JarrodMcDonald

I haven't seen it either, since the summer of 91. I'd probably really think it was cheesy now! But I do have fond memories of it since I saw it with my dad, grandfather and a male cousin. It was a guys' night sort of thing.

Costner's accent was definitely an anachronism. I wonder if the same critics took other actors to task for being slightly miscast in some of their roles. Everyone seemed to like picking on Costner, but he's the one who was bringing people to the theatre and generating ticket sales.

I haven't seen the Fairbanks version either. There is also one from the 70s which sort of trumpeted Audrey Hepburn's return to movies after a lengthy absence. She plays an older Marian (of course) and Sean Connery is an older Robin. It's called ROBIN AND MARIAN. I have good memories of seeing the PRINCE OF THIEVES version in the summer of 91 and the Bryan Adams single from the movie was number one all summer, like for eight or nine weeks on top of the Billboard pop chart. Costner was at the height of his career. Don't forget the Mel Brooks spoof that came out on the heels of the Costner version...Cary Elwes was ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF TIGHTS.

Notes on the original stage versions (from wikipedia): American playwright Tennessee Williams received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1947. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The London production opened in 1949 with Bonar Colleano, Vivien Leigh, and Renee Asherson and was directed by Laurence Olivier.

Alec Baldwin was nominated for a Tony Award for playing Stanley in the 1992 revival. Jessica Lange was Blanche in that production.

On March 6, TCM is broadcasting A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, the film that made Marlon Brando a household name. Almost sixty years later, fans continue to note his powerful portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in the adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play by Elia Kazan. Brando appeared in the original stage production, which was also directed by Kazan, with costars Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. In the role of Blanche is Vivien Leigh, who had starred in the London West End production. Tennesee Williams adapted his own story for film. Due to constraints of the production code he had to tone down references to the homosexuality of Blanche's deceased husband. Also, her sister Stella must renounce Stanley's rape of Blanche, which drives Blanche to have a mental breakdown. During filming, Kazan made the set walls movable so they would close in on Vivien Leigh and mirror the character's insanity. The film won four Oscar awards: Best Actress Oscar for Vivien Leigh; Best Supporting Actress statuette for Kim Hunter; and Best Supporting Actor Karl Malden. Marlon Brando was nominated in the Best Actor category but lost to Humphrey Bogart. Brando would win a few years later for his work in ON THE WATERFRONT, another drama directed by Elia Kazan.

Yeah, it does make you wonder what Dickens would've thought about the way his great stories were depicted on film. Any major author who lived and died before the cinema was invented.

I think we're underestimating the staying power of AIRPLANE! I am sure that kids today would get a kick out of the film's many great gags. Thirty years later we are addressing it as a classic and for good reason.

That's a great anecdote. Thanks for sharing. It makes the thread more enjoyable to read. I met Lauren when I was in college in Southern California. This was during the early to mid 90s. She was on a book tour for what I think was her second autobiography, called NOW. It was a very dignified affair, held at the town and gown center on campus and seating was reserved. They did a q-and-a with her for about an hour. She has fascinating stories covering all phases of her career. I remember she had just finished shooting PRET-A-PORTER in Europe with Robert Altman (American title was READY TO WEAR). She liked talking about her experience with Altman, and it was not the first time she had worked with him. She was very classy and just really interesting to see in person. After the interview, she of course autographed copies of the book and chatted with fans. Her career has continued well beyond that point.

Try watching THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER...there are all sorts of topical references. The inside jokes and comments play like a who's who of show business at the time. Also, at the beginning of HOLLYWOOD HOTEL, there is a musical number in which dancers carry big cards that have references to big-name stars on them. One is about Olivia DeHavilland and her role in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Most people now associate her with the other roles she did later in career. SHOW PEOPLE, IT'S A GREAT FEELING and THE PLAYER contain a lot of references to the motion picture making business of their respective eras.

Interesting comment. You're right...films age. And humor changes from one generation to the next, but I think some things will always be funny. There was a line in MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE when Bob Hope walks into a room with a bunch of beer bottles and says something like, 'I guess Ray Milland was here.' All you need to know is that Ray Milland was another movie star at this time, and you get the sense that there's an in-joke. It was topical for 1947, but it's still a funny line. In fact, a lot of Bob Hope's humor was topical. I don't think that makes his comedies unfunny. Yes, it makes them dated, but there is now some history with the humor...and that's fun.

Great picture of LN! Truly hilarious films.

Oooh...sounds like a treat. Thanks for providing the link. I am sure many people will appreciate hearing it. For those who don't know about it: Lux Radio Theater was a weekly radio series on CBS in the 1940s. Film adaptations and Broadway plays were usually featured. The broadcasts were performed live before studio audiences. There were other anthology series at this time, but Lux was the most popular. It transitioned to television as the Lux Video Theatre through most of the 1950s.

Or what about Ethel Merman as a MAN who thinks he's Ethel Merman. LOL

I haven't seen it, except for clips on a promo Kurt Russell does about EP for TCM. You'll have to tell us what you think of it.

Yeah...they didn't have to adapt much. The key to its success is the casting and how the actors can spin the lines for laughs. Roger Ebert called Leslie Nielsen the 'Olivier of spoofs.' Of course Nielsen earned that reputation from not just this film but the Naked Gun series he did with Z-A-Z.

Yeah...hehe.

"Surely, you can't be serious? I am serious...and don't call me Shirley!" On March 5, TCM takes to the skies. Several aviation flicks are slated, but the main attraction: 1980's AIRPLANE! The film is a spoof of the disaster film genre, and is essentially a remake of the 1957 Paramount film ZERO HOUR! (For those interested in taking a look at the original, ZERO HOUR! will screen immediately after AIRPLANE!) Among the all-star cast: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jimmie Walker, Barbara Billingsley, and Ethel Merman (in her last film role). Upon its North American release, the film was a huge success. It was produced for only $3.5 million, and it made $83 million in the U.S. It then made another $40 million after it went into wider release. In the U.K., it is considered the second greatest comedy film of all time. Writers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, who also co-directed the film, went on to receive the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Comedy.

I think RED RIVER is my favorite Hawks film...and I really like MONKEY BUSINESS, I don't know why...it's just sheer fun.

Hmmm...I think there's a place specifically designed for suggestions. This is not it. The thread was started because the OP was annoyed that someone else had begun those other threads. Let's be honest here. You're putting a more positive spin on it, and that is appreciated.

Okay this thread has now been reported, too. This is exactly what I wrote the mods: Harrassment against another poster named HollyGolightly. Please rip out, yank, pull, delete, destroy the thread. Thanks.

It's a bit early to be posting this thread. It seems snarky and counter-productive to a positive posting environment. There's a word behind this...how do you spell it? Oh yeah. J-E-A-L-O-U-S.

Do you remember the title of the episode? You could probably research it at TV.com and see if the writer of the CHEYENNE teleplay was the same writer on one of the screenplays, or a son of the original writer (sometimes they borrow their parents' material). Either that or it was someone that was a fan of the original source and borrowed heavily from it.

The best part: it gives us Lauren Bacall and launches one of the most varied, intriguing careers in show biz.

Paul Muni is definitely the king of the biopics, for any era. I watched him in THE LAST ANGRY MAN yesterday. Even when he's playing a fictional character, he seems so real. He was truly one of the best. I never get bored with his performances. The scene where he died at the end of Angry Man, just blew me away.