wouldbestar

{font:Times New Roman}Has anybody talked about *Good Day for a Hanging,* another little gem from the Columbia mine that kept turning them out in the 50s? I just saw it and heartily recommend it to one and all.{font} {font:Times New Roman}Fred MacMurray, who claimed not to like doing Westerns, really knew how to pick them. He plays an 1878 former lawman with a 20 year old daughter and a widowed fiancée with a young son. A young man who once lived there arrives with an outlaw gang who rob the bank. When the posse follows them the town Marshal is killed but the young man captured. The town wants the lawman to take over the marshal’s job and he does but tells them he will have to testify that he witnessed the young man kill his predecessor even though he denies it. The daughter was a childhood friend of the accused and refuses to believe he did it. {font} {font:Times New Roman}There are a lot of parallels with the justice system today. The actors are in fine form, especially Robert Vaughn as the accused who makes you wonder if maybe the Marshal is wrong about him. Even the fiancée has her doubts and the wedding is threatened. {font} {font:Times New Roman}Anything else I add would be a spoiler. See it for yourself and you won’t be sorry. {font}

{font:Times New Roman}I’ve alluded to this before but does anybody have articles or information on the 1950’s promotion of using comic books to interest the public into going to the movies? {font} {font:Times New Roman}This started around 1953 and went on through the rest of the decade. Most of the films and occasional TV series episode were from Warner brothers or released by them. They included many genres and most films were high profile. Since most readers were children or teen-agers I’m guessing the idea was to have them pester the parents to see them rightfully figuring they had more clout than their marketing departments. They certainly seemed like a big deal to me and I was on the junior end of their target range. {font} {font:Times New Roman}The ones I can recall were for:{font} {font:Times New Roman}*King Richard & the Crusaders* *Drum Beat* *Helen of Troy* *The F. B. I. Story* *Dragoon Wells Massacre* *Cheyenne* episode #15, The Last Train West{font} {font:Times New Roman}There’s also one I can’t recall the title of. A young boy and a girl named Maybelle have a “puppy love” romance before she disappears after an Indian attack on her wagon train. The boy never forgets her and is bitter towards all tribes. Ten years later she comes back into his life very much alive. That’s all I can remember about it.{font} {font:Times New Roman}These were all straight comic books. I’m wondering if they tried this with any 3-D films as they did have some books you could make 3-D with some plastic and paper red/green lens glasses. {font} {font:Times New Roman}What’s strange about this is that’s it the time when congressional hearings about the role of comics in juvenile delinquency were going on and calls for bans on comics were very vocal. The Comics Code Authority came out of this. It’s surprising that a studio would chance become involved in using such a controversial medium to promote its films. I’m just wondering what anybody else knows about this. {font}

Womens' breasts have one practical function-to nurse their young-although I will accept that they also have a sexual allure for most men. Until fairly recently when children and marriage went together a larger size hinted at success at both endeavors but in truth nursing is possible for nearly any woman whatever her measurements. Today the second end seems to be the predominate one and the source of unnecessary worry for many women. Guys seem to have a similar concern further south. It's all nonsense! It's what you have inside with regards to caring about the other person and what you want to offer and accept from them not the outer shell that counts. Age and gravity will change it anyway. Why can't we just accept each other as they are while encouraging them to develop their full potential?

Thank you for all the photos of the silent era stars as we never see much of them and they were the start of it all. The Norma Shearer one seemed to be part sexy and part horror; she had a great figure but the hair looked like Elsa Lanchester as the *Bride of Frankenstein.* She's still my favorite actress of that era though. The thread is rightfully pointing out that even in Hollywood one mold did and should not have fit all. The very uniqueness of the ladies here-and that's what this thread is about-gave every nearly girl a chance to see someone like herself on screen and get the inspiration to develop her own beauty to its fullest even if she never got past family photos. Femme fatales or girl-next-door, there was someone for everybody. Keep it up!

?:| I'm getting a headache from reading all those ratio formulas and not being "scientific" enough to understand it all. Your post with the two *Giant* scenes explained much of it and as anyone in your profession knows "one picture = 1k words". If a movie is widescreen I want to see it all so letterbox does not bother me. I've tried zoom on them at times but usually go back to wide and enjoy it. That mini-documentary with all those directors showing how pan & scan changes a movie-usually for the worse-has convinced me it's the best way to go for widescreen movies. *The Lawrence of Arabia* sequences and Curtis Hanson's use of *The* *Last Supper* for an example speak for themselves. I don't need to fill my screen up.

:0 Is this really Doris Dowling? She always seemed phony to me with that hair that looked like it was colored with black shoe polish. I know she was usually the villianess but it was if she was "trying too hard" to convince us. In your photo the color is much lighter and she has a softer and more believable but still malevolent look. This woman makes me want to stick around and see what she's up to.

I know I'm not supposed to but that exchange between Selsnick and Tiomkin cracked me up, especially when Tiomkin responded to Selsnick's insane comments. Sometimes only "four letter words" will do; it's just that they're now used so often they don't matter anymore. I'd always read that Jack Warner and Harry Cohn were the real jerks-putting it mildly-but Selsnick seems right up there with them.

Does anybody know that Judah Benjamin was the Confederate Attorney General then Secretaries of War and State? He was from Louisiana and of impeccable reputation. This is a beautiful structure of classical design. It has the look of many Southern buildings of the time and the Jewish people of Natchez should rightfully take pride in it. Jake is right, all faiths have contributed to our heritage; just think of the Mormon Tabernacle or that Chinese temple in California profiled on History.

Thank you for letting us know Zohra Lampert is still with us. A reviewer described her as "an unusual and interesting actress". I'll say! And a face any Miss America would envy. Robert Middleton looks like he's playing something other than his usual villain in that photo. Oh, that's right, there's *Friendly Persuasion.* A good actor in any role.

*CineMaven wrote: MAY WYNN* - She's seen a lot and it's troubling to her. I thought she was very good as Stanwyck's daughter...she looked like she could stand up to Stanwyck (ha...no one else really could) and kind of looks like Stanwyck too. She gives a nice rousing speech out there in the dusty valley against violence. She wore nice outfits and her horse was gorgeous. She also wanted a man who could stand up to her father so she has her pretty little eyes set on Glenn Ford in that lovely little way movies show love: "I hate you!" May Wynn played Caroline, the woman who did John a favor and dumped him when he didn't meet her self-centered qualidications for a husband. The lady you are talking about is Dianne Foster. She did a blot of work in the 50's usually as a brunette. I suppose they made her a blonde here as there were two other dark-haired women in the story but it was a bad dye job. I agree with you about Judith and wonder just who in the end wanted John to be foreman of Anchor more, her father or her. From his reaction, she obviously had something to work with. She was also in The *Kentuckian, Night Passage,* and *The Deep Six.*

Thank you, Jake. Back in 86 I had a three hour layover in New Orleans and decided on a quick tour of the French Quarter despite a bus employee telling me I was "too nice to go there alone". I did anyway and was taken by all the old brick buildings with the iron filigree balconies. At just the right moment I turned to see what was on my side of the street and there was "Old Hickory" and St. Louis Cathedral. I was able to go inside and see it was as beautiful as the outside. I made it back to the station safely delighted I had chosen to go. The same thing happened to me in NYC in 92 when I wanted to go from an area near the Trade Center to Times Square. Three old drunks kept trying to keep me from catching a bus there because 'That was no place for a Lady". I got there and found it much nicer in appearance than what I was used to seeing in the movies. In Hollywood one bus driver told me to get the bus to Bob Hope at the coffee shop accross from the Roosevelt rather than Hollywood High as if was more lit and safer which I did. I guess Guardian angels come in all types.

Just when I thought Denver Pyle was born with gray hair you prove me wrong, I think he was more handsome with it and I've been watching him in movies and on TV since the 50s. Thank you anyway.

Today was also the birthday of my favorite composer, Dimitri Tiomkin. While I would have liked to have heard some of his music as well I did enjoy hearing some of Steiner's lesser known scores. I can remember a time when I thought he was the only scorer because all we ever saw was WB movies on TV. I have decided I like Tiomkin, Rozsa and Korngold better but as I said on another post when Max was good he was hard to beat. I appreciated the bio info too.

ginnyfan wrote: L.Q. Jones played "Smitty" the first season of "Cheyenne." After a few episodes, Smitty disappeared and Clint Walker rode alone from then on. The show would have been very different if he had stayed on as sidekick. I know he was in the first four episodes a comic relief country boy. Roy Huggins then took over as producer and has admitted he was the one who wrote "Smitty" out as he thought sidekicks were old hat. It would have been a different show for certain. Jones then spent six seasons on *The Virginian* as ranch hand "Belden". Chuck Norris had him and many other TV Western stars guesting on *Walker, Texas Ranger* from time to time. To get a later look at him, one can watch CASINO, which seems to be somewhere on cable almost every night. I have and still like what I see.

FredC: I saw the movie and was once again impressed by how much they did with a small budget but truth on their side. I remember when much of this happened and my mother following the story. The interesting thing is that the clean up was still ongoing when the movie was made. Has it reversed back to a crime base or stayed clean? I recognized many of the actors and if nothing else they had at least one credit to take pride in. All of them did good work. Those *MASH* fans who wondered if Clete Roberts was a real newsman now have their answer. clore: I'm not surprised that Patterson was a segregationist during that time but disappointed. How could he be so open to the righteousness of one cause and so blind to the justice of another? It was the times and the way he was raised as were most white people. That's hard for those who came afterwards to realize and they judge by today's standards.

I wrote: And I don't care what Mr. McQueen/Jones calls himself as long as he keeps turning up on my TV screen. Where was *Fantasy Island* when I needed it? I'm not on *Fantasy Island* but guess who is on my screen in *Battle Cry* right now. I guess I was due for a granted wish. Wow!

We had a very detailed discussion of this movie awhile back and it went about 50-50. I'm in the camp that likes it. They start it out with a very familiar premise and shoot it out into a totally different direction. People turn out to be not what they seem and some of them-as well as us-must question who we're loyal to. It's well worth the look. It's being shown as part of a tribute to Max Steiner's music scores. This one was used in several Columbia Westerns including Randolph Scott's *7th Cavalry* and Audie Murphy's *The Guns of Fort Petticoat* much like WB did with the *Dodge City* and *Silver River* scores. When he was good, he was really good.

The barn looks sturdier than the house. It looks like one on one my calendars which is all barns. The church he went to that you always saw on TV looks very much like one that was in a little Florida town called Citra that burned a few years ago. These buildings have a look that says nature, outdoors and peace. I'm late in coming to appreciate all this but I'm here now. Keep them coming!

> {quote:title=Hibi wrote:}{quote}OH, OK! I didnt watch any of the tv movie reprises, so I missed Stella. I didn't mean to sound sharp or know-it-all. I was thanking you for making me check my misinformation and setting the facts straight. I can take being found wrong as egg makes a great face mask and I need all the help I can get.

Okay, this has been bugging me for years. Gig Young's birth name is listed as Byron Barr. There is an actor listed in the opening credits for *Double Indemnity* with that name but it nobody seems to look like him. What gives? And I don't care what Mr. McQueen/Jones calls himself as long as he keeps turning up on my TV screen. Where was *Fantasy Island* when I needed it?

jamesjazzguitar wrote: While my favorite Bogie movie is The Big Sleep and my favorite Liz Scott movie The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers, Dead Reckoning is a first class production. Okay, jjg, you've got me reconsidering my choice. The contrast between the "respectable" Martha and the "tramp" Toni-in truth it's the other way around-calls for an actress who is tough and vulnerable. Our girl Lizabeth is definately both and holds her own and more with Barbara Stanwyck. You keep worrying that Toni won't get what she deserves-a life with a man she can love and who can give it back. Let's not spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it and tell the ending. To those folks I saw see it any way you can even ifs its on your computer. You won't be sorry.

From HIBI: I don't remember Stella Stevens being in the show. Are you sure? Yes, but not the series. I think she played Lee Grant's role in one of the TV movies that came later. They had so many incarnations that it's hard to keep track. A couple of the nighttime actors went on to the daytime series so it can get confusing putting an actor in his/her proper venue. You're right about the last half of the run; not only were characters coming and going but the writers couldn't keep any continuity going and it just slipped into a shadow of what it had been. Ending it was an act of mercy.

I'm for this as well. MovieProfessor, how about one of your wonderful essays on the origins of the studio and why/how it died. The just departed Elyse Knox Harmon seems to have been a leading light as well as Kay Francis and there are some other recognizable names there too. Robert Mitchum, Kim Hunter and Gloria Stuart means they must have done something right.

Jake: Thank you for the San Antonio photos. That riverwalk is indeed beautiful and a great way to utilize the river. The Alamo was smaller than I thought it would be which makes what happened there are the more amazing. I also loved how the monument had the names of all the men who dies there inscribed on it. If I ever get to my sister's place in Austin I'm paying for the gas to a trip back there.

{font:Times New Roman}Seeing Tim O’Connor in a *Cannon* episode this morning reminded me of just how many careers that 60’s TV version launched, resurrected or helped supporting players find a measure of stardom. You’d not believe the cast list for those 6 years.{font} {font:Times New Roman}In addition to Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal, Christopher Connolly and Barbara Parkins who were pretty much rookies, Dorothy Malone, Lee Grant and Stella Stevens got much needed jump starts. Mariette Hartley and Leslie Neilson also had roles and old hands Paul Langdon and Evelyn Scott contributed their good work. I could go on. Along with the writing, which was pretty good the first half of the run, that was why it was worth watching and got Emmy nominations with Lee Grant getting one. It was only when the preverbal leave-takings by the most liked actors began that the show began the “shark jumping” slide-the new performers weren’t the same-or it simply ran out of steam. The fact remains that it began a new genre for prime time and without it *Dallas, Knot’s Landing,* or any of the other outright soaps or soap- influenced series would now be a part of our culture. {font} {font:Times New Roman}Even after the series ended *Peyton Place* couldn’t die. NBC turned it into a daytime soap for a few years and then a couple of prime time movies. In one they killed off Allison and Rodney which seemed to finally kill the premise. Some of the series stars appeared in them but finally the concept came to an end. {font}