speedracer5

Thanks for the tip! I'll check it out. I've seen many incarnations of Dumas' story, so it'll be interesting to see Lester's take.

While I do like Grace Kelly, I don't know if she would have been able to be fun and carefree like Audrey's Princess. Kelly always seems to project a stiff, ice queen image. I've only seen her in a few films though, maybe I haven't seen Kelly's lighter side. Don't get me wrong though, I like Kelly in her films. While I don't think she has the range like say Barbara Stanwyck, I've found that Grace Kelly kind of grows on me throughout whatever film of hers I'm watching.

I think most of my favorite stars made films during the pre-code and then continued onto further success in the production code era. For this question, I think I'm gonna go with people who reached the peak of their fame during this time period. ACTRESS Jean Harlow Carole Lombard Joan Blondell ACTOR Edward G. Robinson William Powell The Marx Brothers

Hmm... This is a very interesting question. Two sets of actors: Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau and Tony Randall & Jack Klugman provided memorable interpretations of Felix and Oscar. The actors' interpretations were very different, despite the basic character traits being the same. I agree that Randall's Felix was quite manic and high maintanence compared to Lemmon's. I think that Matthau and Klugman's Oscar was basically the same, except Klugman might have been a bit crabbier. The TV versions of the characters seem to be a little more exaggerated than the movie version. If multiple actors provided memorable and lasting performances of the same character, who owns it? I suppose it would depend on someone's personal preference. For me, while I like the actors in the film better, I thought the show was a little funnier. I guess I'd have to declare it a draw.

I cannot. Audrey owns Princess Anne in Roman Holiday. Talk about landing a great first time leading role! While I am not normally a huge Gregory Peck fan (I don't dislike him, but don't actively seek him out), I thought they were great together. I loved the amount of joy and spunk that Audrey brought to her character. She lit up the screen. In fact, Audrey's charm makes her irreplaceable in many of her films. She owns her roles in Sabrina (I'll forget that the '95 remake happened), Funny Face and Charade. I know that I stated that Audrey owns Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys, because her image in that film is so iconic, it's hard to imagine anyone else in that role... I'm not sure if I can say the same about her role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. While I know the image of Eliza in the gown she wears to the ball is iconic and one of Audrey's most memorable looks (well the beaded gown and the Ascot dress), I don't know if I can say she "owns" Eliza Doolittle. I honestly think Julie Andrews reprising her Broadway role would have been a better option.

Agreed. I can't picture anyone but Jean Hagen as Lina. She was amazing. I also find it very interesting that in the scene where Debbie Reynolds is recording the track for Hagen to lip sync to, it's actually Jean Hagen dubbing Debbie Reynolds dubbing Jean Hagen, so when Lina is lip syncing, it's really just Jean Hagen singing. I found it fascinating that someone with such a beautiful speaking voice like Jean Hagen could create Lina's such obnoxiously shrill voice. I make more money than Calvin Coolidge... put together! That guy was hilarious. He's the one that goes "ZELDA!! AHHHH!"

At the risk of derailing the Robert Redford thread and turning it into the Faye Dunaway thread... I had only seen her in The Thomas Crown Affair (which despite the intriguing cast: Steve McQueen & Dunaway, I thought it was boring) and Mommie Dearest. I know this was a controversial film and it's ridiculously campy and over-the-top, but I found it hilarious. NO WIRE HANGERS EVER! What has really piqued my interest in her was her performance in Network. I just saw the film for the first time a few months ago when it was one of The Essentials. I loved it. While it was shocking at first to see my dreamboat William Holden looking so much older than I was accustomed, I got over it and found the film enjoyable. While it's definitely not a feel good film, I thought Dunaway's character was fascinating. She was ruthless. I absolutely loved this film and hope to procure my own copy when I find it. I hope TCM continues to feature more of Dunaway... and Redford!

I'm very happy about this selection. I really like Robert Redford. I'll admit that I don't find him as much of a "dreamboat" that others do. I'm not trying to say that he's unattractive, I just don't go for blonde/blue eye guys. For me, there isn't the eye candy factor, I just like his films and look forward to seeing more of him this month on TCM. While I love films from the 30s-50s, I've found myself getting into the 60s-70s films more recently. While they're definitely different than the Golden Era films, I love the grittiness of this era of filmmaking. I'm happy that TCM made this selection. I have also found it interesting to see Golden Era stars in films from this era. It's interesting to see them adapt to the changing movie scene. Hearing William Holden use profanity and have a sex scene in Network was quite interesting, it was kind of jarring at first. Anyway, back to Redford. I saw him in one of his earliest films, Inside Daisy Clover with Natalie Wood. While I can't say I was a big fan of the film, I did like the Redford/Wood pairing. I am looking forward to seeing him in their other film together, This Property is Condemned. I think the film is on Instant Streaming on Netflix however. I've wanted to see him with Jane Fonda in Barefoot in the Park (which was on Netflix Instant too, but I missed it). I really liked Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but I think his second effort with Newman, The Sting, is my favorite. I've also seen The Natural which I remember liking. It looks like Jan 20 is the night of Redford's romance films. I'd like to see Out of Africa, I've never seen it before. How is his and Mia Farrow's version of The Great Gatsby? I'm a big fan of the book. Do they stay loyal to the source material? I'd also like to see his two political films: The Candidate and All the President's Men. Three Days of Condor looks good too. I've just discovered Faye Dunaway (well I knew who she was, just hadn't seen much of her work) and would like to see more of her films. I was reading about The Electric Horseman, it sounded good. It's a shame that it doesn't seem to be part of the star of the month tribute.

This might be a controversial opinion, but I'm going to go with Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys. I know that Truman Capote originally wanted Marilyn Monroe and was upset with the casting of Hepburn. While Monroe would probably make a more believable escort than Hepburn, I think Hepburn brings something to the role. Something that I don't know that Monroe would be able to replicate. Hepburn's charm makes Golightly a more likeable character, not just a woman who takes $50 from men for "trips to the powder room." While Monroe definitely has charm, her persona would have completely changed the Golightly character--even if she used the identical script that Hepburn did. Hepburn herself didn't think she was right for the role, she stated it was very challenging for her, an introvert, to play an extrovert. Despite Capote and Hepburn's misgivings, I cannot imagine anyone else but Audrey as Holly Golightly. Her image in this film is iconic. It's hard to say whether or not another actress in the role would have achieved the same iconic status as Hepburn did in her little black dress.

Thank you very much Primos, I appreciate your kind words. While I can't take credit for the idea (that goes to Darkblue), I'm always trying to think of new topic ideas. While I haven't been around the boards since Day 1, I try to think outside the usual "What's your favorite movie?" box. Completely agree with you re: William Powell and Myrna Loy. It's almost impossible to think of them in films without one another. Fortunately, they made like 14 movies together, so there are a lot of opportunities to see them together. I think I've seen almost all of them, except for The Great Ziegfeld. I cannot think of anyone else but Powell and Loy as Nick and Nora. I haven't seen anything featuring the Philo Vance character. Is he like Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe?

I've heard about the Thin Man remake. A while ago, Johnny Depp was rumored to be taking on Nick Charles, but I heard that there were some production issues and that the project was on hold. I don't know if anyone was named for the Nora role. I agree though, nobody but William Powell and Myrna Loy could properly play Nick and Nora. Their onscreen chemistry is off the charts. I think Bogart's Sam Spade is the ultimate portrayal of the hard-nosed Dashiell Hammett detective. His take on the classic film noir detective set up the cliche film detective role.

Agreed. Connery is the ultimate James Bond. This might be blasphemy, but I don't know if I've ever actually seen Connery's Bond films... or really any of the Bonds up to Pierce Brosnan. I have seen the Brosnan and Daniel Craig ones. I believe that Netflix has just added Connery's Bond films to Instant Streaming, so I guess I have some work to do.

Quite an interesting conversation you're having with yourself Nipkow... While I do agree that William Shatner is the definitive Captain Kirk, I'll have to disagree with yet another jab at the Millenials. We're not all bad. Shatner, Nimoy, Takei... They're all the definitive actors in their respective roles. The recent films have nothing on the original series and films. It's a shame that Shatner's ego prevented him from being able to secure more roles whether in television or film. We know that his music career wasn't going anywhere... I'm. a. Rocket. Man.

Wow! What a great story! Well... except for Finch's bad luck... that part is not so great. I would love to be an extra. Except I think my "dream" extra job, would be being a seat filler at the Oscars.

I agree. Especially if there are a ton of people who work for you that will now be out of work as a result of your decision to end the show.

Agreed. I Love Lucy also wasn't canceled. Lucy and Desi were tired of the weekly grind of a weekly series, running their studio, and everything else. They wanted to reduce their series to hour-long specials through their Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse series. The hour-long I Love Lucy (aka The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour) episodes were never able to replicate the magic of the original series. Lucy and Desi's divorce in 1960 spelled the end of the Ricardos and Mertzes. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was also another show that was not canceled. Mary Tyler Moore and the other head staff members mutually decided that they'd told all the stories they could tell about the WGM gang and called it a day. The Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy and Seinfeld are the only three shows to end their runs being the #1 show on TV.

Thanks. I think what makes Perkins' portrayal so memorable is how he comes across as harmless. He doesn't look like your typical creeper. He isn't super tall, he doesn't have an intimidating build. He is average height and thin. He doesn't have any scars or other types of disfigurement. He doesn't have a scary voice, bad teeth, or any other features that would indicate villain. Hitchcock's choice to change Norman Bates' appearance was brilliant, because it makes Perkins even creepier. It makes sense that Janet Leigh wouldn't think anything of him. He's good looking, friendly and approachable. He only comes across as a little anxious. He is also strangely intense, which I think is some foreshadowing that all is not right with Norman Bates. He isn't just your average small town motel proprietor. His nice guy w/ a mommy complex was amazing. His best line, in my opinion, is at the end when he's in jail: A boy's best friend is his mother. So creepy when in context of this film.

Agreed. That's the whole point in getting the shows on DVD so that you can have uncut, complete episodes with no commercials. Hopefully Rhoda and other Shout shows will get the DVD release they deserve. I have to imagine that CBS or whomever bought MTM's company has complete copies of their shows.

I always figured Mary and Rhoda were "getting some" during their respective dates. I picked up on the subtle references.There's an episode where Mary came home from her date with "Andy" and it looked like she was heading toward getting lucky and then Murray shows up, much to Mary's annoyance. There are quite a few episodes where Mary brings home dates only to have her co-workers and friends show up. Poor Mary, she never had the nerve to tell these people to go home, she's busy! That's interesting about the scene of Mary and Rhoda at the airport. I always thought it was kind of weird that Rhoda just kind of disappears during The Mary Tyler Moore Show, there's no "goodbye Rhoda" episode. It's just casually mentioned starting season 5 that Rhoda is in New York now. During one of the season five episodes, Mary and Georgette are wrapping gifts to take to Rhoda's wedding. At the end of the episode, Lou and Murray drive Mary and Georgette to the airport. This scene between Mary and Rhoda in the first episode of Rhoda makes sense as to why it wouldn't be mentioned in TMTMS.

I'll admit that I'm only familiar with Ethel Merman through There's No Business Like Show Business, but she seems the type who probably blew people away on Broadway, but seemed to have trouble adjusting her performance to the confines of film. I have a feeling that if she were in Gypsy instead of Russell, she would have made Mama Rose way too over the top and make her unlikeable. With Russell, while she is pretty outrageous, she is able to make it believable that Mama Rose is only trying to help her daughters and wants them to be successful--even though she seems oblivious to the fact that they're outgrowing their personas. I don't remember if Mama Rose herself had a failed stage career and was trying to live vicariously through her daughters or whether she just really wanted them to be successful. The last scene where it shows Mama Rose on stage alone, I think really brought her back down to Earth.

Lol. I guess if you wanted to go for the more literal answer to the question Though in Russell's case in Gypsy, she was fantastic in that role--the ultimate stage mother. I've always enjoyed her performances. I think she owns all her roles, including her most famous "Auntie Mame." As much as I love Lucille Ball, I do not think she is as good a Mame as Rosalind was. She was made for that role, it's a shame she didn't win the Oscar.

Thanks Primos. It was actually Darkblue's question that he brought up in a different thread, but I thought I would take it and start this thread. I agree about Cary Grant--even though, in many of his films he seems to play the same guy for the most part, but he plays it well. I would say his ultimate performance is The Awful Truth. I think Bette Davis owns Baby Jane Hudson. Nobody would be able to bring that level of batshit crazy to a role. I also can't imagine anyone else as Norman Bates other than Anthony Perkins. Vince Vaughn could not even begin to compete with Perkins' portrayal.

I was thinking of Finch's performance in Network too. There are some days when I just want to yell "I'm mad as hell and can't take it anymore!" too. I know this movie is rather bleak, but I really enjoyed it. I would also say that Faye Dunaway's performance was fantastic as well.

I'd have to agree. While I'm not as familiar with the 30s monster films, I'd have to say that Karloff and Lugosi are the most definitive interpretations. Lugosi definitely brings the spooky quality required in Dracula. Lugosi's accent definitely aided in his portrayal. What did you think of Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula? Though, I love Peter Boyle's Frankenstein monster in Young Frankenstein, or Fred Gwynne's in The Munsters (ok, I know it's TV), but recognize that those are a different type of interpretation.

There's always the episode of The Simpsons when Bart and Lisa, tired of the declining quality of "The Itchy and Scratchy Show" decide to write their own episode. The episode, which takes place in a barbershop depicts Itchy (the mouse) cutting Scratchy's (the cat) hair. Itchy ends up pouring a box of flesh-eating ants on Scratchy's head, reducing it to a skull. Itchy raises the barber chair up and up, sending Scratchy's head through the ceiling and through Elvis's (who apparently lives above Itchy's barbershop) TV. Elvis says "Eh, this show a'int no good" and shoots Scratchy's skull through his TV screen. This gag was produced in the 90s during all the "Elvis is still alive" rumors that were floating around.