wouldbestar

It's on Encore Westerns now with Gunfight to follow and a replay at 3:00 AM. This is the first time I've caught them in a double-feature. Western Heaven!

Glenn, Noreen Corcoran, Dan Haggerty, and probably our own Fred C. Dobbs. Was everybody just waiting for the holidays to check out? All of these people were part of my life. I remember bringing home my first color TV in 1977 and getting it set up just in time for Grizzly Adams. Was that a feast for the eyes! Glenn's music and performances on Miami Vice and Wiseguy showed what a talent he was. We girls all dreamed of looking as good as Noreen in her Bachelor Father days. And Fred C. and I had our go-arounds on the Board but I learned a lot from him and he was always willing to share his photos and transcripts of newsworthy historical moments. if he really was Johann Rush, and I believe he was, I will miss him. RIP, one and all.

THE RAINS OF RAINCHIPUR is one of my favorite of Fred's films. I find Joan Caulfield and his romance much more interesting than Burton and Turner's. Watching Double Indemnity last night I was struck by Fred's resemblance to one of my favorite almost-stars, Don Megowan, who I was just watching on Cheyenne. Both men could play it good or bad and make us believe it either way. That Fred never even got an Oscar nomination is outrageous. That story that his daughter told about the irate fan smacking him with her purse after seeing him in The Apartment because she couldn't tell reel from real got me. Because she saw it he chose never to play negative characters again. I'm wondering how many great performances that woman cheated us all out of.

I muted most of Gervais's comments and concentrated on the awards and clothing. The rest of the bleeps were done by the show. What surprised me was that there was no memorial tribute. The Globes usually do a great job with them and I am puzzled as to why they left it out. Without many of these departed there might not be the industry that is giving the nominees/winners the chance to practice their craft. BOO! Last year it was J. K. Simmonds, this year Sylvester Stallone. The supporting actor category is turning into the most interesting one of late. The clothes were just so-so but maybe my taste doesn't match the current fashion style.

In The Iron Mistress Ms. Mayo was cast as a New Orleans aristocrat who is an elegant lady on the outside but has more action gong than the "pros" downtown. I thought she did quite well there. I've never thought she was miscast here. She is beautiful and haughty in the beginning, but shows her humanity during the epidemic, breaking down when the young man dies. I've wondered would a lady of that time have been so forward with a man, even if she loved him, but then would a man of action like Hornblower been attracted to a wimpy woman? That's the thing for me; he senses that she would want to share his love of adventure not be content to just pour tea and that's what he wants. My question is do we really think that people of privilege are all the "stiff upper lip" type who don't feel or act the same way as the rest of us? That's rather limiting I think.

I stumbled onto Career on Movies this week. A mid-50's film it starred Anthony Franciosa as a mid-westerner who leaves home for New York and stardom. Over ten or twelve years he experiences all that a person can trying to make it on stage or film. a marriage to a girl from back home fails because she can't take the poverty and uncertainty; when a director "friend" sells him out he marries his alcoholic girlfriend for spite, the Korean war and the HUAAC hearings finally seem to finish him off. Only his agent, who never says so but obviously loves him, doesn't give up on him. At the end he's back to being a waiter when he waits on his visiting first wife who finally understands him and encourages him to keep trying his acting. The friend who sold him out now needs him; he agrees to work in his latest production and finally gets his break and begins to realize his agent is the woman he needs. This is an honest depiction of show business for the 98% who never "make it" or only do later years of "paying dues." The character is mostly a nice guy except when he uses his second wife for revenge and to get on her father's-he's also in the business-good side. You want to see him make it. Dean Martin is the "friend" and he is good in an unsympathetic role. Shirley MacLaine is the second wife-her fourth marriage-who finally finds meaning in life when she marries Martin's character and has a family. Unfortunately, he is a lousy a husband as he is a friend. Franciosa is riveting every time he's on screen. I'm betting all of these people know others who, or might themselves have lived through some of the story. It's a cautionary tale for us "would be stars" who should perhaps ask ourselves if we won staying who we are.

The big bad A has struck again. Next year's list is already warming up. DAMN! Pat Harrington Jr., the Super on 'One Day at a Time,' Dies at 86 Pat Harrington Jr., who played the cocky superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the CBS sitcom One Day at a Time, has died. He was 86. Harrington, who won a Golden Globe in 1981 and an Emmy Award in 1984 for his work on the show, died Wednesday night in Los Angeles surrounded by his family, his daughters Tresa and Terry reported on Facebook. Their father had been suffering from Alzheimer's and recently had been hospitalized after a fall. One Day at a Time, which aired from December 1975 to May 1984, starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mom raising two teenage girls (Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli) in an apartment in Indianapolis. With his thin mustache, tool belt, blue vest and a pack of cigarettes in the rolled-up sleeve of his T-shirt, Harrington's Schneider often entered unannounced into the ladies' home and constantly stole scenes on the sitcom, which, befitting a Norman Lear production, explored "serious" issues. "He turned out to be the comic strength of the show," Lear once said. Schneider also was convinced women could not resist his charms. "You really think you're hot stuff," Franklin's Ann Romano said to him. "Let me put it this way," he replied. "The ladies in this building don't call me 'super' for nothing." In 2012, Harrington made his final onscreen appearance, appearing as the manager of an apartment building on Bertinelli's Hot in Cleveland. Harrington also played a nightclub friend of Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) who marries the entertainer's daughter, Terry (Penney Parker, who had replaced Sherry Jackson), on the 1959-60 season of The Danny Thomas Show, and he was District Attorney Charlie Gianetta on the 1970s ABC drama Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law. Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr. was born in New York City on Aug. 13, 1929, and attended La Salle Military Academy. His Montreal-born father was an actor who appeared in several Broadway plays, including the 1940s Cole Porter production Panama Hattie. His parents insisted he not enter show business. The younger Harrington graduated with a B.A. from Fordham University, where he majored in philosophy and government, then received a masters in political philosophy from the Bronx school in 1952. After a stint in the Air Force during the Korean War, Harrington sold ads for NBC. While regaling network staffers at a nearby watering hole with his impersonation of an Italian golfer, Harrington was spotted by Jonathan Winters, who at the time was a frequent guest host on Jack Paar's The Tonight Show. At Winters' invitation, Harrington appeared on the program as that comic character, **** Panzini, telling outrageous stories in broken English about his service on an Italian submarine during World War II. He went on to appear dozens of times as Panzini on Paar's program as well as on The Steve Allen Show during the comic's funny "Man on the Street" segments (which also featured Bill Dana, Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Louis Nye and others). Harrington worked opposite James Garner in the 1963 films The Wheeler Dealers and Move Over, Darling and also showed up on the big screen in Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) with Elvis Presley, The President's Analyst (1967) with James Coburn, 2000 Years Later (1969) with Terry-Thomas and The Candidate (1972) with Robert Redford. On television, Harrington appeared on many game shows and on such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flying Nun, F Troop, The Munsters, The Rookies, McMillan and Wife, The Wayans Bros., Murder, She Wrote and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'm glad they included his other series and film work. Schneider and D. A. Gianetta were as far apart as you could get and he played them both perfectly. I still remember the night he won his Emmy; that screak for joy that almost caused an earthquake out there was mine. May you RIP Sir, you've earned it. And thank you for making us laugh and cry.

Bring on the hit men! I admit that I liked the recent remake of True Grit over the 1969 version which will have all the John Wayne fans wanting my head. 1969 has a great Elmer Bernstein score and I can't begrudge JW finally getting an Oscar but the newer version looked much more like West Arkansas and Oklahoma and the country music was more authentic to the time and era. Jeff Bridges looked more like the derelict lawman Rooster Cogburn is supposed to be; had he not won the Oscar the year before I think he would have joined JW in winning for playing Rooster. Hallie Eisenberg was the right age for Mattie which gives her the edge over Kim Darby who was closer to 20 than 13. Finally the story stuck with the novel and it's bittersweet ending. The whole film had the aura of the time and place. It's the better of the two.

I had a similar experience with James Stewart who played a gunman turned doctor in a radio Western, The Six Shooter, in the early 50's. When I saw him on TV plugging a film on The Jack benny Program I was impressed that he was "making movies now". My laughing Mom and Grandma informed me he'd been doing it for 20 years, had an Oscar and was as big a star as you could get. Compared to the 30's and 40's It might have been the tail end of radio but there was still plenty of programing to entertain us until we got Grandma's old Crossley TV in '52. I also had no idea who Walter Brennan was until The Real McCoys. By the time Rio Bravo came out I'd learned he had three Oscars in as long a career as Stewart's.

They actually showed The Encounter, the controversial episode with Neville Brand and George Takei that wasn't aired for many years. It is very strong and unsettling; I will probably watch it again but am not certain I will after that. I'm not sure I got the intent of the story and don't understand why Arthur killed himself at the end unless it was part of Japanese custom. Since this episode, like all the others, were badly chopped to make way for repetitious commercials that might be the reason. At least I finally got to see it.

I'm watching "No Time Like the Past", the Twilight Zone episode that Dana Andrews starred in, which is the only one of the hour shows I really think is worth watching. The music, which is also in "The Long Morrow" is heartbreaking and Mr. Andrews is great in his role. Very nice photo. Although they did not look that much alike, brother Steve Forrest and he did have very similar voices as well as an abundance of talent. I liked both their work.

As usually happens on a week-end like this we get feast or famine" time; TTZ on one station and the original Death Valley Days on another. As the DVD are on for the first time in over 40 years they won over TTZ yesterday; I taped a batch of those and am watching them now as I don't find the hour-long ones that appealing. Tonight I'll tune into the rest of the 30-minute ones. For the record seeing Stanley "The Old Ranger" Andrews and those marvelous Ruth Woodman scripts again was worth the wait. TTZ will never be boring no matter how many times we see them.

Thank you for the Ray Mala bio; I had no idea who he was. What a life he poured into only 45 years! Martin Milner was Hollywood at its best. A class act human being he was a versatile actor who was able to turn his profession into a source of public service inspiring many people, including the current LA Chief, to become police officers. My Mom adored him; had I been his lucky lady I could have done no wrong in her eyes for life.

Oh, was this ever worth the wait! It was even better than I remembered. At first it seems like a tragic story; A young, beautiful, talented and caring woman dies at the start of a promising career leaving behind a grieving lover whose just realized his feelings. This sounds like a real downer. But then we begin to learn about who she was and what she wanted out of life for herself and those she loved back home. Her death starts a chain reaction that surpasses even her hopes. The title is misleading. It's not just one "faux" miracle but thousands of them that transform people inside no matter their beliefs. This is why it can appeal to religious and non-religious alike. Okay, maybe the storyline's a bit too pat but it's enjoyable anyway. Frank is very believable as the committed young priest. I loved how he stood up to the mortician and pompous pastor of the much larger church. These little and not so affluent congregations are where the real faithful are at, they come out of sincerity not any social trappings. Thanks a lot, TCM! May all your employees have a safe and happy couple of weeks.

This is the best present I've had so far. It's is my first viewing in nearly 60 years; I've only seen it once when I was about 10 or 12 and have never forgotten it. And you wonder why I say my cable bill is worth it. I vaguely remember Frank Sinatra in it. My Mom hated him and was horrified that somebody with such a scandalous reputation would play a priest. I do remember Fred MacMurray's tearful scene near the end; it was strange to see men cry and admit their feelings back then. This I'm taping. THANKS A BUNCH, TCM!

I remember seeing that top photo of Ruth Roman and her son in the papers when the Andrea Doria sank. If I remember rightly, a 14 year-old girl whose father or stepfather was heavily into the news media was killed as she slept-I seem to recall the name Morgan. I guess that made what happened stick with me. Luckily the Stockholm was there to rescue most of the passengers; I kept thinking of the Titanic and how different that was. ( Even at 10 I was a big history nut and knew about that.)

Has anyone else seen 1954's Three Hours to Kill? I just did and am glad I discovered it; another little gem from Columbia. Dana Andrews is the star. A man is accused of killing his fiancée's brother the night before the wedding because he opposed the marriage. She helps him escape a lynching which leaves his neck burned. After three years on the run he returns to clear his name and claim his woman. This leads to a Western detective story where we see all the suspects eliminated until the killer is revealed. The supporting cast has Richard Coogan, Richard Webb, James Westerfield and Whit Bissell before he went gray. There are as many women as men in the story. Donna Reed is the woman left behind and a red-haired Dianne Foster is the hotel owner who longs to be in her shoes. Carolyn Jones and Charlotte Fletcher are dance hall girls both in love with a gambler who might not be worth it. The theme music is the same one used in Randolph Scott's A Lawless Street. Roy Huggins co-wrote it and Harry Joe Brown is the producer. All that's missing is Budd Boetticher as the director and Scott as the star. This makes me wonder if Scott was the original star but Andrews ended up doing it the way Scott filled in for John Wayne when he couldn't make Seven Men from Now. It has the feel of those other Budd and Randolph films made at Columbia and WB during that time. A great way for a Western fan to spend 90 minutes.

Tallhair: Is that Bette as Rosa Moline in Beyond the Forest? If so that bottom photo If so, Rosa is right, that place does look like "a dump". I've not seen this film since I was a teen and would like to again. Yes, I know it is a stinker. I'm been told it's not available because of some bruhaha with WB. If so how did you get the clip and photos?

The sun has nearly set here so in about ten minutes it will be Hanukkah. I hope everyone celebrating it has a joyous one with love, great food and those little handmade gifts that are worth more than anything you find in the stores.

LawrenceA: I really appreciated your comments on North Dallas Forty. John Matuzak played college football at The University of Tampa before it quit the sport. He was well liked here. Eventually the injuries he had to his head caused the same kind of death that's claimed other players we are hearing about. Nothing is worth the toll the game seems to be taking in terms of quality of life. The picks on this thread are certainly interesting and out of the ordinary in terms of the usual films mentioned. I'm posting with people who think.

I just saw this on the CBS News. What a downer! My condolences to his family. The first time I saw him on screen was as Elfego Baca, the Mexican-American Southwestern lawman who-according to my mother-became a Justice Department attorney and helped bring down the corrupt Harding administration. This impressed me as Mexicans were not portrayed as intelligent or productive people back then. I also liked him in Cattle King where he showed his funny as well as dramatic side as Robert Taylor's Hispanic ranch foreman. Later on he poked fun at his bad guy persona by being in a commercial for-if I remember correctly-orange juice. And, of course, Jagged Edge; whoever won that BSO Oscar had to get past one of the greatest performances of the decade. My only beef with him was being in the 80's Scarface which for me is one of the worst movies ever made. If he had Alzheimer's Disease for the past five years I'm glad he's finally at peace. Will SOMEBODY please find a cure for this @#$%&*!?

I like using Italian sausage in my meatballs and other dishes but it's usually in links and that's hard to get out of the casing as the recipes usually call for. I discovered that Jimmy Dean makes it in roll form and I used it in my stuffing last week. I got raves from everyone and agree it was my best batch ever. I sampled the sausage after I browned it and that's what I'll use from now on. It beats steaming the links until the casing shrinks while trying not to pre-cook the meat. As for my turkey breast I covered the top and sides in bacon, put it in my stove-top smoker for an hour, then finished it in the oven. Instead of being dry, the knife went through it like butter and I've never had it come out so moist and tasty. That was well received too. I'd recommend it for the whole bird as well. Another thing helps cut calories in the drinks department. Those fruit-flavored waters are zero calories but mix well with liquors when you need that flavor for a mixer. I use the pineapple-coconut and rum for a pina-colada with the only damage to the waistline coming from the rum. Strangely, the best-flavored ones come from Dollar General. Use them to make up your own specialties.

No, they've about finished with Season 1. The McIntire-Fuller ones went a few months back. Of course with all the commercial cuts you don't see all of it anyway. That's the great thing about Encore, you get it all and at one sitting.

It's running on Encore Westerns again. They're not cutting any shows on now, just running one episode each rather than two of some. MeTv has been running it on Saturday morning; I'm not certain if that will keep up after New Year's Day.

PrimosPrimos: If you go to the *Candids 2* thread on the Films and Filmmakers forum, you will find a great photo of your beloved Mr. William with two adorable dogs. It seems today is his birthday. Just thought you'd like to know.