found that many of the MGM films are saccharine in a bad way. I liked MGM's precodes with the combo of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. I also like The Thin Man series with Myrna Loy and William Powell and the other eight films the duo made together. Aside from those films, I like MGM more for the musicals they produced during the 40s and 50s. I really enjoy the films made by the likes of Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller and Frank Sinatra. MGM also had a whole gaggle of America's Sweethearts that I don't care for like June Allyson, Kathryn Grayson and Esther Williams. I think I prefer Warner Brothers slightly over MGM just because I like the types of films produced by Warners better. Unless it's a Gene Kelly musical (for example) or 'Thin Man' film, MGM films are typically a little too much for me. In the 40s, I would have also enjoyed Fox, solely because of their output of film noir. Every one of their film noirs that I've seen, I enjoyed. My least favorite studio would probably be Universal, only because I'm not a big fan of horror movies and it seems that they primarily focused on those, with the occasional different genre of film like My Man Godfrey in 1936.

I really like Auntie Mame too. I don't know if it's really screwball, but Russell is fabulous. It's a shame she didn't win an Oscar. I loved how vivacious she was and how she didn't care what anyone thought of her, she was just "Mame." When I bought this film, it was classified as a musical and for some reason, I always think it's a musical (even though I know it's not) and then when I'm watching it, waiting for Roz to sing, I remember that it's not a musical. For whatever reason, it seems like it should be.

I agree that the 30s-40s screwball comedies were at their peak at this time. I haven't seen anything with Glenda Farrell. I don't even know what she looks like (okay, I googled her, now I know what she looks like). I'll have to check her out next time her films air. Thanks for the tip! I'm not a fan of Miriam Hopkins. I really loathe her in Virginia City. However, I am curious to watch her films with Bette Davis because I know that they hated each other so much. I'll check out Trouble in Paradise when it airs again. Harlow is beginning to grow on me. I liked her sassy lines in Dinner at Eight. The deflated football analogy? Lol. Good one. I'm going to have to binge on Jean Harlow and watch all four films of hers that I have. Then I'll look out for more on TCM. I really like Rosalind Russell. She's a different type of screwball personality. I notice she usually plays single career driven women who assert themselves to get ahead. His Girl Friday is hilarious.

Many of Lucille Ball's pre-I Love Lucy performances show how adept she was at screwball comedy. One film I can think of in particular is Miss Grant Takes Richmond with William Holden. Holden is the straight man to Ball's craziness. She has many funny scenes showing how gifted she was with props. There is one scene where she fights with a printer ribbon. Holden was an excellent foil. However, nobody was as good a straight-man to Lucy as Desi Arnaz. His reactions to Lucy's shenanigans are priceless. Another Lucy screwball comedy I enjoyed was The Fuller Brush Girl with Eddie Albert. TCM rarely plays it. There's also a very early Lucille Ball film from 1938 called The Affairs of Anabel. Even though the film was average (the sequel was so-so) Ball demonstrates her skill in comedy.

Thank you for the recommendation. I love Hattie McDaniel, while I realize many of her roles are stereotypes, she's hilarious. I loved her in They Died With Their Boots On. I also enjoy the Gable/Harlow combination. They made an excellent pair. It's a shame that Harlow died so young. I would have been interested to see how her persona evolved and how she would have grown personally (as an actress) throughout the WWII era of filmmaking and beyond. I think she would have been great in noir. I feel that eventually she would have ditched the platinum blonde/thin eyebrow look and went with something more natural. What was Harlow's natural look? Was she brunette? dishwater blond?

I forgot about The Ex-Mrs. Bradford. That was a great movie. Arthur and Powell were a good pairing. I loved the mystery as well. These mystery films always seem so have such strange solutions, definitely can't say they were contrived--which is what makes them so interesting. I haven't seen Twentieth Century yet. I recorded The Whole Town's Talking but I think I was only half-watching. I can't remember Arthur too much. I remember Edward G. Robinson more. I saw Stanwyck in Ball of Fire, while she was fantastic, I can never get over how much I dislike Gary Cooper. I thought The Lady Eve was funnier. I'll have to see that one again. I think Katharine Hepburn was pretty funny in her screwball comedies, especially the ones with Cary Grant. My favorites are the ridiculous Bringing Up Baby and less ridiculous The Philadelphia Story. I love the scene in 'Philadelphia' at the very beginning when Grant pushes Hepburn back into the house using the palm of his hand. That part always cracks me up.

I haven't seen much of Irene Dunne. I've seen her films with Cary Grant. I loved The Awful Truth. I also saw My Favorite Wife which I didn't enjoy as much. I saw Dunne in Life With Father, but I don't think that film is considered screwball. I haven't seen Theodora Goes Wild, the title sounds promising. I'll need to check that one out.

I loved the different voices too. Judy Holliday was excellent. It's a shame that cancer claimed her at such a young age. I first saw her in Born Yesterday and since then, I've been trying to see all the other films she appears in. She's always been the highlight in each of her films. Before I saw Bells Are Ringing, I didn't realize what a great singer she was. She apparently had all kinds of jazz albums and such. I love her voice it's very rich and bluesy.

I'm excited for the Ann Sothern month. The only thing I've ever seen her in is the first episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour where she plays Susie McNamara, a friend of Lucy McGillicuddy. Lucy and Ann are co-workers/friends who take a cruise to Havana and enroute meet Rudy Vallee on the ship (and terrorize him) and later, when they dock in Havana, they meet Desi Arnaz and Cesar Romero, aka Ricky Ricardo and Carlos Garcia. Of course, both girls are interested in Cesar Romero and Lucy reluctantly pairs off with Ricky Ricardo. Sothern was excellent in this episode and a great comedic partner with Lucille Ball. She did a hilarious scene in which she gets drunk off the water in the jail (it was spiked with rum). March looks like it'll be a great month with tons of the bad horror movies (pretty much the only horror movies I can stand, the worst and cheesy the movie is, the better), musicals and interesting programming that I don't think I've ever seen on TV let alone scheduled on TCM.

I haven't seen as many movies this week as I did last: The Outsiders, I thought this was a great movie. Very sad though. It was interesting to see so many stars so young: Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze... Ralph Macchio looked young, but he always looks young. I decided to follow this up with Dirty Dancing and make it a Patrick Swayze marathon. So all in all, it was a good evening. Trapeze, I'm a fan of Burt Lancaster and I'd heard he did his own trapeze work. Being intrigued by that, I recorded this film. Tony Curtis was good although to me, he always seems the same in his movies, but he was good in this film and seems to pair up well with Lancaster. Gina Lollabrigida was whatever, I wasn't expecting much from her. I also recorded the other film that TCM paired up with this one, The Sweet Smell of Success also starring Lancaster and Curtis, but I haven't watched it yet. Burt Lancaster was a great actor and I look forward to seeing more of his work. Irma La Douce, I recorded this because it was Billy Wilder and starred Jack Lemmon. Usually the Lemmon/Wilder combos are pretty good. This film was okay. The Paris scenery was gorgeous, I loved the colors and I loved Shirley MacLaine's prostitute costumes. There were funny parts here and there, but Lemmon was a little over the top. While the film was entertaining, I think that Lemmon, Wilder and MacLaine have all done better, The Apartment (for example). It seems TCM was having a Paris-themed movie marathon that day, which normally I would love... but I wish that they had put Funny Face in place of the horrible Love in the Afternoon. They would have still had Paris, Audrey and the May-December romance angle, but there would have been a much better film. Under the Yum Yum Tree, This film was weird. Jack Lemmon made some interesting films in the early-mid 60s after The Apartment. I didn't like Lemmon's lecherous landlord character. His cool concept sports car and Edie Adams was the best part about this film. I've got so many movies on the DVR to watch and a gazillion more to record next month, I hope I can find time for all of them.

I'm carrying this discussion over from the Sally Field Essentials thread. It evolved into a discussion of Carole Lombard and then I brought up Jean Harlow. I thought it would be an interesting conversation. I'll admit that I've only seen one Carole Lombard movie-- My Man Godfrey, which initially I watched because it starred William Powell (who was once married to Carole Lombard. After divorcing Lombard, he started dating and became engaged to Jean Harlow) starred in the film. On my first viewing, I thought that Powell was excellent (as usual) and found Lombard's character shrill and irritating. However, on subsequent viewings, I've warmed up more to Lombard and find her hilarious and endearing in the film. I had the same experience with Jean Harlow. I was first exposed to her in Red Dust and Libeled Lady. While I enjoyed both films on the whole, it wasn't due to Harlow. I liked Gable in Red Dust and the Powell/Loy combo in Libeled Lady. For some reason though, I wanted to like Harlow, so I didn't want to write her off just yet. I've since seen her in Bombshell, Dinner at Eight, Suzy and Red Headed Woman. I'm starting to warm up to her. After this change of opinion on Harlow, I've seen Red Dust and Libeled Lady again and found her more enjoyable. In fact, I own TCM's Greatest Classic Legends: Jean Harlow set, only because it contained Libeled Lady which I was having trouble locating and I wanted to complete my William Powell/Myrna Loy collection. This collection also contains: Dinner at Eight, China Seas and Wife Vs. Secretary. I've also recently discovered Jean Arthur. While she does have an unusual voice, I really like her in movies. I especially enjoyed her in Only Angels Have Wings and Talk of the Town. She's different than the manic Lombard and the sassy Harlow. Arthur is more kooky and does many things that end up inconveniencing someone when she was only trying to help. I also like Myrna Loy and Claudette Colbert. They're a different type of screwball comedienne. They aren't manic or shrill or brassy. They're more subdued and classy, but get involved in crazy situations. Like Colbert on the train in The Palm Beach Story or her adventures in the farmhouse in The Egg and I. Loy is similar in that she lives in upper crust surroundings and wears fancy gowns and such but will get mixed up with wacky characters like in Love Crazy. What other screwball comediennes do you enjoy? Or dislike?

Great schedule Lydecker! I loved the friend theme. This quote made me laugh: "And, after you kissed me, I always used to wipe my mouth. Wipe my mouth!” I loved the Obsessive Love theme--especially the inclusion of Fatal Attraction. I love that movie. I believe in Murder at Monte Carlo, with Errol Flynn, he plays a corpse. The most beautiful corpse of all time, I'm sure. I also loved the "I Get By With Help From My Friends" and "Best Friends" evenings. I would watch those for sure. I also liked your Guest Programmer selection. I haven't seen The Great Lie, but have it set to record on my DVR. From what I've read on your schedule and in your notes, I'm excited to watch it. I do love me some Bette Davis and I've enjoyed all of Mary Astor's performances that I've seen so far.

Great schedule Skimpole! I love the inclusion of The Three Caballeros. I love that movie. I have it on DVD (paired with Saludos Amigos) and it never gets old. I'm a big Claudette Colbert fan, so I'm happy to see a birthday tribute to her. I also like the selection of Edmond O'Brien as SOTM and the films selected for this week of his SOTM tribute. I also like the evening of Dopplegangers, especially with the premiere of Bugsy Malone.

I guess I'm in the minority here, I don't mind the 31 Days of Oscar in February, I haven't seen every movie under the sun, so like usual, I always find things to watch. I also don't think it's a big deal if they start advertising ahead of time for their 31 Days of Oscar. I imagine that this month may attract new viewers who enjoy watching the Oscars and might be interested in Oscar history, just like what I imagine much of the goal of "The Essentials" is-- to attract new viewers. TCM cannot grow if they don't expand their audience. I agree though that it would be neat if they showed old clips of Oscar ceremonies. Like when they introduce the film they could have the clip of the presenter saying: "And the Oscar goes to..." and then start the winning film. Instead of the short films, show old musical performances or funny bits from past shows. On You Tube, you can watch Mitzi Gaynor at the 1967 Oscars performing "Georgy Girl." The performance is campy, but fun and I always find Gaynor entertaining in anything she's in. I agree that the Oscar documentary was dull. I would be interested in a comprehensive Oscar documentary, even if it were a multi-part documentary. I don't know what this would all entail, but something showing the entire history of the Oscars, trivia, behind the scenes, most sentimental moments, hilarious mistakes, etc. I don't really want to watch people reminisce about what it means to be an Oscar winner or whatever. I'd love to see an Oscar documentary from a more historical perspective. I've got quite a few things (I haven't seen) queued up to record: 2/2 Random Harvest, The Great Lie 2/3 Top Hat, Roberta 2/4 Pat and Mike 2/5 Robin and the 7 Hoods, Four Daughters 2/7 Mrs. Miniver 2/9 The Young Lions, The Best Days of Our Lives, Mildred Pierce 2/10 Crossfire, The Killers 2/11 The Four Musketeers (1975), All the King's Men 2/12 Lust for Life, The Third Man (Okay, I've seen this one before, I just love it and haven't found a copy for myself yet) 2/14 The Harder They Fall, The Man With the Golden Arm, Blackboard Jungle 2/15 The Asphalt Jungle, I Want to Live!, Raintree County 2/16 Anatomy of a Murder 2/17 In Cold Blood 2/19 Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Dr. Strangelove..., 2/20 Caged, Easy Rider 2/23 Kings Row 2/26 The Big Chill 2/28 The China Syndrome, The Fisher King 3/3 The Artist, The King's Speech I just hope I can watch all these plus the other 30 or so movies I already have recorded during this month. I'm (hopefully) supposed to be moving into my new house in March and thus, all my recorded movies will be left behind on the DVR at my parents' house and I'll have to start anew on my own DVR.

I read Buster Wiles' book also. I actually read it right after I finished reading Errol Flynn's book. Buster's book was really fun. He sounds like he was a really great friend to Errol and Errol was to him too. I loved reading about all the pranks they pulled on people. All the pranks were harmless and hilarious. I loved that his story was more of an ode to his friend and not meant to profit off of the notorious rumors surrounding Errol. He cleared up some erroneous information provided in Flynn's book and corroborated other information--namely, the infamous rape trial. I'm on Flynn and Wiles' side, from all legitimate accounts I've read, Flynn was set up. Errol and Buster sound like they would have been a blast to hang out with. I only wish time travel were a real thing and I could be part of their posse. I'd definitely not be able to keep up with them in the bar, but I'd love to partake in all the hijinks.

This might be a little off topic... But, one of my friends took it upon herself to read all three Twilight books. Not because she wanted to, but because she felt she actually needed to read the books before she felt qualified to bad mouth and make fun of them. We were at the annual Eugene Public Library booksale and she found all three books for $1 each. She made it a point to burn the pages as she finished reading them, because she did not want to see the books again. She said the writing was just as abysmal as she expected. Normally, I wouldn't condone the burning of books, but in the case of Twilight, I'll make an exception. I haven't even see the movies. The movies don't appeal to me. The actress who plays Bella has the personality of a doorknob and the two supposed heartthrobs don't do anything for me. One looks like death warmed over and is just yuck and the other is short with a thick neck. Blah. So there isn't even the eye candy factor. Count me out!

I haven't watched Debbie's speech yet, I recorded it though. I heard that she was having health issues a few years ago and I hope that if she was confused at the microphone that maybe she was nervous or something and this isn't indicative of a larger health problem. I think that Debbie seems like a genuinely nice person and it's a real shame that she was never able to build that Hollywood Costume museum that she dreamed of having. Carrie Fisher seems so down to earth, she's faced issues that "normal" people (who weren't Princess Leia in "Star Wars") have. She's funny and frank about her life. I'll probably check out her books someday. I'm glad she was able to put together a nice tribute to her mother. I can see possibly why people may not be a fan of Debbie, sometimes those with the perky, nice girl persona can be a turn-off, e.g. Sandra Dee. I personally like the wholesome, perky personalities. Typically, they will appear in fun, fluff romantic comedies that definitely aren't going to be winning any awards but they're entertaining. Reynolds is very talented and has always made a good impression on me in her films (as has Sandra Dee). I saw a Dick Cavett interview a while back with Debbie Reynolds. She was hilarious. She was her typical sweet self, but could display bawdy humor at times. Especially when the second guest came out-- Groucho Marx. Groucho kept hitting on Debbie and it was hilarious. Then Groucho embarrassed Debbie by telling a raunchy story about him visiting her when she was in the hospital. I also think it is great that Debbie was able to keep her friendship with Elizabeth Taylor despite Taylor helping in breaking up her marriage to Eddie Fisher. Granted, for the marriage to break up so easily, there were probably already problems, but Taylor helped speed things along.

This might be unfair, but I cannot imagine myself ever reading Fifty Shades of Grey or watching it. It's based on a Twilight fan fiction! For that alone, I cannot see myself wanting to watch it or read it. It sounds like the book is basically erotica and the movie I imagine will pretty much be soft core porn. I'm not a prude by any means, but this is not the type of film I'd want to watch with a room full of strangers. Lol. I've heard that the books aren't even that well written, but I guess in the face of the subject matter, people aren't going to pay attention to the writing. I think in the case of this film versus book question, it'll be a matter of whether people want to SEE the sex on the screen, or VISUALIZE it as portrayed in the book. Either may have their perks I suppose. I have to imagine that there aren't any crucial plot points that will be lost on screen.

I really enjoyed that book. I also found it very well-written and entertaining. There's nothing more irritating than reading a book and finding constant factual and spelling errors! I like books where the authors have actually spoken with people who had first hand experiences with the subject or someone who has also performed extensive research. People that just reprint the gossip and scandal are of no interest to me.

I saw an interview Lucy did, I think with Barbara Walters (also with Gary Morton in tow) and she also referred to Desi as a loser. I wonder if these interviews were done at the same time? It made me sad because it was the only interview I'd ever seen where Lucy disparaged Desi. In other interviews I've seen/read with Lucy, she's regarded Desi as nothing but a genius and gave him most of the credit for her career. While Lucy was undoubtedly talented, it was Desi who came up with the ideas to let Lucy's gifts shine. He decided to film I Love Lucy instead of using filming the show live on the East Coast using kinescope and airing a fuzzy version on the West Coast. Prior to I Love Lucy, this was the custom for television shows. Desi wanted everyone to see a good copy, not just half of the country. Desi, knowing that Lucy worked better in front of a live audience, retrofitted a sound-stage to accommodate an audience. Desi is the one who worked with the writers, producers, directors, everyone. Without Desi's contributions, Lucy may not have had the career she did. He is the one who produced the first season of The Lucy Show before retiring. While Desi definitely had his problems, which he fully admits and takes responsibility for in his autobiography, he always spoke well of Lucy. In most of Lucy's interviews, she says nothing but nice things about Desi. There is no doubt that he was the love of her life and she was the love of his. Unfortunately, they just weren't able to live together. After Desi's second wife died, Lucy let Desi live in the guest house on her property. She was the last person he spoke to before passing away in Dec of 1986. Considering his background, it's amazing that Desi got where he did. He was an amazing businessman, very intuitive and not afraid to take risks. Most everything about I Love Lucy was a major risk and it definitely paid off for all involved. Desi's autobiography is very honest and very entertaining. I recommend it highly. If you can find a copy. I remember seeing a copy of it years ago (like back in the late 90s) for $5 in a used bookstore and was so excited. I bought it. I have never seen another copy since.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is seeing this. At first, I thought it was someone being really obnoxious. Then I figured out it was just some weird coding flaw in the board.

Great list! I appreciate your taking the time to come up with a list of essentials. I especially love the inclusion of Meet Me in St. Louis and Touch of Evil. Great movies.

I was born in 1984, so only a few years older than your stepdaughter. I've never made the claim that black and white "hurt my eyes." That's ridiculous, unless she's sitting an inch away from the screen with the brightness up way high. While age-wise, I fit into the demographic of those who don't favor black and white, I guess I'm just fortunate to grow up in a house where we regularly watched Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers movies when they aired on AMC (back in the day). I became a Nick-at-Nite junkie at 12 and religiously watched I Love Lucy-- my favorite show then (and now). I don't think the aversion to black and white is restricted to younger crowds. I know people born much earlier who cannot watch them either. I don't know if it's as much about the lack of color as it is about the fact that "it's old." People associate black and white with "being old." I think it's a shame that these people are purposefully denying themselves the pleasure of seeing so many great films solely because they can't get over the lack of color.

I've seen a few movies recently: A Place in the Sun- Loved this movie. I am a big fan of Montgomery Clift. Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters are starting to grow on me as well. I loved the mood of this movie and the way it was shot. I particularly liked the steamy (for 1951) love scenes and the love triangle aspect. I thought Clift did a great job. It was interesting to see him as more of a romantic lead. I haven't seen him in that type of role before. In the films I've seen, he's more of a loner type. It was interesting seeing him dancing with Shelley Winters and Elizabeth Taylor and actually seeing him smile in his films. His smiling is weird to me. I don't know how to describe it or why. I was saddened by Clift's fate at the end of the film. It's a Great Feeling- a Doris Day movie costarring Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan. Doris Day is a waitress on the Warner Brothers lot who wants to get into movies. Carson and Morgan agree to try to help her. The two men concoct schemes to get Day discovered, but nothing works because she comes across as trying too hard. I thought Day's fluttering eyelashes coupled with the weird mouth movements and the strange music was kind of annoying. The highlights of the film were the various cameos by Warner Brothers stars like Joan Crawford, Edward G. Robinson, Patricia Neal and Eleanor Parker. Throughout the film, Day's character kept referring to her fiancee, Jeffrey Bushdinkle, back her hometown of Grover's Corners, WI (or whatever the town was called). Day was trying to decide whether she really wanted to leave Bushdinkle for a Hollywood career or return home and marry him. Carson and Morgan, figuring Bushdinkle to be a small town good ole boy, kept pressuring Day to stay and not lose her chance at stardom. Eventually Day returns home. Carson and Morgan, finding out that Day is wanted for a starring role in a film, follow her. They find Day's home and find out that her wedding to Bushdinkle is in full swing. They hear the "I Dos" and wait to see what her fiancee looks like, figuring he was some kind of cornball hick. Bushdinkle is conveniently hidden behind the giant Bridesmaids' hats. Finally, the Bridesmaids move out of the way... and who is Bushdinkle? None other than my boyfriend, Errol Flynn! The best celebrity cameo of all. The Reluctant Dragon- I watched this selection from the Disney vault. While I enjoyed the feature, including the title feature, The Reluctant Dragon, I found the scene of the women making paint for the paint department to be the most mesmerizing of all. This Property Is Condemned- While it wasn't the best movie I'd seen, I really like the pairing of Natalie Wood and Robert Redford. I thought that Mary Badham was very good as well. I really liked this film. It had tinges of Splendor in the Grass. I thought the ending was very sad. Barefoot in the Park- This film was pretty good. Jane Fonda and Robert Redford make a good team. I thought Charles Boyer's character was kind of weird, but liked that he hooked up with Fonda's mother. I thought the end of the film was disappointing. Barbarella- Ridiculous movie. I had no idea what was going on. I found it strange but intriguing at the same time. I was simultaneously wondering why I was watching this, but wanting to see what was going to happen next. Carnal Knowledge- This film was okay. I liked the Jack Nicholson/Ann-Margret pairing and found their relationship more interesting than Candice Bergen and Art Garfunkle. I've seen other Mike Nichols films that I liked better than this one.

I also liked that as well. From many other accounts I've read, Bette Davis could be difficult to work with. It's nice to hear that she was nice to newcomers like Reynolds and stick up for people. Bette Davis is one of my favorites, she can do wrong for me, but it is nice to hear that she could be generous when she wanted to be.