JamesJazGuitar

Well I can see I'm not the only one with this POV as it relates to tar! As for The Accused the book Film Noir (Ward Silver) makes the movie sound interesting but Robert Cummings in a Noir does seam out of place. According to the book the Wendell Corey character is closer to the prototypical noir hero because of his obsession with Young's character. So I would still like to see it if only to cross another noir off my list.

Yes, seeing Born To Be Bad and The Bishop's Wife back-to-back would be great since they both star Grant and Young but of course are very different roles for each of them. The Bishop's Wife is one of my favorite movies of it's type. I'm somewhat of a cynic but the movie really movies me and Young's performance is spot on. One never questions the strength of her character even with the hint of sexual tension under the surface. Not an easy part to play.

Andy; Thanks for the tip. I've made a note on my calendar to ensure I don't miss these pre-code movies. I checked out the Young movie Born to Be Bad a May 1934 release (thus right on the pre-code border I believe). Wow that movie was very racy for the times and parts had to be redo in order for it to get released. Looking forward to any movie with Grant and Young. It runs at only 61 minutes so how racy can they get in that short time!

Well I have to give my opinion on this: I always felt Olivia was more beautiful up until about the age of 25 or so and Joan after that. i.e. to me Joan never look as nice as Olivia on film in the years of 1936 - 38; e.g. The Great Garick, It's Love I'm After, etc.. Of course I'm bias since Olivia is my 3rd favorite actress. But I also enjoy Joan very much and all many books about both of them. Best sister team there was in my view, with the Bennett sisters running second.

Rm; Well I could see that A Face In The Crowd would offend people in that area of the South. Maybe not so much today (e.g. in the South they now serve sushi! ), but I assume when it was released in was offensive to many in that area. I mean it does make 'the people' look like suckers and I can see many saying 'yea, those in Hollywood or New York all feel we are hicks!'.

Clore: I'm sure you as well as many others have many talents. Ok it might not be acting but most of us have talents. For example, I play jazz guitar. This isn't an easy thing to do. It took me over 15 years before I felt I could sit in with others that play jazz. I'll never be a master but I can hold my own and I'm sure others have talents as well. I admit I'm very confused by some posters. When is it OK in their mind to post something negative? For example, under the Frank Grimes thread Frank and I were discussing our favorite actresses. I listed my top 10 and so did he. Well I had Bette Davis #1. Frank replied that Davis was #54 on his list! Now I could view that as an insult but I know Frank didn't mean it as one. He was just stating his view and Davis is clearly an actress he doesn't like or enjoy. No harm, no foul. There was a thread on Errol Flynn and there Tom was told he was full of hero worship. Well to some degree Tom is! But if one cannot accept negative comments in a thread than isn't that also hero worship to some degree? I really want to be respectful but I'm not going to worry each time I post. As for Young, she wouldn't be in my top 10 but I enjoy many of the movies she was in. I have only seen about 10% of her pre-code work and what I have seen I have enjoyed. Hope TCM shows more of these so I can continue to learn more about this fine lady.

I find Agee's take on movies very interesting. Take this one on Princess O'Rourke; While I agree there is a sappiness and sillyness to the overall plot Agee doesn't really say anything about if the movie is enjoyable or not, or the actors or the overall quality of the movie from his POV. So while I agree with his take here (the end of the movie kind of drags down once the 2 plot angle Agee mentions are by then beaten to a pulp) I still wonder; Agee would you recommend people see this movie? For example, there we have Jack Carson and Jane Wyman playing a married couple and I find them funny and of course Coburn is great as usual. Then we have the two stars: I felt they had good chemistry and this was a fitting end to Olivia's WB days and her involvement in light material. So was this just a portion of his review? Anyhow thanks for posting these. Like I said I find Agee interesting and respect his POV. So please continue the good work!

How The West Was Won was the first movie I remember my parents taking me to see in a theater here in L.A. designed for this type of movie. I was only around 6 or so, and all I remember is that the movie was way too long (well for an inpatient kid)! But many years later (like 20 or so), I saw it again and really enjoyed it.

Yes, The Glass Key is a must see movie for noir fans and one of my favorite noirs. By 1942 Bonita Granville had grown out of her brat period and looked like a peach. Calleia, a fine supporting actor in so many films (Gilda, Touch of Evil) is very solid here and of course the top 3 stars are in fine form with the Ladd and Lake combo really making a spark after the success of This Gun For Hire (which wasn't anticipated). The scene in the country house is one of a kind. Very, very dark but at the same type a hoot due to the over the top actions of Ladd's character. A must see indeed.

Just more proof that the bailing out of Detroit continues to deliver more and more benefits to the area.

How about this caption: Don't look so surprised old man. Yea, today I'm just a bartender but my dream is to become a producer of TV sitcoms!

Well we need one of those 'man in the street' type of informal polls that I have seen lately related to politics. The last one I saw a few days ago, they were showing people pictures of the VP, Biden. Most people didn't know who he was. A few would say 'the VP' but didn't know his name. They showed these same people a picture of Tom Cruise and they all knew who he was! I have no idea what type of results we would get showing pictures of classic movie actresses to people under 30. My guess is that the most well known stars would be in the order of; Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis and maybe Crawford. But in most cases they would just say 'I don't know'. But again, just a very wild guess on my part.

And I don't think any of them was thinking 'man, this gal has an overbite'!

Well I agree with you on Allyson. As for Young, well I used to place in the same category was Allyson, Wyman (of the mid 40s and on), and especially Colbert; They each looked more like my mom's friends instead of my sistert's! But latter one I discovered those Young pre-code movies and her 30s work. A much different Young than the Young of the 40s and 50s and one I now like a lot.

Thanks SanFin for what I consider a reasonable POV on this topic. All I would add is that if the unauthorized use of material is innocent and with no intent to make a profit than the correct and reasonable response by the owner of said material is that it be taken down. If the owner threatens a law suit then I could see name calling in that case. I will admit my point of view is driven by the fact I write software for a living and, yea, I don't wish that software to be stolen. But it appears that these days one is a greedy capitalist for having this perspective.

Yes, The Breaking Point is a more mature version of To Have and Have Not. I think the Hawks version is more of a WWII theme movie. i.e.. it is the way it is because if was released during the war and the bad guys are Nazis. Add to this the impact of Bogie Bacall and we see what drives that interpretation of the story. As you know The Breaking Point is a big favorite of mine but as we have discussed for much different reason. Both fine movies but very different on so many levels. Curtiz was the director of highly successful movies in multiple genres but Hawks is often sited as being the tops at this. The difference I see, and the point I was trying to make about a distinct style, is that when I see a Hawks movie in a specific genre I know I'm watching a Hawks movie. This isn't the case with Curtiz. I can see the WB style in the movies (again often driven by the WB supporting players, music, camera work and crew etc...), but not a Curtiz style per se. But not having a distinct style actually works; i.e. a director with a strong artistic style might of been a distraction and 'gummed up' the works. When a producer has the type of talent WB had in that era they need a director that is good at utilizing that talent. Curtiz clearly was that type of director and the results speak for themselves.

I tend to agree that a lot of these other era would be nice to visit but I wouldn't want to live there on a permanent basis than the era I have lived in. The main reason I would visit would be to see live shows of performers I love. E.g. Seeing Leslie Howard and Bogie doing The Petrified Forest live on Broadway in the early 30s. Seeing Charlie Parker playing in NYC in the late 40s, Sinatra in his prime in the 50s.... The decade I would of liked to visit the most would be the 50s. This is mostly due to the jazz music of that era. While I like the jazz music before than as a jazz musician it doesn't compare to the music of the 50s. To hear the original Bebop players playing live would of been something. As for plays I would still be able to see many of the stars of the 30s and 40s I loved and the younger stars that made their mark during the 50s on Broadway.

Due to rights issues early Fox movies like A Devil With Women released in 1930 are rarely shown on TCM. Now I don't know if rights issues are the specific reason in this case but that is the general reason.

I have stayed out of this thread to see how it would develop. I have found the comments very interesting. Since WB is my favorite studio like many here Curtiz was directed some of my favorite movies. So many, but unlike Howard Hawks Curtiz doesn't have a unique style. But as others have noted sometimes having a strong style leads to repeating certain 'themes' over and over again in movie after movie. Take Hawks and the dialog between the male and female leads. Very similar dialog used in multiple movies with different stars like Grant, Bogie and Wayne. Thus while I love what Hawks does with that one can say there is a lack of creativity when it is used multiple times. Others here have pointed this out with regards to Hitchcock and I agree with their take. So is Curtiz a great film director? One side of me says 'of course,,, it takes a great director to direct so many great films'! But another side of me wonders if those movies were directed by another of the WB 'in-house' directors (but with the same crew, producers, actors, especially character actors etc..), would those films of been less great? If someone like Hawks directed them would they have been better or the inverse, e.g. if Curtiz directed The Big Sleep would it not of been as good? Of course these questions can never be answered.

I agree that Young before say the mid forties was very good looking but after that less so. I don't know if it was her hair styles or that her face appeared to get more narrow. But in the 30s with those big eyes she was something. I also enjoy many of the movies she was in.

1) Leslie Howard 2) Bogart 3) Cary Grant 4) Robert Mitchum 5) William Powell 6) James Cagney 7) Gary Cooper 8) Errol Flynn 9) Alan Ladd 10) Clark Gable

Well the type of character Wyman plays in Johnny Belinda is the type that the academy loves to reward similar to their love for a historical figure. I really wish DeHavilland had won in 48 but maybe if she did she wouldn't of won yet again in 49. i.e. would the academy given her the oscar in 3 out of 4 years? I doubt it. As for Jan Sterling; Yea, she has an interesting face and I always enjoy here; e.g. Ace In The Hole, The Harder They Fall etc.. Edited by: jamesjazzguitar on Oct 17, 2012 5:05 PM

Well of course the ending is 'add on' material to add to the drama and as noted isn't practical, but overall this was a movie I enjoyed. I wasn't planning on watching it but once I started (I missed only the first few minutes), I was hooked. As for Vera Miles I was thinking the exact same thing after seeing this. While I know her from a few Hitchcock movies (where she does a fine job also), I agree that she wasn't utilized as much as she could of been. Oh well, so many actors are in this same boat.

Well that is a good thing since you don't want to come off like movie stars are heros!

Well I can't say if I like ambiguous ending or clear cut ones more. It comes down to it all depends on what the movie is trying to convey. Take The Graduate. That has a ambiguous ending as to if these two will really have a future. That ending 'fits' the movie since it really isn't clear if these two really do love each other, only that the girl didn't love the guy she was about to marry. But often I like that happy ending were it is implied they will be happy ever after.