AndyM108
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Posts posted by AndyM108
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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We have no new snow today, but the HIGH temperature is - 10.
That matches our predicted low in Washington for 7:00 tomorrow morning, although that includes wind chill. The actual low temperature is supposed to be a balmy +6. This will be one of the few times in my life I've felt mildly envious of Floridians.
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Glad to see someone else appreciates the vastly underrated and mostly forgotten Footsteps in the Fog. I've never seen Blanche Fury, but since Stewart Granger is one of my all-time favorite "cads" along with George Sanders*, I'm going to make sure to catch that the next time around. I was hoping that I'd already recorded it, but no luck.
*And don't they *LOOK* the part?
I wouldn't trust anyone who looked like Granger as far as I could throw him. -
Elvis did a LOT to bring the genre to the forefront. But talk to any of the "rock stars" to follow, and you'll find few who credit "Blue Hawaii" and "Viva Las Vegas" as major influences on their career choices. More guys have picked up a guitar and learned to rock due to Berry than anyone else.
Sepiatone
I had a brief acquaintance with Jack Casady of The Jefferson Airplane when we were in Jr. High School in DC in the late 1950's. He and his band were the stars of the Friday Night Club dances, and he affected an elaborate Elvis 'do. But he and his older friends would spend *every* spare evening driving around every nook and cranny of the Washington area, catching *every* musical act from rock and roll to R&B to blues to country to bluegrass, absorbing them all. This was a common practice among emerging musicians of that era - - - - They didn't restrict themselves to any narrow genre.
I also remember a remark he made to me one day, when we were discussing different versions of then-top 40 hits. When it came around to "Fever", he said that only Little Willie John knew how to sing that song, and that he'd cringe every time he heard Peggy Lee's pop version. I couldn't have agreed with him more, even though I later came to like many of Peggy Lee's jazz albums.
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I'm being pleasantly surprised as to how well 1955 holds up. Partly it's the influx of good foreign movies, but hey, they all count!
1. Diabolique
2. Kiss Me Deadly
3. Bob Le Flambeur
4. Des Gens Sans Importance
5. House of Bamboo (needs rescuing from Fox)
6. Footsteps in the Fog
7. Life in the Balance
8. The Violent Men
9. Trial
10. Death of a Cyclist
Best of the rest: Marty, The Phenix City Story, The Night Holds Terror, The Big Knife, Guys and Dolls, Tight Spot, Killer's Kiss, Dementia (an over-the-top classic in the Reefer Madness vein), Man With the Golden Arm, To Catch a Thief
Underrated: House of Bamboo, Trial, Footsteps in the Fog
Overrated: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause (not bad movies, just overrated)
Have to see: I Live In Fear
Total movies viewed: About 45 - 50
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To quote the closing line from one of my favorite Nancy Wilson songs,
*"Don't let the back door hit you where the dog should have bit you."*
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It always seems as if post-'60s films make up a greater % of the schedule than they actually do.
If all I had to go on were the endless complaints by people who show up for about 10 minutes to make a hit-and-run comment, I might very well think that TCM's programming was made up 90% of post-1980 movies.
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Most women are more attractive when they are younger, but in Crawford's case, even more so.
Even allowing for face lifts, how many big time actresses have held onto their basic facial features and figures much beyond their early 40's? Not too many that I can think of. Loretta Young, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck and Kim Novak are about the only ones who come to mind immediately, though I'm sure there are others. Most of them either just got bloated a la Liz Taylor, or went in the Crawford direction of looking like they were wearing a 10 layer mask of makeup in an attempt to push back the clock. It's an uphill battle that very few women (or men, for that matter) can hope to win.
I wouldn't trust anyone who looked like Granger as far as I could throw him.
Robert Osborne interview for his own Private Screening
in General Discussions
Posted
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.