JarrodMcDonald

Maybe they will...I'd sure like to see it.

Okay...I just finished watching HEAT LIGHTNING. These were my (random) thoughts about it: *We see a transformation with Aline's character, through attitude and wardrobe. *The Dvorak character's storyline is not really wrapped up. (Dvorak resembles Joan Crawford.) *Mervyn LeRoy does a great job opening up the stage play (better than the more claustrophobic PETRIFIED FOREST). Large sections of the narrative take place outdoors and in various sets. *LeRoy also creates a wonderful sense of atmosphere...so great when the Mexican family is playing the music and we see the characters lounging around with the lightning in the background sky. *The chauffeur character is certainly the most hen-pecked of the bunch. *Jane Darwell only appears in the first 8 minutes of the picture (I was hoping for more). *Aline is great during the shooting scene and its aftermath. Her facial expressions are so perfect. *I liked the chemistry between Preston Foster and Lyle Talbot...it was convincing. *Glenda Farrell...little scene stealer. *The pre-code hanky panky was tame by today's standards (hard to believe the Catholic Legion of Decency objected so vehemently...there were more salacious stories being turned into Hollywood films). *Overall, I'd give it a 9 on a scale of 1-10. I enjoyed it very much.

I started watching it last night, but fell asleep, since it was on so late. I am about to go finish it now. It does seem to resemble PETRIFIED FOREST...good comparison! I like how Aline (one of the most naturalistic actresses of her generation) plays it a bit more masculine. The contrast between her and Ann Dvorak is fun to watch...I'll be back later to post again on the thread after I have finished viewing it and can process it adequately.

With the right kind of exposure, it could become a cult film. There is definitely a lot of pop-culture value to it.

Thanks...I haven't seen NORWOOD either, and don't know how 'available' it is. Campbell didn't really become a major motion picture star, though he did make an occasional film in the 80s and 90s. But Kim Darby has continued her career. She was no ingenue, but she found consistent parts in low-budget films, did a bunch of guest-starring roles on primetime television and has been teaching acting at UCLA. She's 62 now and still working.

These two titles are paired because Tina appears in both of them...that's one reason...but they are also paired because they share similar stories elements, albeit in different genres (radically different genres). The theme of a factory being closed, that incites a riot, occurs in GOD'S LITTLE ACRE. And in the beach-and-surfer flick, the local hangout is also in danger of being put out of business. The proletariat worker in the first film has a counterpart in the beatnik rebel of the second feature.

I don't think he started as a method actor, but he certainly became one mid-way through his career, especially in the 50s. Myrna Loy is another classic Hollywood star that adapted well. She became more of a method actor, too...this is very noticeable in her film with Robert Ryan and Montgomery Clift called LONELYHEARTS.

I believe Madonna's 'White Heat' is the third track on the True Blue album, just before 'Live to Tell.' Since it was not released as a single for radio airplay, it won't be on any greatest hits compilation. I will probably have to go back and buy the original album again (my original copy having long since been lost or loaned out). And yeah, 'Vogue' is another great one. She really does pay tribute to some of her favorite stars from classic Hollywood. On the Erotica album, she invokes the spirit of Marlene Dietrich.

Filed Under: *GLEN CAMPBELL & KIM DARBY* Today's Picks: *TRUE GRIT (1969)* & *NORWOOD (1970)* True Grit is the third film that country singer Glen Campbell made, and it was the first time he appeared with costar Kim Darby. The movie is actually a John Wayne western based on a novel by Charles Portis. Wayne appears as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (in an Oscar winning performance), but he is nearly upstaged by Campbell and Darby. In the story, Darby is a headstrong 14-year-old girl that hires the aging marshal (Wayne) to track down the man that killed her father. To do so, the pair must head into Indian Territory. They are joined by a Texas Ranger (played by Glen Campbell), who also hopes to capture the outlaw and collect a reward. A year after the phenomenal success of their western with the Duke, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby were reunited on screen. This time the result was Norwood. It is about a musician that meets the "right kind of girl," but she is unfortunately an unwed, soon-to-be mother. The story was once again written by Charles Portis, but this time it has a more contemporary setting. The film was not as successful with audiences as its predecessor, but it is known for helping launch Joe Namath?s minor career as an actor in movies.

Okay, well thanks for the clarification on that. I have Time Warner. If I notice it happening some more, I will have to contact the local office. But it only happens on TCM...on AMC or SoapNet, I don't notice it occurring at all.

It was during 2009. I didn't record them unfortunately. I remember that the print quality of the first one was terrible. They switched Janies between films, and Joan Leslie takes over for Joyce Reynolds in the sequel. The second film also has a different director, but the print was much cleaner.

The freezing and jumping ahead only happens on TCM, not any other cable channels. So I was guessing that it was an issue TCM had in transferring the original films into a digital format.

You really have hit on some interesting points: The Cody Jarrett character is not depicted as glamorous at all. You mentioned the Scorsese movies, but I think the one from recent times that really showed the gangster as a slick criminal was BUGSY, played by glamor boy Warren Beatty. And yes, he does get his comeuppance at the end, but throughout the entire film (even while behind bars), everything is grand. You also mentioned seeing the ending in a clip somewhere and comparing it to seeing it in its proper context. My first exposure to WHITE HEAT (don't laugh) was a Madonna song on her True Blue album from 1987, in which she sings a tune that pays tribute to Jimmy Cagney called 'White Heat.' Portions of dialogue from the film's climactic final scenes are excerpted in the song. Since I played that cassette so much (we bought cassettes in the 80s), I had those lines memorized. It was so odd to finally hear JC utter that dialogue on screen in the context of the film.

I get some video glitches, too...not terribly often, but often enough to make me notice. On my screen, the image will freeze for a second, then jumps ahead to catch up with the live feed. Is that what happens with yours?

Yes...Robert Ryan looks different in this role. He also seemed different in appearance in Mann's other film THE NAKED SPUR. I can't remember where I read that Mann's favorite picture was GOD'S LITTLE ACRE...I know I am not inventing this! LOL

I agree...she was very good in that kind of role. I wish she had been given the chance to get top billing in a film. She's cute in JANIE, having transitioned from period pieces into more contemporary war-time stories (again as the domestic servant). But her talents are wasted in the sequel, JANIE GETS MARRIED. She appears in a flashback from the first film. Then, she has one or two new scenes. But since the sequel is about the oldest daughter marrying her soldier boyfriend, the action switches to their new home, and the folks' place where Hattie's character works is not shown again. So after about twenty or thirty minutes, Hattie is written out of the story entirely. A new servant, played by Margaret Hamilton, takes over in the new home.

Yes, it appears tame by today's standards. Supposedly, this film is Anthony Mann's favorite of all the ones he directed.

Oh gee, that is the definitive role for him. Why didn't anyone in Hollywood put him in a Shakespeare-based film. Welles made an independent European film later using the Falstaff character, but Coburn would've been truly delightful in a Hollywood studio production featuring the character. Missed opportunity.

On March 14, TCM will air GOD?S LITTLE ACRE, a 1958 film by Anthony Mann about the complex sexual entanglements and betrayals that lead to a murder within a southern land-owning family. The script is based on Erskine Caldwell?s novel, first published in 1933. The book was considered so controversial in its time for containing numerous sex scenes that a literary board in New York attempted to censor it. This led to the author's arrest and a trial for obscenity. He was eventually exonerated. The film retained some of the book?s more salacious elements, though there was no prosecution for obscenity this time. However, the film was blacklisted due to a scene in which local workers stage a revolt against a factory owner. It was regarded by some as Communist propaganda. Indeed, the screenwriter, Ben Maddow, had been suspected of being a ?Red? earlier in the decade. As a result of its scandalous reputation, the film was a box office failure during its initial release. But subsequent years have seen it become a lauded cult classic. It has aired frequently on television. It features several actors that went on to become household names on TV: Tina Louise (of GILLIGAN?S ISLAND fame); Jack Lord (from HAWAII FIVE-O); and Michael Landon (BONANZA & LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE).

Oh gosh, either of them would be so perfect for it. I'm telling ya, Hattie's life is very interesting (and sad in spots). She faced a lot of racial prejudice and overcame tremendous obstacles. She was involved in a lawsuit to be allowed to own a home in a rich white neighborhood. And she was denied burial in the cemetery of her choice because she was black. The highs were very high, but the lows were very low for her...it's an interesting mix of struggle and triumph. It would make a great TV-movie.

Her life story is rather interesting...very interesting...it should be made into a TV-movie at least.

Since there isn't a thread about her and she's definitely a favorite of many people, I thought I'd get the ball rolling... Of course, *GONE WITH THE WIND*...Oscar worthy in so many ways. *ALICE ADAMS*...she's a riot as the flustered maid, the way she plays off Katharine Hepburn and the others is truly inspired. Supposedly, it was this kind of performance that led AMPAS to give awards for supporting actors. *THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON*...she is perfect in those scenes with Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland during the courtship sequence. She is very well used in this movie...I wouldn't be surprised if they rewrote some of the script to tailor it to her particular talents. *GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE*...she more than keeps up with Jack Benny...the bits/gags they give her to do are great. *THE MAD MISS MANTON*...I loved her as the grumpy housekeeper. And working with Barbara Stanwyck. Screwball comedy heaven! *Some other notable performances: in *SINCE YOU WENT AWAY* and in *NEVER SAY GOODBYE* (again with Errol Flynn).

Definitely worth it. Robeson's voice is so rich and wonderful...Irene Dunne is a treasure as always...and Hattie really shines with the comic relief.

I liked THE ACTRESS. It was fun to see Spencer Tracy do another paternal role, like he did in the FATHER OF THE BRIDE movies. Plus, there was the added bonus of seeing Tony Perkins very early in his film career, with a beautiful young Jean Simmons.