AndyM108

I've always thought that Rain was up there with Mildred Pierce and Sudden Fear among Crawford's finest performances, and it always has fascinated me that she seemed to view it as her worst. My take on that is that Crawford was always *striving* in her personal life to act the part of a respectable Republican club lady, and Sadie Thompson was just too far removed from that platonic ideal for Crawford to want to be even remotely identified with it. In a way it's sort of like Cagney's knocking his classic gangster performances in favor of Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Paul Muni's always trying to land "prestige" roles in those godawful biopic hagiographies that now seem as dated as stale cheese.

The descent from 1933 to 1935 was like jumping off a cliff, as the Breen Code sanitized the industry to the point where it was little more than a combination of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a blue ribbon grand jury. It's not as if there wasn't some good writing and acting, but it was like trying to exercise in a solitary confinement cell: No room to breathe or stretch your legs. Nevertheless, here are the top 10 movies of a lame year. Not one of them would have been anywhere near the top 10 just two years earlier: 1. Bordertown 2. Little Big Shot (Sybil Jason is sublime) 3. The Clairvoyant 4. A Night at the Opera (easily the Marx Brothers' best) 5. Romance in Manhattan 6. The Informer 7. The Whole Town's Talking 8. Dangerous 9. The Murder Man 10. Traveling Saleslady Best of the rest: Black Fury; The Goose and the Gander; Whipsaw; Stranded; Dr. Socrates; Dangerous Corner; The 39 Steps; I Found Stella Parrish Underrated: Little Big Shot; The Murder Man; Traveling Saleslady Overrated: Bride of Frankenstein; Sylvia Scarlett Have to see: The Devil Is a Woman; Toni Best actor: Victor McLagen (The Informer) Best actress: Bette Davis (Dangerous) Best supporting actor: Sig Ruman (A Night at the Opera) Best supporting actress: Sybil Jason (Little Big Shot) Total number of movies viewed: About 60 - 70

There were still plenty of good films in 1934, but you could see the dropoff from the previous year when the Production Code was largely ignored. Only the first 2 on this list would have made the top 10 cut for 1933. Best of *1934:* 1. La Bandera 2. Gentlemen Are Born 3. Fog Over Frisco 4. Bedside (Warren William in his most fiendish scheme ever) 5. The Thin Man 6. It's A Gift 7. L'Atalante 8. Massacre 9. No Greater Glory 10. Manhattan Melodrama Best of the rest: Imitation of Life; Death on the Diamond; Hi, Nellie!; He Was Her Man; Evelyn Prentice; Born to Be Bad; Heat Lightning; The Goddess; Little Miss Marker Underrated: Gentlemen Are Born; Bedside; Death on the Diamond; Hi, Nellie! Overrated: Twentieth Century Have to see: Our Daily Bread; Stamboul Quest Best actor: Warren William (Bedside) Best actress: Myrna Loy (The Thin Man) Best supporting actor: Michel Simon (L'Atalante) Best supporting actress: Fredi Washington (Imitation of Life) Total number of films viewed: About 80 - 85

1932 was the breakthrough year, and 1933 may be right up there with 1950 on my all-time list of greatest years for American movies. Once the Breen code took effect in mid-1934 there was a precipitous drop in quality. Here's my *1933* list. Any of the first 4 could be # 1. 1. Bombshell (#1 U.S. comedy, just behind The Sheep Has Five Legs) 2. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 3. Heroes For Sale 4. Baby Face 5. The Story of Temple Drake 6. 42nd Street / Footlight Parade (tie) 8. The Mind Reader 9. Wild Boys of the Road 10. Lady For a Day Best of the rest: Ladies They Talk About; One Man's Journey; King Kong; Girl Missing; The Prizefighter and the Lady; Employees' Entrance; Lawyer Man; The Little Giant; The Women in His Life; Lady Killer; Elmer the Great; Ever in My Heart; Hold Your Man; Gabriel Over the White House; Parole Girl Underrated: One Man's Journey; Girl Missing; The Little Giant Overrated: Duck Soup; Dancing Lady Have to see: Zero For Conduct Best actor: Rudolf Klein-Rogge (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) Best actress: Jean Harlow (Bombshell) Best supporting actor: Lee Tracy (Bombshell) Best supporting actress: Dorothy Coonan (Wild Boys of the Road) Best entire supporting cast: Everyone else in Bombshell, but especially Franchot Tone, C. Aubrey Smith and Mary Forbes. Best song and dance number *EVER:* Jimmy Cagney and Ruby Keeler ("Shanghai Lil" in Footlight Parade) Total number of films viewed: About 90 - 100. This was certainly Hollywood's most prolific year for great pre-code films.

The way that many studios did it in the 30's was perfect: After the studio logo and the opening title shot, you'd see brief shots of the leading actors of the film. For instance, in The Public Enemy, we'd see a grinning Jimmy Cagney swiping the beer off his puss (or something like that), while underneath it would say "JAMES CAGNEY as Tom Powers", and so on, down to the fifth or sixth character actor. There might be a brief mention after that of the top dozen non-actors involved in the film, always including the producer and the director, but that was it. For those who are (or were) fairly new to this period of Hollywood, it was a great way to learn to associate the names of the actors with their faces. And at the end, it just said THE END. Which it was. The tenth assistant makeup crew members would have to find their glory in their paychecks. I should add that in the 50''s and early 60's this practice was revived in a handful of movies, but with the names and faces coming at the end, rather than at the beginning. Either way was far more enjoyable than today's laundry list of people whose names mean nothing to 99.99999% of the audience outside their friends and family members.

If nightclub singer Ringa Dinga married Ding Dong Williams she would then be Ringa Dinga Ding Dong Williams ?? And if they lived on a ranch, would they have a horse named *Long Dong Silver* who would gallop off with *Ringa Dinga* for a little *"Catherine the Great"* style action while *Ding Dong Williams* was out pounding Lone Star beer at the local saloon?

We share a few titles for '31. I am duly impressed at your including THE MIRACLE WOMAN and so high on the list, too! It's on mine, but not ranked nearly as well. I do think it's a great example of the Stanwyck-Capra magic. I can't help but feel Jean Simmons borrowed from this when she made ELMER GANTRY, playing a similar role. David Manners, in one of his lead roles in a non-horror film, does remarkably well, too. A close friend of David's told me that THE MIRACLE WOMAN was David's favorite film-- he had a good time making it with such esteemed company! Barbara Stanwyck is so much my favorite actress that I could almost compile a credible (to me, anyway) top 10 list from the 30's through the early 60's from just her films alone. That opening scene in The Miracle Worker gives us our first real taste of what was to come. Here's my *1932* list. This was the real breakthrough year of the sound era, when the great pre-code films just came roaring downstream like a mighty river. Almost any of these could credibly be at the top of the list, even some of the "best of the rest". It's also noteworthy in that so many of the best films starred women in the leading role. 1. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang 2. So Big 3. Red-Headed Woman 4. Rain 5. I Was Born, But... 6. Freaks 7. Call Her Savage 8. Red Dust 9. The Match King 10. Symphony of Six Million Best of the rest: Trouble in Paradise, The Mouthpiece, Night Court, Thirteen Women, Three on a Match, Central Park, Blonde Venus, Skyscraper Souls, Hell's Highway, If I Had a Million, The Dark Horse, The Heart of New York, Pack Up Your Troubles Underrated: So Big, Call Her Savage, Symphony of Six Million, Night Court Overrated: The Bitter Tea of General Yen Have to see: Murders in the Rue Morgue; White Zombie Best actor: Paul Muni (I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang) Best actress: Barbara Stanwyck (So Big); Jean Harlow (Red-Headed Woman, AND Red Dust) Best supporting actor: Lyle Talbot and Humphrey Bogart (Three on a Match) Best supporting actress: Bette Davis (So Big) Total number of films viewed: About 100

I just acquired an enormous collection of Now Playing back issues going back to 1998, and it's interesting to see the pictures of Bob aging in stages, just like the rest of us have done.

kingrat, you might want to consider posting that thoughtful 1959 list in the Underrated Fifties thread. The 40's are a bad neighborhood and Marilyn and Audrey might not survive the evening with their virtue intact.

agree that neither Horne or Dandridge could have passed for white, nor could Hilda Simms. They would have needed someone who looked like Fredi Washington (too old by then) or future actress Ellen Holly (too young). Among white actresses, even Dorothy Lamour was borderline in terms of age (I always felt she had a mixed racial background) but I think had the right look... BLU I think what gets overlooked in talking about "one drop" tests and the like is that for a black woman to pass for white, she had to LOOK WHITE TO OTHER WHITES first and foremost: That was the sine qua non of the deception. Failing that, she'd then have to be light skinned enough to be able to present herself as "Cuban" or "South American" or some such "race" that seemed "exotic, but white" to white Americans. Jeanne Crain fit the bill and filled that first requirement. Whether or not she had any black blood in her in real life may be relevant as to the "authenticity" of the casting, but it was completely irrelevant as to the credibility of her character among the target audience. A younger Fredi Washington would have been more "authentic." No question about that. But with her features she also would have been far more likely to have been suspected of passing by suspicious whites, a problem that Crain would have been much less likely to have faced.

I think LITTLE CAESAR is a bit overrated, but I still should have mentioned it. I am glad you included THE DOORWAY TO HELL-- totally overlooked it and despite Lew Ayres being somewhat miscast, it's a bloody good film. If Little Caesar had been released in the late 40's or 50's, it wouldn't have made my list, either. But the gangster genre (sound version, anyway) was still in its infancy in 1930, and so Little Caesar gets a bit of pioneering credit. *1931* was better, though. Here's what I've picked for that year: I'm sure 1932 will continue the upward trend. 1. M 2. The Miracle Woman 3. The Public Enemy 4. The Public Defender 5. Five Star Final 6. The Secret Six 7. Threepenny Opera 8. The Ruling Voice 9. Night Nurse 10. Street Scene Best of the rest: A Gentleman's Fate; The Criminal Code; The Front Page; Other Men's Women; Blonde Crazy; Ten Cents a Dance; Laughing Sinners; A Free Soul; countless Laurel & Hardy and Little Rascals shorts Underrated: The Public Defender Overrated: Mata Hari; City Lights Have to see: All those Laurel & Hardy shorts that I haven't seen already Best actor: Peter Lorre (M) Best actress: Barbara Stanwyck (The Miracle Woman) Best supporting actor: Clark Gable (Night Nurse) Best supporting actress: Lotte Lenya (Threepenny Opera) Total number of films (feature length) viewed: About 50 - 55

Yeah, I'm kvetching. I guess for every new SOTM (Mary Astor) we have to deal with an oft-repeated one.... At this point I'd much rather have a month of Louis Calhern or Thelma Ritter than Humphrey Bogart or Jean Harlow, but that's only because I've seen such a high percentage of the latter two's films over the past 4+ years. But if I were relatively new to TCM, I'd be thrilled to be getting a month's worth of Bogie or Jean. And of course I'd much rather see Sanders or Hayward than any three time repeat star, but that's another story.

That's some pretty good choices, Top Billed. Here's my opening salvo for 1930. Only a handful of real standouts, the first five being the main ones. 1. The Blue Angel 2. The Unholy Three (this is the sound version) 3. Paid 4. The Big House 5. All Quiet on the Western Front 6. The Widow From Chicago 7. Little Caesar 8. The Truth About Youth 9. Animal Crackers 10. The Doorway to Hell Best of the rest: The Divorcee, Another Fine Mess, Our Blushing Brides, Ladies of Leisure Underrated: The Widow From Chicago Overrated: Anna Christie Have to see: The Blood of a Poet; Under the Roofs of Paris Best actor: Lon Chaney (The Unholy Three) Best actress: Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel) Best supporting actor: Harry Earles (The Unholy Three) Best supporting actress: Margaret Dumont (Animal Crackers) Total number of films viewed: About 30 - 35

I like ANNA LUCASTA. But I have to tell you that the original 1949 version, filmed at Columbia, with Paulette Goddard, John Ireland and Broderick Crawford is even better. TCM should definitely play it! I can't imagine any version topping the 1958 one, but I share your wish to test my suspicion out in the TCM laboratory. Better yet would be to show them back to back. To close out the 50's, here's my top 10 for *1959.* If you want to take this to other decades, though, I'd suggest the 1930's rather than the 60's, if for no other reason that there are far more films to choose among. 1. The 400 Blows 2. North By Northwest 3. The Young Philadelphians 4. The Crimson Kimono 5. Middle of the Night 6. Odds Against Tomorrow 7. Compulsion 8. Libel 9. Anatomy of a Murder 10. Imitation of Life Best of the rest: Shadows; The Last Angry Man; Some Like It Hot; On the Beach; Pickpocket Underrated: The Crimson Kimono; Middle of the Night; Libel Overrated: Hiroshima Mon Amour Have to see: Floating Weeds; Black Orpheus; Room at the Top Best actor: Jean-Pierre Leaud (The 400 Blows); Paul Newman (The Young Philadelphians) Best actress: Kim Novak (Middle of the Night) Best supporting actor: James Mason (North By Northwest) Best Supporting actress: Juanita Moore (Imitation of Life) Total number of films viewed: 35 - 40

I wonder if the people who were complaining about the choice of Joan Crawford as SOTM for April will also be kvetching about the fact that John Wayne will be making his third such appearance, in addition to the six times he's had a SUTS day. Personally I'd be happy if TCM never showed another John Wayne movie for the next 30 years, but obviously as a major force in Hollywood's history, he fully deserves the tribute. Maybe sometime down the road we'll finally get George Sanders or Susan Hayward.

As expected by anyone who has been following the monthly offerings for any length of time, what appears to be missing from this schedule, at first glance, are foreign and silent films. I suspect that a detailed examination of the movies on the complete month's schedule will confirm this. Those who decry this absence well know why. musikone We must be looking at different schedules, because the one I'm looking at has both silent and foreign films listed in all of their usual Sunday night / Monday morning times. I haven't looked over the rest of the schedule, but it's not as if the number of films in those two genres, or any genre for that matter, is always going to be the same in every month.

We have several in common for '57. As you may have noticed, I am sticking with mostly English language films. I think I would need a separate set of lists for the (non-British) foreign films I enjoy. I respect that POV, and in a way I'm glad you're sticking to English language films, as it means you're listing more films that I might not have been aware of. For myself, I just go by which movies I've enjoyed the most, and would most want to see again and maybe even again and again. You'll also notice that most of the foreign films I've listed have been decidedly in the "realism" mode, and that's because those are the genres I've always found to be the most interesting. My bar for other genres is set much higher. For my *1958* list, the quantity goes down quite a bit, but at the top level there are still lots of goodies, including two terrific movies (Anna Lucasta and Hell's Drivers) I'd never even heard of prior to 2013. TCM is truly an ongoing education for film greenhorns like myself. 1. Vertigo 2. Anna Lucasta 3. Hell's Drivers 4. Ashes and Diamonds 5. I Want to Live! 6. Desordre et la nuit 7. Home Before Dark 8. Cry Terror 9. The Whole Truth 10. Lonelyhearts Best of the rest: Party Girl; Some Came Running; The True Story of Lynn Stuart; Girls, Guns, and Gangsters; The Fly; Thunder Road; Take a Giant Step Underrated: Anna Lucasta; Hell's Drivers; Home Before Dark Overrated: Touch of Evil; Look Back in Anger; The Horse's Mouth Have to see: Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man; Separate Tables Best actor: James Stewart (Vertigo) Best actress: Kim Novak (Vertigo) Best supporting actor: Patrick McGoohan (Hell Drivers) Best supporting actress: Rhonda Fleming (Home Before Dark) Total films viewed: About 35 - 40

Best Actress: Barbara Stanwyck for Ball of Fire or Barbara Stanwyck for *The Lady Eve*? Or Mary Astor for *The Maltese Falcon*? It's funny how our opinion of a movie can affect our opinion of a particular performance in a way that's less than objective. The Lady Eve is right up there just below Bombshell and Libeled Lady on my list of all time top Hollywood comedies, but I've always found Ball of Fire a bit contrived. Never cared much for Gary Cooper and / or the horse he rode in on. But when I concentrate on Stanwyck's performances alone, it's hard to say for certain that Eve Sidwich / Jean Harrington is all that much better developed a character than Sugarpuss O'Shea. It might be just that I like the plot and the character actors in The Lady Eve so much better that it colors my views of Stanwyck's acting. Maybe if Cuddles Sakall had said "I positively swill in their ale", or "the fish was a poem", I might have reversed my views on Stanwyck's roles.

I sat through the interview at rapt attention, to the point where I almost felt as if I were in the studio itself. So many great stories. So many great photos. So many moving tributes, all so well deserved. What a mensch. And as far as I'm concerned, Alec Baldwin was the perfect complement to Bob. I can't understand the carping about him. Both of them obviously have a great rapport, both of them share an enormous love and respect for the history of movies and the craft of filmmaking, and both of them are as bright and conversant as they come. I've seen several thousand movies courtesy of TCM, and this was truly one of the highlight shows. TCM shouldn't overdo the repeats, but perhaps it would be nice to play this show again once a year on the occasion of TCM's anniversary. Or better yet, stage another interview with him and let him expound in a bit more detail about some of the special people he's known.

I also noticed that when he was playing word association with Alec, the two films he named for "comedy" were Libeled Lady and *This Is Spinal Tap.* It's hard to imagine a more pointed rebuttal to the idea that TCM is only about one narrow period of movies.

1957 holds up quite well 1. Throne of Blood 2. Nights of Cabiria 3. Time Limit 4. Elevator to the Gallows 5. Witness For the Prosecution 6. The Cranes Are Flying 7. A Face in the Crowd 8. Sweet Smell of Success 9. Paths of Glory 10. The Garment Jungle Best of the rest: Wicked As They Come, Zero Hour!, The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Hatful of Rain, Slander, Designing Women, The Brothers Rico, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, The Three Faces of Eve Underrated: Time Limit, The Garment Jungle, Zero Hour! Overrated: Pal Joey Have to see: Wild Strawberries; Summer With Monika Best actor: Toshiro Mifune (Throne of Blood); Charles Laughton (Witness For the Prosecution) Best actress: Giulietta Massina (Nights of Cabiria); Marlene Dietrich (Witness For the Prosecution) Best supporting actor: Richard Basehart (Time Limit) Best supporting actress: Elsa Lanchester (Witness For the Prosecution) Total number of films viewed: About 50

I also like cartoons, so that's why I list a lot of classic cartoon shorts and animated movies! I'd never thought about that, but if we ever had a similar thread about the 1930's, I'd be strongly tempted for 1936 to rank Donald Duck's "Moving Day" right below Libeled Lady. I defy anyone not to love this cartoon.

Getting back to movies, here's my 1956 list. There's a dropout in quality from 1955, but there are still enough good films to make a solid top 10 and then some. 1. While The City Sleeps - What a cast! 2. The Killing - What a caper! 3. Death of a Scoundrel - What a cad! 4. And God Created Woman - What a babe! 5. Street of Shame 6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 7. These Wilder Years 8. The Power and the Prize 9. The Solid Gold Cadillac 10. Written on the Wind Best of the Rest: Nightfall, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Storm Fear, The Wrong Man, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, There's Always Tomorrow, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Toward the Unknown, Patterns Underrated: Death of a Scoundrel, These Wilder Years, The Power and the Prize Overrated by many miles: Bus Stop Overrated by many galaxies: Forbidden Planet Best actor: George Sanders (Death of a Scoundrel); James Stewart (The Man Who Knew Too Much); Gregory Peck (The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit) Best actress: Barbara Stanwyck (These Wilder Years); Judy Holliday (The Solid Gold Cadillac) Best supporting actor: Rudy Bond (Nightfall) Best supporting actress: Yvonne de Carlo (Death of a Scoundrel) Total number of films viewed: About 45 - 50

Best (1949) Supporting Actress: *Mary Astor, Act of Violence* That's a very supportable pick. It's been several years since I've watched that movie all the way through, and my memory of Robert Ryan's performance is so strongly etched in my mind that I'd almost forgotten just how good Mary Astor was.

I never go to the genre discussions for the simple reason that there's no link to them on the right of the page. It's almost always 4 out of the 5 among General Discussions, Hot Topics, Your Favorites, Films & Filmmakers, and Games & Trivia.