wouldbestar

I stay for the credits in the theater and also on TV and always have. My roomie does not and it?s a bone of contention with us. Unfortunately, films broadcast on non-movie channels no longer run them so they can add more commercials or promos for other shows. Wait a minute, AMC does that too. It?s aggravating when there is a memorable song at the end like ?Against All Odds?. And they?re hard to read when people in front of you are leaving and chattering. How about a PSA at the beginning asking folks to wait until they?re done before leaving? And let the employees know they are to wait until the end before the big clean up? That said they are too long. The credits used to take up just a few minutes at the beginning of a movie and if the cast was again listed at the end less than half a minute. I realize everyone wants their work recognized and if the food from Joe?s Catering really paid a big part in the efficiency and congeniality on the set they might deserve mention but it does seem a bit overblown. Of course was I one of those people I might not feel this way. Maybe we need to slow down, give ourselves time to enjoy the whole movie and stop rushing from here to there. It?s a sick sign of the times.

If this is the Fox film with five different O. Henry stories, get it on whatever recorder you have and watch it! It is very likeable and has many well known actors. Of course "Gift of the Magi" is one but that's his best known work so that's to be expected. You should like the rest, too. What a writer he was! Going from crook to best selling author makes him quite an inspiration as well.

FredC, thank you for this hilarious clip and helping me put George Tobias's name and face together. I've loved his work for years but did not know who he was. For dramatic ladies, Ms. deHavilland and Lupino could make with musical comedy as well. As a member of the "I Love Olivia" brigade this was a treat.

Frank, this is a movie I don't see often but remember well because of the ironically tragic wedding scene. Seeing all those settlers working their buns off, then men building the cabin while the women make "home decorations" and the wedding feast for the couple only to see them killed by stupidity always gets to me. I think the idea that the characters are trying to find where they belong is one I never thought of but agree with. There is also the theme of betrayal by Brian Donley's character of his friend and woman, his decision to kill to get what material goods he wants and that effect on everybody else, and that it only takes one nitwit-in this case the below Ward Bond-to totally wreck havoc. This doesn?t fit the familiar Western plotlines in some ways but according to RO was one of that year's biggest hits. I will watch it again the next time I can and see what I come away with. I might not have an answer to your question but thank you for giving me one to chew on.

I was shocked to read that this happened in San Antonio. In The Moon's a Balloon, David Niven told about how horses were hurt being forced to trip over ropes when they were supposed to fall or something to that effect.(It's been a while since I read the book.) According to him Errol Flynn, who grew up with horses, became angry over the practice and tried with some success to get changes made. If this is true, I guess it wasn't enough. Our State Fair is held here each year, and I love walking through the horse stables just looking at these beautiful animals in all their various colors. They are not stupid creatures but warm and affectionate. If you had your TV on Sunday, November 24, 1963 at about 10:30AM EST, you saw a man murdered on live TV: Lee Oswald. The sex question has been written about. Some actors-mostly men-have claimed that intercourse actually occurred with their co-stars, but it?s never been proved true as far as I know. I?m tempted to say that the simulated kind is so graphic that ?what the heck? but I?d really feel like a voyeur if I thought I was really seeing the act even if it ?just a movie?. What ever happened to suggestion and letting the audience visualize the action as much as they are comfortable with. We?re mostly-I hope-smart adults who can guess what?s going on and don?t need it shoved in our faces. Only if it really contributes to the story is being explicit necessary. Or am I showing my age?

"But then, I'm considered a TCM Apologist around these parts. " Hey, if that's the only thing they call you, you're blessed. I can't think of anything better to be associated with than TCM at least in the material world. Thank you for you insights even if some have turned out to be my comeuppance. I always read your comments and you are so often a voice of reason in a whirl of hotheads. Keep it up!

fred and movieman: Thank you all for the info. Both Destry films, Texas, and The Blue Dahlia? I really know how to put my foot in it, don't I? Dahlia is on this week-end so I get to see his talent at work. I'm glad he was such a likable fellow.

I'll second that. I just saw him playing a Mexican dictator on Cheyenne and as usual, he was letter perfect. Westerns, gangster films, Biblical epics-you never knew where he'd turn up next. I really liked him; thank you for bringing him to our attention again.

Regarding: Henry Hathaway I just read this and really appreciate it. No, I don't think of Hathaway that much but will study his films more when I see them. Northside 777 is one of my favorite movies and I've recently seen 13 Rue Madeleine and Prince Valiant which I also liked. Thank you. P.S.: Since you mentioned How the West Was Won, who was George Marshall, the third director after John Ford and Hathaway? I can't place his name as a director of anything else. Here's my chance to learn something new today.

To paraphrase Calvera from The Magnificent Seven: "You're giving me an Oscar? Why? Why?" Because you deserve it, Sir, and your friends and fans could not be more delighted. Might we hope they give it to you onscreen so we get to share in the moment?

Bronxgirl: She was also in a Twilight Zone episode.?Odyssey of Flight 133?, with John Anderson. Her name was in the credits but she looked quite different than in ?Midnight Sun?. From that photo Jack posted with the caption ?Town?s Biggest Hit? I now know it was indeed her. What versatility! I think Caged is scheduled again sometime this week or next.

My choices: Lauren Bacall because I like her as well as her work and to find out how her grandson, Richard, is doing. I knew him as a lovable child when the family were my neighbors and I had no idea about the family history. He's an adult now and I hope is happy and at peace in whatever he's doing in life. The second is Gena Rowlands. I missed her when she had one of her "Evenings With" here and a one on one would make up for that.

Sorry about the double entry. How do you take one out if possible Edited by: wouldbestar on Aug 31, 2010 1:54 PM Edited by: wouldbestar on Aug 31, 2010 1:55 PM

Valentine Xavier wrote: My mom was an avid reader of Erle Stanley Gardener's Perry Mason books. She said that Barbara Hale, they had right, she was perfect as Della. But, she always said that Raymond Burr was wrong for the part, and wouldn't watch the series. I wonder what she would have thought of Fred? Well, I liked Raymond Burr quite a bit, and am a big fan of the series. From stories I?ve read and comments from Raymond Burr, the choices for Perry Mason were down to Richard Carlson and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Burr, a popular movie villain, was approached for the Hamilton Burger role and agreed. Earle Stanley Gardner had actor approval and he choose Burr for Mason clearing the way for another movie nasty, William Tallman, to be burger. Anybody want to verify this for me?

Is his drinking problem why his career didn't really be as strong as it could have been or was it that he was considered an actor of limited range? Or did this assessment fuel the drinking? I remember when he did a PSA on TV where he admitted to his problem and that he had often driven drunk. He said he had, thankfully, never killed anyone but could have and urged fellow alcoholics to get help. Mercedes McCambridge did likewise in testifying before Congress about her drinking problem. At the time they were praised for their courage.

Have we forgotten that until about 400 years or so ago women were not allowed on stage? Their roles were played by young boys or men of slight stature. People seemed to accept that. I?m certain some of them were exploited by the stronger men or used this to gain advantages but there were no Inquirers or Confidentials to broadcast it-or were there? Drag does seem to invoke stronger responses; to our culture it seems to be more ?unnatural? than the reverse.

Is it true that the Perry Mason producers wanted Fred MacMurray as the star but he did not think his film career was over and said no? If so, he must have realized his mistake because three years later he began a nine year run on My Three Sons.

I was blown away by Becket twice today. Once by the shear greatness of the film and then by the realization that Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole had 15 Best Actor nominations between and no Oscars to show for them Outrageous! Thankfully, Peter is still with us and will hopefully surprise us with yet another piece of his work. Edited by: wouldbestar on Aug 29, 2010 12:39 AM

Please run The VIPs in prime time or a week-end afternoon sometime. I can never make it to the end when it's overnight. It's not a great movie but the actors are in fine form, epically Dame Margaret Rutherford who won the Oscar that year as Best Supporting Actress. Maggie Smith and Rod Taylor made a great romantic team as well-if only it had been me. As for Liz and Dick, it seemed to me that they were playing themselves more than characters in most of their work together. I believe they tried to make the relationship work but could not.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I am now squarely in the John Gilbert camp. I started with He Who Gets Slapped and except for having to go vote-a privilege I give up for no human-have been glued to my set. I will hopefully make it through Flesh and the Devil before some much needed sleep. He was a handsome, charming and talented actor who proved it in a variety of roles. I understand why he was a star of his time and should not be forgotten. You have allowed us to truly go back in time and enjoy film as my grandmother must have. Eighty plus years and they are still working their magic! As for his voice-he was royally wronged. It was not that bad, I?ve heard far tinnier ones in movies of that era. The customer is not always right and this proves it. I think the problem was that the public had built up this macho image of him and they expected a ?Sam Elliott? voice to go with it. When they did not get exactly that they got angry and burst the bubble. While some movies were better than others my ears never bled. I saw where he came up with the story for Downstairs; I did not know he was a writer as well. This makes his end even more wasteful. I actually liked him best in The Big Parade without the mustache as he looked like a regular fellow. Bardelys is good, too. If you?ve done nothing else this ?Summer Under the Stars? it?s a success. I finally got to see Eleanor Boardman in action. And I like Renee Adoree too. She looked like a real woman. Today, they?d tell her to lose twenty pounds and come back as skin and bones. What a day!

Fred, I've been under the whether so I'm late thanking you for this historical essay. All of this is totally new to me and I'm a diehard history nut. It makes sense, though. I keep hearing that the prevailing wisdom of 30's America was isolation from European problems as the Depression was giving us plenty of headaches here. I also remember a Waltons episode where Papa John, a WWI veteran, finds it hard to believe that Germany could have built itself up to be such a power in the 20 years since he and his buddies had literally flattened it. If folks really felt like this and kept their heads in the sand, they might not have realized just how dangerous Hitler was. Also, the military was not respected back then. Then there's the anti-Semitism that was widespread here. From this and your account, slowly but surely seemed the way to go. Had it not been for Pearl Harbor, might we have gone into war even better prepared? I'll check out the other links when I'm feeling better. Thanks, again!

John Gilbert and Thelma Todd are people I've read about but have never seen at work. Thank you, TCM. Were it not for you, I probably never would. That most of the films are silent-or am I wrong about this-does not diminish the fact that they were stars in their day and should be featured. Oops, I have seen Queen Christina and thought Gilbert was okay. Perhaps I will understand his appeal in his earlier films. His daughter is a very classy and open lady and I've appreciated her commentary. I also thought Sir John Mills, an Oscar winner, deserved his day. The English stage has given many of its best to our movies and a "Thank you" to many of them is overdue.

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's movies and have a new appreciation for her work. She was great in dramatic and comedy roles, could sing and dance, and her beauty was approachable. By that I mean you could picture yourself being her rather than thinking "She's so beautiful I could never look like that." I found Lew Ayres's monologue at the end of Unfaithful about sticking with your marriage haunting. It was so true yet the people involved could not seem to take it to heart as they all had multiple unhappy marriages. I know, it's acting but it's sad just the same.

I'm with you. I started seeing Denver Pyle on TV back in the 1950's and thought he was quite handsome. His hair was already gray but he was slender and looked especially good in those three piece Western business suits he often wore. Nobody else had a voice like his either. He got pudgy with age which most of us have or will so what else is new? A real Westerner who came by his name honestly. I miss him.

You do know tomorrow is Ann's day "Under the Stars" don't you? You've all got me so interested in her I'll definately be watching.