kingrat

I'm officially GUN CRAZY crazy and think this film is as terrific as ChiO says. My pleasure in Peggy Cummins' performance is augmented by her resemblance in face and especially voice to Judy Garland. Could anyone else see this as a perverse Andy Hardy film? John Dall sounds remarkably like Richard Chamberlain, another actor who of a similar type could have played a mid-60s version of this film. Although not everyone loves Cummins and Dall in these roles, I don't think any other performers could have been better. Lewis and Godard: There's a famous shot in BREATHLESS where the camera stays in the car while the conversation occurs unheard at some remove. That seems to be based on the bank robbery scene in GUN CRAZY. Similarly, there are enough "back of the head" shots in GUN CRAZY to make me wonder if the bar scene in VIVRE SA VIE where Godard films only the back of the heads was also influenced by Lewis. The difference in both cases is that Godard makes an interesting or at least different aesthetic choice which calls a great deal of attention to itself, whereas the Lewis shots serve expressive and emotional functions as well. I hope TCM will show THE BIG COMBO soon. The other Lewis films I've seen are all over the place. GUN CRAZY is a masterpiece; MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS is entertaining, though to me less interesting than, say, John Brahm's THE LOCKET; TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN sags badly in the middle, where the hero has to find out exactly what the audience already knows, and the first 30 or 40 minutes of SO DARK THE NIGHT were more like SO DULL THE FILM, with so little to hold my interest that I gave up on it.

Thanks for mentioning Rae Dawn Chong, for that reminds me of a terrific film from the 80s: CHOOSE ME (1984). Alan Rudolph's film from the next year, TROUBLE IN MIND, also has its moments, but the criss-crossing characters of CHOOSE ME are a special offbeat group. A reviewer on amazon.com mentions loving this film and two great films of the 90s, Egoyan's EXOTICA and Kieslowski's BLUE, and I, too, am crazy about all three of those films. Another superb, moving, and troubling film from the 80s is Michael Apted's documentary 28 UP. I've enjoyed all of the continuing sequence of films, but this one is the best, since most of the continuing subjects were still involved in the project. Imagine dropping in every seven years on a group of people from different social classes whom you first met at age seven. Even if you don't usually like documentaries, you might be fascinated by this one.

Wow, people have suggested they don't love love love THE RAGING BULL and E.T. and the world hasn't come to an end. Here's another vote for AFTER HOURS. It and THE AGE OF INNOCENCE are probably my favorite Scorsese films, which may mean I'm not really on his wavelength. The good thing about putting THE ONION FIELD in the wrong decade is that I already have one movie on my list of underrated 1970s films. But meanwhile, let's continue to dish (or is that diss?) the 80s. Some people took RISKY BUSINESS as a serious statement about capitalism (or something). I was not one of them. SIXTEEN CANDLES was also overrated. Now if Molly Ringwald had suddenly had a crush on nerdy Anthony Michael Hall or the wacky Korean exchange student, I'd have liked the film better. The hot senior turns out to be Mr. Sensitive? I ain't buying it.

Good topic, Skimpole. Underrated films of the 80s: TCM recently showed one, THE ONION FIELD. Too bad there's been no discussion of this fine film. EXPERIENCE PREFERRED...BUT NOT ESSENTIAL: Wonderful British comedy. ALMOST YOU: A fine American comedy, with good work by Griffin Dunne and Brooke Adams. ST. ELMO'S FIRE: Flawed but underrated. Good actors and some good scenes. Overrated: REDS. Had it won the Oscar for best film, everyone would call it the kind of bloated behemoth that wins Oscars. E.T.: OK film, but rather crassly manipulative. Stealing a scene from PETER PAN (death of Tinker Bell) doesn't help. RAIN MAN: I like this well enough, but the underrated DOMINICK AND EUGENE is a better film.

Carvel, you've practically put together a programming challenge just with different kinds of train films.

Some other train movies: LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN - Cornel Wilde meets Gene Tierney in a glamorous blue-decorated train carriage. THE HUCKSTERS - Ava Gardner and Clark Gable take the transcontinental train. TWENTIETH CENTURY - Much comedy on a train. Also THE PALM BEACH STORY and MY LITTLE CHICKADEE. RETURN FROM THE ASHES - opens with a stunning, unforgettable scene on a train. Others that come to mind: THE DARJEELING LIMITED, SILVER STREAK, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. Then there are the Western movies with important scenes on trains, like MAN OF THE WEST, THE PROFESSIONALS, BITE THE BULLET.

A couple of premieres no one has mentioned yet: THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT, starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones BILLY BUDD, with Terence Stamp, Peter Ustinov, and Robert Ryan Several people have asked for more Hayley Mills films, and THE FAMILY WAY will be shown in October. Let's hope that LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN will be the gorgeous restoration shown at the film festival in April. I've been curious about THE GUILT OF JANET AMES, a film extensively discussed by Jeanine Basinger in her excellent book on women's films.

SueSue, this forum is so much fun. If anyone has a picture of the Viking princess in THE LONG SHIPS, you'll have proof that the Vikings not only discovered America before Columbus, they were using hairspray back then, too.

Thanks for starting this thread. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is a heartbreaking film. The novel is high comedy with tragic overtones, but the film switches the emphasis and gives us a deeper experience: tragedy with comic overtones. The scene where Emma Thompson catches Anthony Hopkins reading a book is the high point of the film, with Hopkins conveying shame better than I've ever seen it done elsewhere, and all because . . . if you've seen the film and respond to it, this scene will break your heart. HOWARDS END is excellent, too, and HEAT AND DUST is another favorite.

Filmlover! The covers are fabulous. What a great star picture of Jean Simmons.

Junior Bonner. The title character behaves like a frozen-in-adolescence Adam Sandlerish dork, even if he's played by Steve McQueen and even if the screenwriter and the director think he's a hero. He's an idiot for what he does with the prize money. Skimpole, I don't agree about The Big Chill. I think the film quite successfully maintains an ironic distance from the group of friends. I don't find Cary Grant very likable in Only Angels Have Wings, and doubt that bachelorette Jean Arthur will find much happiness with him. A number of us agreed that Paulette Goddard makes a huge mistake at the end of Kitty by believing in Ray Milland's conversion to good guy. We weren't buying it.

This was a very tough decision, with seven other challengers, all with outstanding schedules. Rdmtimp did a great job for anyone, let alone a first-time competitor. Sansfin's choice of Camelot and Lonesome Polecat's choice of his hometown, Arcadia, CA rocked the "Town" part of the challenge. Fedya's wit amazes me every time. Capuchin has a deep knowledge of the classic film that I can only aspire to. Audreyforever always has good ideas that could easily fit into the TCM listings. However, I finally had to choose the schedule maker who seemed the "toniest": Countess Delave.

It didn't exactly hurt James Dean's career that for a time he lived with Rogers Brackett, who was in charge of casting NBC's radio shows. At least one biography of Dean, BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS, portrays Dean as basically gay but with occasional opposite sex encounters. That biographer sees the famous romance with Pier Angeli as primarily window dressing.

No one has mentioned the superb score by David Raksin. One of his best. Dennis Hopper as a young innocent with a nervous laugh, and it really works. I'd never have imagined it. The ending does let the film down. Something very important happens offstage, as it were. Curtis Harrington's direction is excellent, setting and sustaining the right mood. Night Tide is another film about an innocent young man preferring the strange, interesting, possibly dangerous woman to the nice girl next door. You could draw comparisons to Raintree County and even to Till the End of Time. Not that anyone on these boards would notice, but was Dennis Hopper wearing trousers about two sizes too small? Night Tide would make a great "young men in tight pants" doubleheader with Cocteau's Orpheus.

A number of people will be very happy that ABOUT MRS. LESLIE is on the schedule.

Next time we hope filmlover, lzcutter, Kyle in Hollywood, CineMaven, normadesmond, and our host movieman1957 will wow us with their schedules as they always have in the past. We miss having you guys in the challenge! Fedya, I always look forward to your wit and creativity. Another fun schedule.

Thanks, wouldbestar, for mentioning the CHECKMATE thread I started in Hot Topics, which also belongs here. Finally both seasons (1960-1962), all 70 episodes, will be released on DVD on June 22. Deepdiscount.com has this on sale for less than $60, which is less than a dollar per episode. Many classic era stars appeared in this detective series. Google "Checkmate" and "Anthony George" and one of the top responses leads to a site with episode by episode casts. It's jaw-dropping. CHECKMATE was about a San Francisco detective agency and starred Anthony George (tall, dark, and handsome), Doug McClure (young, blond, and handsome) and Sebastian Cabot. Does anyone else remember this fondly or have you seen episodes of it?

Guy Kibbee was in GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 with Aline MacMahon Aline MacMahon was in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE with James Stewart James Stewart was in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY with Cary Grant Cary Grant was in THE AWFUL TRUTH with Ralph Bellamy Ralph Bellamy was in PRETTY WOMAN with Julia Roberts Julia Roberts was in (yuck) OCEAN'S TWELVE with Bruce Willis next: Andrea Leeds to Yvette Mimieux

Countess, your schedule is so much fun and is full of witty surprises. The Ziegfeld Girl films and the Dorothy Provine Memorial School for Flappers should go directly to the TCM schedule. Would love to see Diary of a Lost Girl. The play on "Which twin has the Toni?" is delightful for everyone who remembers that series of commercials. Speaking of which, Big Hair is another cool theme. Gambit is a charming film I'd like to see again. I also liked some other film on your schedule . . . something to do with a rat.

Deepdiscount.com has the 25-film Kurosawa box on sale for $244.19. This won't last long.

Arturo, I love your posts! APOCALYPSE NOW, VOYAGER Robert Duvall lights two Viet Cong villages, one for himself, one for Bette Davis. When he wants to make love, she says, "Let's not ask for the moon. We have the smell of napalm in the morning."

Adaptations of novels and adaptations of plays are very different animals. Plays present interesting problems. How do you keep the concentration of a play while not letting the material feel stagebound? Wyler's The Letter (1940), as some of you have mentioned, does a great job of this. Those two amazing camera movements at the beginning of the film, which end with Bette Davis shooting her lover, give us something no play could provide. Some other successful play to film translations which haven't been mentioned yet: La Cage aux Folles Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) The Night of the Iguana

Helenbaby, you're not alone. While I like GoodFellas well enough and would happily give it, say, three stars out of four, I've never understood the great enthusiasm some people have for it. I'm glad Ray Liotta had his moment. Pesci's a one-trick pony who wears out his welcome by the end of the film. Actually, I prefer Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob to GoodFellas.

MissW, I'm currently reading Lee Server's biography of Mitchum (very enjoyable), which does address the subject. Mitchum was an excellent mimic, and like many of his contemporaries, enjoyed ethnic jokes of all varieties. He was known to tell "Rastus" jokes in the voice of Stepin Fechit, for instance. While this would be politically incorrect today, there was probably no malicious intent. It's apparently true that Mitchum's political views drifted toward the right as he grew older. However, he was never a very systematic political thinker. He was more likely to make friends with the workers on the set than the powers that be, and unlike many stars he did not put on diva airs. Mitchum was also a great fan of jazz musicians, many of whom were African-American.

t occurs to me that KING RAT--thank you, TCM, for showing this fine film again!--would make an excellent choice for the 2011 TCM Film Festival. Stars George Segal, Tom Courtenay, and James Fox are all alive, as are director Bryan Forbes and his wife Nanette Newman.