UncleWoody

The one behind Jimmy Stewart.

MissGoddess, As I said, I never met him, and I have never seen any photos, but from what I remember from "Eskimo", I would say he is he one in the upper left, that's our upper left, of your photo, the rugged-looking, husky guy, not the balding one. As to "The Man Who Never Was", I think you might have it confused with "The Man Who Knew Too Much" I have been watching the TCM schedule, and I don't think I would have missed it. I do stand corrected though, it is in the TCM catalog, but it is not presently scheduled for showing. I'll be kicking myself for the next month if it has been shown and I missed it, but I'll keep looking. Message was edited by: UncleWoody

MissGoddess: Glad to be aboard. Both "Eskimo" and "Trader Horn" have been shown on TCM within the past couple of years. With luck, they will be played again. Perhaps if you 'suggest a movie', your input might achieve positive results. In addition to directing, Uncle Woody also played the part of Inspector White in "Eskimo".. Of Uncle Woody's films, I think "Rose Marie", "San Francisco", "The Thin Man", and "Tarzan the Ape Man", with "Rose Marie" holding a slight lead, are my favorites. I remember seeing all of these as a child (born 1929), Don't tell Uncle Woody this, but I think my one, favorite, all-time movie (not one of his, and apparently not in TCM's vaiult) is "The Man Who Never Was". It was about a British ruse to mislead Hitler into believing Churchill had died in a plane crash near Gibraltar. From my recollection of WW-II, it never really happened, but I like the premise.

Without question, my favorite director was "One-Take Woody", Woodbridge (Woody) Strong Van Dyke. He was my uncle, and I was named after him. No other director can make that claim. I never met him, but his wife (Zina Van Dyke) would send us a gift box of candied fruit from California every Christmas. He was best known for his films from 1928 through 1942, when he committed suicide, but he also directed over 40 silents between 1917 and 1928, many if which were westerns. I have recorded about 25 of his films from TCM, and am gradually trying to get them all onto DVDs. I especially enjoy the Thin Man movies and the Nelson Eddy/Jeannette MacDonald matchups. It really surprises me a bit to see so many people keeping up with his work, and I shall look forward to reading future comments on this message board. I'm quite new to this message board stuff, so I will apologize in advance if I'm a bit lacking on the accepted protocol. I usually go simply by Woody, but I thought the UncleWoody would be a good moniker.