JonnyGeetar

> {quote:title=cujas wrote:}{quote} > I have the dvd of *And Then There Were None*--I have no problems with it. Do you know of a better version? No- in fact, quite the opposite. There's one remake in particular, I think Herbert Lom is in it, that is regarded as really awful. The Rene Clair version is probably the best, and I LOVE a lot of his other movies, so I don't fault him...There's just too much (bad) comedy in the '45 version and the way the characters act as people keep dropping off one by one is not realistic in the least (to me.) Plus I have issues with Barry Fitzgerald and Judith Anderson is (as was too often the case) sadly underused. The sets are a little drab too, and I like the original (grim) ending better, and Mischa Auer (sic?) dies too soon. But it's far from my favorite Christie anyway... But more on topic- God, I miss Tomorrow: The World with Frederic March and Billy the Wunder-Nazi. Best comedy of the 1940's hands down, and they didn't even show it when March was (rather unnecessarily, I felt) SOTM.

> {quote:title=FredCDobbs wrote:}{quote} > What ever happened to And Then There Were None? > Presuming you mean the 1945 film with Walter Huston and (a badly miscast) Barry Fitzgerald, it's in the Public Domain and can be seen in its entirety on youtube...but it's not very good. Considering how much TCM is loving the PD these days, I'm surprised it hasn't been on... Night of the Living Dead anyone?

the more films of tod browning's that i see- the less i have to say that i admire of him as a director. i ADORE freaks but i think the real stars are the screenplay and, well, the freaks. Along the topic of Browning: I (like most) have mixed feelings on mark of the vampire . Sets, mood, music, atmosphere- all top notch, and it has the best horror trailer ever (also can be seen on youtube). Makes me wish MGM had done more horror films, but the script stinks like crap and the whole thing makes no sense in the end, i still daresay Lugosi gives one of his finest performances in the last two minutes of the film. the more films of Browning's that I see, the more I feel like he tended to be asleep at the wheel- not really giving a crap what he was doing and not caring that he cheats the audience out of potential thrills (certainly the case with Dracula which, while I have seen it umpteen thousand times, is one of the biggest cinematic let-downs of all time, it is a film that is made memorable by the actors, and little else.) my beef with Dracula's Daughter is the lack of Lugosi, one of the biggest "what the hells?" in movie history. wish James Whale had directred it (as originally intended, but his take was considered too outrageous.) it is profiled quite well in the celluloid closet which you can see in its entirety on youtube. oh, and you can also watch the return of the vampire (1944) on youtube, a critic (i know not who) once said, "it is a shame that Lugosi, the definitive screen vampire, never appeared in the definitive vampire film." sadly, so true.

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > The people on these boards probably represent the top 2%, in terms of knowledge of film history, of all potential viewers. The series is directed at those with an interest in learning more about film history, but somewhat less knowledge than the people on these boards. I don't know that I'd give all of us posting that much credit...But thanks. I still gots to beef that everything in the MAMS doc has been said before, in many cases numerous times, in many other documentaries...Which makes me wish that TCM would work some of said docs into their schedule as opposed to spending good money to produce a rather superfluous and bloated rehash... Or maybe they could use the dough to show something other than the 120 titles they seem to put into heavy rotation 24-7. Oh look: The Devil and Miss Jones is on..,.again. ps- I like The Devil and Miss Jones

> {quote:title=Swithin wrote:}{quote} > Don't forget *Dracula's Daughter*, it's one of the greats! > > JonnyGeetar, where can I find *The Mystery of Edwin Drood* online? Despite what seems like a link to the 1935 film, I see only high school productions and YouTube videos related to the later musical. The film is great -- I've been waiting to see it again for years! (I particularly love Zeffie Tilbury as the Opium Woman). Go to youtube.com and type in "mystery of edwin drood 1935" and it should come up. It is, I believe in nine parts (maybe less) and the print and sound are good. I just watched it a few nights ago. (as a hint, if you are looking to view old movies in full on youtube it's wiser to tack on the year they were made or the headlining star, i don't entirely know why.) Dracula's Daughter is, for some reason, one of the rare titles you cannot view at all but (forgive me) in my humble opinion it sucks something awful (no vampire puns intended.) You can however watch Mark of the Vampire (1935) in its entirety without having to repeatedly click and with no commercials. (I think the original Black Christmas is also available, but it was really bad so I never finished it.) ps- as much as I adore Lugosi and despise Carlos Villarejas, the Spanish Dracula really is much better, isn't it? Edited by: JonnyGeetar on Dec 13, 2010 10:15 AM

YOU CAN WATCH ALL OF THE FOLLOWING FREE AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY ON YOUTUBE: Dracula (1931 version, Spanish Version and the unfortunate Langella version); Frankenstein (1931) and ALL four sequels leading up to House of Frankenstein as well as The Wolfman , Werewolf of London and The Old Dark House oh and The Mystery of Edwin Drood and White Zombie and any number of DVD- "making of" extra docs for almost all the above. youtube.com is where it's at, baby.

The information that John Wayne was never in a real war is about as revelatory as the fact that Harry Cohn was (shudder!) not Mr. Congeniality. I have to admit that I have something of a larger issue with the moguls and moviestars doc which is: _IT HAS NOTHING NEW TO SAY PERIOD._ and sadly, it seems, very few people left to say much at all. I've not seen all of every episode, but what I have watched seems to be a lukewarm rehash of old, old, old info which us Classic Film freaks so already know: OIivia DeHavilland's lawsuit with WB, Cary Grant's insecurity, the whole damn Joan Crawford re-invention in Mildred Pierce thing and Jack Warner's usurping Hal Wallis' Oscar for Casablanca Yawn. We know. Give us something new. All this plus the tired Chuck-and-Dottie-Workman-like snippets of films played out of sequence to maudlin music and sepia-tinted footage...I just wondered why they bothered. There. I said it.

....in the scene near the end, where Sam Jaffe tosses the wad of nickels at the kindertramp and she shakes her dinners for him. It sounds like Count Basie or Ellington, or was it part of the score by Rosa?

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! I would put Them on a list of the ten best films of the 1950's. I'm not too in to sci-fi, but it works in so many ways. I even prefer it to Invasion of the Body Snatchers James Whitmore's death at the end of the film is one of the most shocking and tragic demises I can think of in a film. It makes up for all the Roger Corman/ Bert I. Gordon/ Japanese made CRAP ever made.

> {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote}I take it you are watching the Academy do it's thing, and not tuning into TCM. When I saw The Big Knife on the schedule, I thought "how kind and gracious not to be programming seriously." Neither. Prolly' watching Rifftrax Planet of Dinosaurs after The Oscar is done (although I may check out before the end, I'm not as "in" to it as I thought I'd be.) I may check in on The Big Knife halfway to see if Steiger is as bad as I recall IN RE to The Legend Of Lylah Clare, TCM drags it out every now and then, it's worth watching (mouth agape the entire time) but I warn you: STAY AWAY FROM SHARP OBJECTS AND DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY EQUIPMENT FOR AT LAST 48 HOURS AFTER VIEWING IS COMPLETE.

as a director, Aldrich is just all over the damn place. while the big knife is one of my least favorite films of the 50's, kiss me deadly is one of my faves. baby jane is good, dirty dozen and longest yard are good (who would've guessed the same guy did all these?) autumn leaves is so-so, sweet charlotte is terrible (to me) and the legend of lylah clare is one of the most mind-numbingly (yet complellingly) AWFUL movies EVER made.

There are very few classic movies that I would say I out-and-out-HATE...I usually say "I didn't care for/buy such and such" or "I kinda' think that was overrated." That said: I HATE The Big Knife Lupino and Palance are fine, but Steiger is HORRENDOUS...There is one scene where he ACTS! with teeth barred and arm extended, fingers curled like talons- the perfect photo for the Webster's Dictionary entry for "Hamola." And how many movies center around KILLING SHELLEY WINTERS in some way or another? I really dislike Odets' morose, clunky, overly-acerbic work ( Golden Boy ; Humoresque ; None But The Lonely Heart ) but this is _especially_ bad as he turns around and bites the very hand that allowed him to make said pretentious clunkers in the first place. Big Knife may actually be my least favorite "classic"movie of all time.

THE IMDB TRIVIA SECTION FOR THIS MOVIE IS A GOLDMINE! (it also answers some of your speculations) GO NOW!

right. but what was his beef with the Catholics? (and what was theirs with Imitation ?)

Astor is the best Marmee, but that's the _only_ decent thing about the 1949 version.

SICK LADY ON PLANE: (suppressing vomit) "Oh God, I haven't felt this awful since we sat through that entire Ronald Reagan movie...."

i'm sure it's good as all about all about eve is much more fun than the movie... just curious, did the Catholic church have some issues with the movie back then or something? (i don't see what there was to possibly be offended about.)

> {quote:title=LonesomePolecat wrote:}{quote} > The one I can't get over is The Greatest Show On Earth, and I'll never get over that one. Then again, I hate the circus, so that could be why. Watching right now. God, how I wish that damn harness holding Betty Hutton up would snap and in she would plummet into the lion cage...

> {quote:title=casablancalover wrote:}{quote} > I think the #1 reason the AMPAS gets it wrong is The voting process is confined to members of that aspect of the movie-making process, with the exception of Best Picture. True, true, but I recall a discussion we had a week or two back about how unbelievably effin' stupid some of the snubs that had happened in the tech categories were (costume, editing, etc.) I don't know what's worse, the crap that wins or the great stuff that doesn't even get nominated. ps- you never unpacked your quote about Madonna and Evita for me.

(forgiveness is begged if this seems rude) I don't know, to me, this article didn't say anything I haven't read or heard from ten thousand others. It also cites all the usual suspects and duh-duh examples of egregious errors (if I hear one more person go on about How Green was my Valley edging out Citizen Kane ...) And it doesn't even broach the topic of the acting awards. (psst- not everyone thinks Schindler's List was all that, ditto Pulp Fiction ) The _real problem now_ is the erosion of trust that the public once (albeit rather foolishly) held that the AMPAS actually knew what the hell they were doing when they gave the damn things out, and the fact that some _royally dumb_ decisions and nominations and snubs (especially from 1996 on) has led to plenty of people (including me) just saying "eh, to hell with 'em." With this, comes the notable erosion of viewership and business done by the winners and nominees. Edited by: JonnyGeetar on Feb 28, 2010 12:41 PM

Has anyone ever figured out what the hell Jack Palance got nominated for in Shane ? He has five lines, maybe. Anyone? (I have a hard time with that one)

in regards to sorry, wrong number (SPOILERS INCLUDED!!!!!!!!) I still say i would not give Stanwyck the Oscar for this (I'd give it to her for any number of other films, mind you) because she dissappears for a good chunk in the last third (during the reveal about Lancaster's stealing) and (as aforementioned) it is really a slender idea fleshed out (somewhat desperately at times) into 90 minutes (there is a looooong shot of two Flamenco dancers in the scene where she calls Wendell Corey at the nightclub and it may as well blink the words "filler! filler!" across the bottom of the screen. i also don't buy the scene where Stanwyc is supposed to be playing a COLLEGE AGE girl, but a quick re-write could remedy that. does Ann Richards/Sally Hunt's BRITISH accent bother anyone else? especially as she is supposed to be from the same town as Burt Lancaster's character? as far as endings go, sorry, wrong number is the Queen Mother of hum-dingers. You always expect Stanwyck to come out in the end, even if she is a nasty ****, because she's Barbra Stanwyck! Any other actress in this role and the film would not have the same stunning impact....Not Davis or Fontaine or Crawford or Kerr...I think only Babs could have done it and made it work the way it does. that said, ball of fire ? sure. indeminity ? absolutely! wrong number ? the nod was enough. Some of you who dig Stanwyck might like to check out The Furies on Criterion DVD. It's a great, tugh-as-nails later film of hers and Walter Huston's last. Edited by: JonnyGeetar on Feb 24, 2010 10:13 AM

> {quote:title=jamesjazzguitar wrote:}{quote} > I'm using The Academy Awards, A Pictorial History, so it is more pictures and the way it is layed out one it isn't easy to find info across years. > (author's note, my space bar is not cooperating at all) you should DEFINITELY check out Inside Oscar by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona. It is not only the best account of the Academy Awards, but the best year-by-year account of film I've ever read. It's thebestbook on film I haveever read PERIOD. at the end is a complete, concise list of all the noms ever, as well as points of interest. Itcovers 1927-94, when one of the authors died. Inside Oscar 2 is by the surviving author and covers 1995-very recently, but is much less objective and more vitriolic (which is kinda' fun in its own way) Edited by: JonnyGeetar on Feb 22, 2010 10:17 PM Edited by: JonnyGeetar on Feb 22, 2010 10:18 PM

wow. you spent a lot of time on that. is this the wrong place to note that North By Northwest was on again last night? (tee-hee, tee-hee)

> {quote:title=jamesjazzguitar wrote:}{quote} > I didn't go back far enough in the Oscar book I have. I'm going to have to watch Meet John Doe to make up for my mistake. Oh no! Don't inflict that kind of punishment on yourself! Kind of sort of kidding, despite great acting, John Doe is FAR from my favorite film. Although, had it and The Lady Eve been released in years other than 1941 (when Ball of Fire came out) Stanwyck would likely have had five or six noms. Is Inside Oscar your reference book? It's just the best. You also might want to look up an old, out-of-print book called ALTERNATE OSCARS by Danny Peary. He gives alternate awards for Pic, actor and actress from 1927-1991 and he is so dead on the money it's nuts. It may be availbale on amazon, I don't know. (My own copy fell apart years ago.) He gives Stanwyck two alternates for Ball of Fire and Double Indemnity