wouldbestar

This year's theme of "Hollywood and History" is right up my alley; I'm sorry to miss it. I find many movies not intending to be are historic as they show us what life was like back when they were made. Naked City and Mystery Street show us how crimes were solved with legwork and brains before computers; they even had forensics bake then. The pre-codes and "shopgirl" dramas let us see what living conditions were back during the depression. No Down Payment tells us that the 50s were not all that idealistic especially if you were a minority. If nothing else we see how movies progressed in quality over the past 100 years. Maybe this is TCM's real legacy and why it must keep on going. HAVE FUN FOLKS!

I just learned of this when MeTV did a remembrance tribute to him a few minutes ago. They have hours of his TV appearances on Perry Mason, The Virginian and, of course, Mission Impossible. He was on a lot of Highway Patrol episodes you can see on THIS as well. I might be weird but I never had trouble seeing him as the characters he played; he was too good an actor to make me think of him as just Spock. He really did "live long and prosper didn't he. RIP, Sir. and thank you for sharing your talent with us.

This was in this morning's paper here: I opened the Tampa Bay Times to read with my morning coffee. On the front page it read, "Birdman soars" in winning the best picture Oscar. I was surprised, as everyone I spoke with thought that American Sniper was outstanding and would surely win. I checked the gross revenue generated by each movie. Birdman had domestic sales of $37.7 million. America Sniper had domestic sales of $319.6 million. That means that about 90 percent of every dollar spent on these two movies was spent on American Sniper. Birdman is the best picture for the Hollywood elite. The best movie for the American people is American Sniper. This is a perfect example of how out of touch the elite in Los Angeles/New York are with the rest of the country This is my reply which I sent to the "Letters to the Editor" Every year after the Academy Awards a letter such as Lynn Black’s appears. Why is it so difficult to comprehend that there is no correlation between a movie’s popularity and its artistic merits? The “Oscars” are awarded for outstanding acting, directing, screenwriting, scoring and production values and the film that the Academy feels most showcases these. Many of the “blockbusters” compete in these categories but with them the special effects cover up a lack of plot or other cohesiveness. There are several awards that are based on box-office receipts where they shine. If we follow Ms. Black’s logic, the frontrunner for this year is Fifty Shades of Grey which has earned nearly a billion dollars so far but except for Dakota Johnson’s performance has been universally panned. I certainly do not want this film walking hone with a "Best Picture" award and I doubt that Ms. Black would either. There’s nothing “elite” about this or being “out of touch with the rest of the country’”, just recognition of outstanding work during the past year. Again, art and money are two different things. And, no, I’m not an Academy member or a relative of one. I'll let you know if they print it.

Brenda was very believable in this role which was quite a career lift for Joan Caulfield as well in the 1953 remake. Fred MacMurray and she stole the movie out from under Richard Burton and Lana Turner who played the Power-Loy roles. It is still a mystery why MacMurray never got even a whiff from Oscar voters as he was so great in such a variety of parts over so many years.

The saddest example I can think of is Kim Bassinger. She had some good movie roles like Nadine but until LA Confidential nothing of real note. I thought that might change after her Oscar win but so far it's been back to the less than stellar projects she did before. Either she got lucky once in her life and got a role that fit her perfectly or she has poor taste in choosing roles. Perhaps that's what happens to other actors as well.

Edgar Buchanan is one of the sailors in1940's The Sea Hawk. You hear him before you see him and there's no mistaking that voice. I finally got to see Tombstone a few weeks ago and liked it more than Wyatt Earp although I enjoy that one too. Earp was no saint and this film shows that along with his good qualities. Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer nailed Earp and Holliday making us like them despite their shortcomings. I recommend it highly.

Is Bride of the Monster the one that ends with the girl in the nightie throwing over the handsome lead and choosing to be carried off by a big ape? I must have seen this 40 or so years ago and couldn't believe it. Now that I know it's an Ed Wood film, I understand. Does Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla count here?

How can we leave out The Dawn Patrol for WWI? This war has been so romanticized that we forget that it introduced gas warfare to the world as my grandfather could attest to. It shows the anguish that c/os go through when they must send men into combat knowing some will not return alive. This was "the war to end all wars" and it's ironic that when the movie was released in 1937 the world was already gearing up for the even more horrible sequel. Also Go or Broke needs to be mentioned for WWII. That these young Japanese-American men were willing to fight for our side despite what was being done to their "relocated" families here and having to battle relatives in the "old country" is amazing. I remember a newsreel where after Pearl Harbor some in California are holding a sign saying 'We are patriotic Americans; 14% of us are in the service" . It was like the Blacks who had to fight one war to get into the real one and show what they could do when they could have stayed home and let everyone else do it. It there's anything good about war, this kind of courage and pride must be a part.

It's nice to see that Stuart Whitman still has that gleam in his eye and that sly smile. He played a variety of roles and always delivered the goods. Glad he's still around. I'm more familiar with Percy Helton than Percy Kilbride because he was on TV so much in the 50s and 60s and he usually gave us a laugh. Nice to see him recognized. The same for Bruce Gordon who was everybody's favorite gangster during his Untouchables days. He proved he could be funny by taking his mob persona to some of the sitcoms and a commercial for a soup company where he steals the pasta for the products. My brothers and I loved him.

She was also the witchy woman whom the Sheriff of Notingham is in league with in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. I had no idea that she was such an accomplished actress. I'll have to check out her work.

Around 1965 0r 66 Glenn Yarborough recorded an album of his works set to music. A friend lent it to me one afternoon and I listened to it while munching on a raw pineapple I'd cut into chunks. I loved the recordings and got my lips so puckered up from the fruit acid I was afraid they'd never go back to normal. Thanks, Rod, for a great afternoon and lasting memory; may you RIP.

A documentary that ran on Encore Westerns told the stories of Billy and Jesse James which turned our perceptions of them upside down. Jesse, long thought of as almost heroic, was much more violent than Billy who killed far less men than the "one for each year of his life". He was still an outlaw but not to the extent that we've been led to believe. American Ride also has a similar episode that backs up this idea. I think it's only right to tell the true story about this man if that is possible. We know that the Wyatt Earp story has been sanitized over the years until recently so this might be a needed opposite. Some people will not buy it but that's their problem.

Carrie was delightful last night. Her routine acknowledged that Debbie and she have had some serious differences during their lifetimes but her love, respect and admiration for Debbie was also made very clear. It was something to see.

Mildred is giving Elvis that same adoring look that she had in Love Me Tender when he sings it to her. A lot of us ladies can remember when we would have done the same thing.

Isn't this thread going to become really pertinent Valentine's Day when "that book" becomes a movie on that of all days? No I've not read it nor do I plan to see it. Because of all the controversy I did some internet research and pulled up several trailers, excerpts and documentaries regarding it. This reads like one of the Rosemary Rogers period novels of the 70s which had plenty of erotic episodes between the pages-some of those I did read. The only things that shocked me were the merchandising that the movie's generating from reputable companies as well as "adult" stores and finding out that Ana is played by Dakota Johnson. Good grief, I can remember when she was born! It's hard to believe she's old enough for this; I can feel gray hair pouring out of my scalp like Medusa's locks. I saw the Welles/Fontaine version of Jane Eyre yesterday and saw some similarities with Fifty Shades. She is a woman with strong moral code but sees herself as plain and uninspiring; he is a domineering and troubled man both cruel and gentle. They love each other but she can't accept a life together on his terms. Take out the s&m and both stories play like this. "There's nothing new under the sun". That's from another best-seller often that's provided Hollywood with many a script. Hey, it's Sunday!

More info! I've never noticed that Sam P. was involved with Gunsmoke. Of course without him there would have been no Rifleman; it was his idea, at least in part, and his prints are all over it as a writer and director. I saw a documentary on him on Encore Westerns a few years ago-another career derailed by the bottle. I'll look for his Gunsmoke episodes; I'll bet I've seen a lot of them.

Barbara Lawrence, Mary Ann Mobley and Sarah Marshall left us last year? They were all left off the TCM Remembers tribute with previously mentioned no-shows Mona Freeman and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Thank you, Swithin, for making up the difference with the Rex Reed article.

About Jackson Gillis: He was a wrier on Superman before joining Perry Mason as a producer and writer. That he became involved with Columbo is no surprise. Last week Ben mentioned Clem Beauchamp being nominated for an Assistant Director Oscar when that category existed in the 30s. Mr. Beauchamp was also involved with Superman as a producer. In the past few months I've been amazed at the actors who appeared on this "kid's show" and that it was in color before Bonanza was ever heard of. The syndicated shows were way ahead of the networks on this one.

First question: Yes and Catherine's rape as well. But why? We learn all we need to know about the beating from the story and we se enough about the rape from the before and after scenes. As I've said before in 1959 I was so sheltered that I didn't really know what was done to Catherine until years later but knew from what I saw that it was bad. And sadly, I knew about Linda's injuries from personal experience-all I can say about that. Having all this graphically shown would have done nothing to enhance the story and ruined the film for those for whom it would have been "over their heads". Audiences then were given credit for the intelligence to figure the happenings for themselves. I did not notice that Les Crutchfield was responsible for the story. He was one of the great Gunsmoke writers-along with John Meston and two ladies, Marian Clark and Kathleen Hite. Thanks for the info.

How about their wedding when he puts the band on her finger with his hooks? He looks at her as if to ask if she's sure, she nods and it goes on. This is my favorite movie wedding and it get me every time. Rosebette: How did you like your Mr. Redmayne winning a Golden Globe last night? I agree he has the talent to last a long time. Somebody mentioned One Potato, Two Potato, I thought I was the only one who remembered this realistic and heartbreaking film. It's on next Monday at 2:00 PM. Sadly, there were several such cases in the news over the ensuing years with similar endings. Hopefully, we've learned from them.

To all three of you "Newbies": Welcome! New blood is always welcome especially when they have taste as good as you all do. Most of your choices are ones we old timers love as well and you fit right in. I've not heard of a 1936 version of Three Godfathers so you've already added to my education. I'll have to look for it. As for the rest Duel in the Sun and El Dorado are not my cup of tea (as well as the other copy of Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo) but your hearts are mostly in the right place. Looking forward to reading all your coming posts.

LTFGH was made two years after Gunfight at the OK Corral by the same studio and director and with many of the same actors. That is my all-time favorite Western and this one is on my Top Ten. Both are stories about friendships and families, those who go wrong and those who stay on the straight. The characters are well drawn, the stories ring true and the actors perfectly cast. As a woman I should be put off by the relationship between Craig and Linda but even that is believable, even though he's beaten her nearly to death because of his son's lies about her fidelity. She can't stop loving him even if she has enough self-respect to no longer live with him. Recent headlines point to that being true; even her asking him if he'll marry her now. She only turns away for good when he again chooses his worthless son over her and she sees real love in the way Matt grieves over Catherine and is determined to see her killers pay. Yet, we see she still loves Craig in that final scene. This is adult storytelling. We see both sides of prejudice too. The people of Matt's town seem to accept Catherine and Petey as his wife and son even though she is Native American and he a "half breed". Rick and Lee only see her as "just an Injun" beneath them and only there to meet their desires married or not. Rick seems to have learned this from his corrupt and indulgent father who can't see the part he's played in all this until the end. This is the tragedy like Billy in Gunfight who wants to be good but can't escape his family's evil influence. Both are Western storytelling at it's best. Their like might never come again.

Rats! I really enjoyed his work. Nobody's mentioned his role as the Nazi doctor in 36 Hours. He made you feel sympathetic towards him even though you knew his scheme had to be found out. That's the sign of a good actor. And I loved him as Mitch in The VIP's-if only I could have been his secretary who ends up with a more permanent job. Another odd role was in a Cheyenne episode based on The Treasure of the Sierra Made where he played Tim Holt's character. He was also a candidate for Bart on Maverick. He was star enough for me.

The ending of The Out-of-Towners reminds me of an incident involving one of our recently deceased politicians. His wife and he were supposedly on a plane that was hijacked to Cuba which back then was a nearly everyday occurrence. The media reported they were aboard only to get a call from the wife, who was safe at home, asking how she could be in two places at one time. The "Wife" in Cuba was his secretary. She eventually got the job after the current one took the Senator to court but later threw him back as well. One hopes the Kellermans eventually got back to Ohio.

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. This is the one with the Martin-Lewis lookalikes and must have been made for 98 cents. I saw it when a local station ran "monkey movies" to raise funds to rebuild our zoo. Plan 9 is an Oscar contender next to this one. Another stinker is The Seven Minutes made when Russ Meyer was trying to be considered a mainstream director. It was supposed to be about censorship of a book thought obscene but the real obscenity was the lack of quality of this mess. Just thinking about it makes me want to hit the showers. As for Dune, it all depends on which version you see. The 2 1/2 hour David Lynch one is so choppy that you can't really follow the storyline that well. The longer "Alan Smithee" film that Lynch disowned is better as it explains the set-up in more detail and the story flows better. It's like the TCM version of The Alamo whose added footage addresses what happens to a character who just disappears in the other versions, makes the Davy-Flaca romance more believable and explains what the song heard when Sue is leaving is about-it was written by her dead husband for their child and sung at her unseen-in-other- versions birthday party.