MyFavoriteFilms
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You hit several points, Thomas, that I have realized while doing this sort of research:
1. The western stars have lengthy filmographies (and TCM doesn't seem to air these films, leaving it to Encore Westerns to pick up the slack). I omitted a discussion of Tim Holt in the RKO thread and it pained me to do so...he was a big moneymaker for the studio (and actually he did more than westerns).
2. I think those Ralph Graves films screened because the focus was on Capra, not on Graves unfortunately.
3. I am going to sound like a heathen, but I never listen to the scores on silent films. I always put the volume on mute and just focus on the visuals. They are 'silent' for a reason. LOL Thus, using 'my' logic, the lack of a score should not prevent Sony from making those early Columbia silents available to enthusiasts and fans of those stars you mentioned whose work gets neglected.
4. The short subjects, like the westerns, lead to lengthy filmographies for these stars. It's easier if they are bundled in a series, since there is a lot to sift through...After covering the major studios, I had planned to look at the independent producers. A discussion of Hal Roach Studios would require an examination of the countless short subjects he produced. Since that would be quite a bit of work, I might just focus on the Roach features...we'll see when I cross that bridge. LOL
5. Thanks for mentioning Constance Cummings and Ralph Bellamy and those others. I will add them to the list for Columbia.
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Yes, you guessed it...I am planning on doing a thread for 'Seldom seen Columbia films on TCM.' I think the programmers have access to a great many of Columbia's titles, at least more than they do with Fox, Universal and Paramount.
But before I research the films (filmographies) I want to make sure that I have all the actors that were under a long-term or multi-picture deal with Columbia. If other posters would not mind combing through the list that follows, and letting me know if there are stars I have unintentionally omitted, I would appreciate it. Thank you!
JEAN ARTHUR
CARY GRANT
ROSALIND RUSSELL
PENNY SINGLETON
ARTHUR LAKE
GLENN FORD
RITA HAYWORTH
LUCILLE BALL
ANN MILLER
THE THREE STOOGES
ADELE JURGENS
BARBARA HALE
BARBARA STANWYCK
WILLIAM HOLDEN
LARRY PARKS
BRODERICK CRAWFORD
DONNA REED
JOHN DEREK
KIM NOVAK
ALDO RAY
JUDY HOLIDAY
JACK LEMMON
EVELYN KEYES
PAT O?BRIEN
JOAN CRAWFORD
BRUCE BENNETT
LLOYD BRIDGES
ADELE MARA
JANET BLAIR
ALEXANDER KNOX
JEROME COURTLAND
RANDOLPH SCOTT
IRENE DUNNE
ROBERT FRANCIS
BRIAN KEITH
DIANNE FOSTER
JACK HAWKINS
CLEO MOORE
ANN DORAN
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I think VERTIGO may've worked with Fonda and Novak, who knows...it would've been slightly different, that's for sure. I also think VERTIGO would've worked with Novak and Cary Grant.
As for comparisons about Fonda, I think that if such observations are going to be made, they are best made comparing him to Ty Power...I would say a lot of their roles at Fox are interchangeable. For instance, Hank could easily have essayed the lead role in BRIGHAM YOUNG (its tone is very remiscent of THE GRAPES OF WRATH).
Also, if you look at the series about the James brothers, Hank could easily have played Jesse but instead was given the role of Frank James. He has second billing in the first film and top billing in the sequel (since Ty's character is killed off at the end of the first one). Incidentally, it is worth noting that the role of Frank James is technically a villain...so Hank did not always play the 'good guy.'
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Incidentally, I noticed that Mr. Milland was billed as 'Raymond' Milland in THE GILDED LILY.
If you're a Ray Milland fan, I suggest a double-feature of LILY and EASY LIVING. He plays the same type of character in both, and they are both romantic screwball comedies done at Paramount in the 30s. Enjoy!
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One of the problems with programming is that it tends to be theme-oriented. And thus, a lot of the same films fit under the same themes and are constantly repeated.
Personally, I think the focus needs to be on individual studios, eras and artists (producers, directors, actors, costume designers, you name it, etc.). This way, we can ensure that everyone gets a turn and 'comes up' in rotation.
Otherwise, it's like the randomness of a church bingo game...you keep waiting for O-71 and it never gets picked. LOL
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As for John Mack Brown talkies, I need to mention:
THE SINGLE STANDARD (in silent and sound versions; with Garbo)
BILLY THE KID (with Wallace Beery)
His other MGM titles appear in the original post. But he seems to have been loaned out a lot during his time with Metro, and he has films from the early 30s for Fox (such as THE VALIANT with Paul Muni); United Artists (Mary Pickford's COQUETTE); plus talkies at Columbia and Universal. When MGM unceremoniously dumped him after THE SECRET SIX, he would go on to reinvent himself as a western star.
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> Regarding LAST OF THE PAGANS; could it be that so many scenes were edited out and trashed that to show what is left would be meaningless.
Well, even with the excised footage, I am sure it still has a running time of an hour. I think the cuts were of things that did not really harm the story by having them removed: for example, there was a glimpse of a native woman breast-feeding a baby that was a big no-no and was taken out. Other shots of 'local color' on the island were also deleted. Of course, today all that stuff would be kept in the film, especially if it was geared towards an art-house market. LOL
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Thanks for the add-ons. I really didn't focus on silents (unless it was a film that had been done in both silent and sound versions). Obviously, if we go back to the origins of MGM (1925) up to the advent of the talkies (roughly 1929), there would be quite a few titles and that would be a separate thread/conversation.
I have said this before, and it's worth repeating: I think TCM should branch off into sister channels...a TCM silent channel would satisfy so many fans (and make new fans of silents).
Some omissions in the original post:
- I neglected to include John Gilbert's talkies that have not aired on TCM in awhile.
- I didn't mention Eleanor Boardman
- I forgot to include John (Johnny) Mack Brown
The Garbo titles you mention are definitely in the original post. Except for ANNA CHRISTIE...TCM is fairly good about playing that one (it usually appears on Garbo's birthday and on Marie Dressler's birthday).
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Yes...I have a feeling we won't get the rest of the March sched for awhile...though the 'talk' is that Baby Harlow will be SOTM.
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I don't like to comment too much on actors' personal lives, because it's the work on screen that counts most...but the real-life relationship of Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan is what makes those scenes in their films really come alive.
They made four films together: the first one was NEXT TIME WE LOVE (at Universal), then they did SHOPWORN ANGEL, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and THE MORTAL STORM (all for MGM).
For some reason, she wouldn't marry him (she married four times, her first husband was Henry Fonda in the early 30s). Supposedly, Jimmy had quite a broken heart and he actually did not get married until after the war. He was 41 when he wed Gloria Stewart. So he was a 'bachelor' for quite awhile.
Around this time, he signs a long-term deal with Universal and thus begins all those Anthony Mann collaborations. I think he has more confidence (after the war, and now that he's married) and his work during this phase of his career with Mann is probably just as interesting and solid as his earlier work with Capra at Columbia and with those in-house directors at MGM.
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This is because they are marketing the new DVD release of the film, plus some other ones with Claudette.
It's a great film. She and Fred MacMurray made seven films together. And she and Ray Milland were paired three times. THE GILDED LILY is the first one she did with each of them.
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I like Jimmy Stewart (a lot)...but I think he tends to over-act when he is not reigned in by the right director. Hitchcock's films are all about editing so if he did over-act in those films, it wound up on the cutting room floor.
He does give a sincere, impassioned performance in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (by far his best, and the one he should've won an Oscar for).
As for romantic lead status, he is no Clark Gable and I think since he's aware of that, he has to compensate in other areas, such as in giving the audience the heart and soul of a scene (which is to our benefit). You would never see Jimmy getting it on with Lana Turner in a movie or with Sophia Loren. It would look downright comical.
His westerns in the later phase of his film career are good because of his stalwart values and his presence. I really love SHENANDOAH (that's my favorite later Stewart film) and I think he's darn good as the doc in THE SHOOTIST, which is an extended cameo.
And I would give honorable mention to HARVEY, which he did twice on film: in Universal's big screen adaptaton in the early 50s and again in the early 70s as a made-for-television movie.
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> and Eleanor Boardman, and important silent star who made a handful of starring talkies for MGM
Thanks for mentioning her.
REDEMPTION (in both silent and sound versions)
THE GREAT MEADOW
THE SQUAW MAN
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SVENGALI and MAD GENIUS should be played as a primetime double-feature...same lead stars and similarly themed stories.
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I forgot to include *Lily Pons* in the original post...
I DREAM TOO MUCH (with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball)
HITTING A NEW HIGH
THAT GIRL FROM PARIS (I think I mentioned this one under Gene Raymond's name)
It's been a long time since I've seen any of these.
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> Likewise, Jack Carson's *My Dream is Yours* - which actually a Doris Day vehicle, could be used for any sort of tributes/themes/whatever. A great theme it could be used for would be where all the films involved have animation sequences, as My Dream is Yours has a GREAT sequence featuring Jack and Doris singing and dancing along with that Oscar winning Wabbit, Bugs Bunny! Would fit right along with features like *Anchors Away*
That's an excellent post. DANGEROUS WHEN WET also has an animated sequence where Esther Williams swims with Tom and Jerry.
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I don't know how I missed the Greenstreet films.
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Well, I have had TCM for a few years. I probably didn't pay close attention to the schedules in the beginning and missed some films that have not been re-run.
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Navigating their database has been iffy all day. Sometimes it redirects to a sales page. So I hear you. LOL
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Kay Francis was very well off financially and after the Monogram contract, she devoted herself to philanthropic causes.
It's really a shame that she didn't venture much into television.
She only appeared twice on TV: in a segment of the The Prudential Family Playhouse in 1950 entitled 'Call It a Day'...and in 1951, for Lux Video Theatre, in the episode 'Consider the Lilies.' It is unknown if these shows survive.
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> Scarlet Seas (1928)
> The Careless Age (1929)
> Fast Life (1929)
> The Forward Pass (1929)
> The Girl in the Glass Cage (1929)
> Hard to Get (1929)
> The Love Racket (1929)
> Young Nowheres (1929)
> Kismet (1930) Ive heard conflicting reports on this one
> The Other Tomorrow (1930)
> The Way of All Men (1930)
A few of these had what's known as 'talking sequences.' So I assume they were silent films that had some spoken dialogue added in during post-production because of the sound craze. What a shame they are unavailable.
> Other films that could go on your list:
> Broadway Babies (1929) this was certainly run a few times in the mid-90s
> The Green Goddess (1930)
> Captain Applejack (1931)
I did not mention THE GREEN GODDESS, because in addition to DISRAELI, these were Arliss films that did screen on TCM not long ago (in the early morning hours).
> Also, neither the '29 nor the '43 Desert Song has run on TCM, perhaps owing to underlying rights issues.
Someone had a thread about Dennis Morgan/DESERT SONG on the hot topics forum a month or two back. One poster said the music rights are holding it up. I don't know if that's true, but it could very well be possible.
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> LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE wasn't a remake although it was a film that Wellman wanted to make for years.
Wellman did make a silent film in 1928 about four men who join the French squadron (Gary Cooper played the lead role). It was called THE LEGION OF THE CONDEMNED.
For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legion_of_the_Condemned
> Some of the titles with Bogart (INVISIBLE STRIPES, THE GREAT O'MALLEY, THREE ON A MATCH) aired during last December's Bogart fest.
THE GREAT O'MALLEY is a cute film that deserves to be replayed (especially for Essentials Jr.).
> I forget if it was a MacMahon or Kibbee day about two years ago, but about five films with the duo aired on the anniversary of one of them.
So sorry I missed that. I love BIG HEARTED HERBERT. TCM aired BABBIT not long ago.
> Similarly for Kay Francis, there was a month-long tribute within the past two years.
Usually Kay Francis films pop up in January around her birthday. But I could watch her every month. She's one of my favorites from the 30s. I would really like to see her last three films, made for Monogram. I have read good things about these, even though they were done on 'Poverty Row.' She not only starred in them, but she took a hand in producing them, thereby ensuring their quality.
> But you are on target in saying these films don't air often enough on a relative scale. It seems that there is always a reason to drag out FROM HERE TO ETERNITY or A PLACE IN THE SUN ten times a year. CASABLANCA is on tomorrow and it just aired on Monday. Granted that these three are Oscar-winning/nominated films, but many of the others here deserve exposure.
I am not dogging these great classics either. But there are other good films that deserve airplay, too.
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Yes, it ranks up there with MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW as among the saddest.
To quote Orson Welles (when commenting on MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW and Leo McCarey's direction):
"It would make a stone cry."
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> *Three on a Match* and *Frisco Jenny* have both aired on TCM in the last few years. *Three* was aired as part of the *Forbidden Hollywood* series in Dec. 2008 and *Frisco Jenny* aired as part of the salute to William Wellman in Dec. 2007.
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> Both have aired since then as well.
Again, I must have missed them (unfortunately). I am glad they have been aired so people can watch and enjoy them. These precodes are addicting.
Columbia contract players
in General Discussions
Posted
> MFF,
>
> Just an FYI, there is a post in the archives from TCMProgrammr where he talks about the reason many of the titles, especially the more obscure and cult ones, from the Columbia library haven't made it to TCM yet is the lack of digital masters. Sony owns the Columbia library and the lack of digital masters is not just a problem there but at the other studios TCM deals with as well.
Thanks, Lynn. I will look for it.
I do not intend these threads to be negative. Thank you for reminding me to address this. The goal is to create awareness about films that have become 'obscure' or just aren't getting played but maybe soon will be (I would like to think the digitalization of some of these films will eventually be a reality).
In a way, I am being a bit selfish, because I want to find out more about films that are not being screened. I want to gain more knowledge, and that's the positive aspect of these forums/boards is that we can consult with one another to learn more and hopefully make it so that all these films find new audiences. It's a pipe dream, but I do like smoking this pipe. LOL