MyFavoriteFilms

Thanks...I actually have Netflix sending me a copy of SUSAN SLADE. I will get it either today or tomorrow. I've read good reviews about it. It looks like Delmer Daves wrote, produced and directed again...and he reunites with Dorothy McGuire and Troy Donahue. I wish TCM would air an evening of Troy Donahue's melodramas: A SUMMER PLACE PARRISH (probably my favorite of his) SUSAN SLADE ROME ADVENTURE Wouldn't that be a fun evening?

Good point about the post-1950 Warner Brothers films. I am also glad some of the titles you mentioned have been airing. Since they have shown A SUMMER PLACE, it would be nice if they aired SUSAN SLADE.

> I really enjoyed the 2 films she made with her husband. I think her talent was above average. Her voice was lovely. I agree. When they made the first film in 1948, they were dating. When they made the second film in 1952, they had been married for awhile. Some background: They married in December 1949. He had 'discovered' her on the London stage and got to know her better on an ocean voyage to the U.S. (she was an American citizen traveling home...in fact her grandfather built the famous Drake Hotel in Chicago which is now a historic landmark and still open for business). She had appeared on stage in New York several years earlier and had been signed by another studio but made no films. Cary Grant introduced her to his bosses at RKO (where he had a deal with Dore Schary). RKO signed her and she made EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED almost immediately. Interestingly, when they wed over a year later, Schary had defected from RKO but the company's new owner, Howard Hughes, served as Cary Grant's best man during the ceremony. PRETTY BABY, a film she made at Warners in the early 50s with Dennis Morgan, is scheduled on TCM on January 9, 2011.

Interestingly, SOME LIKE IT HOT hasn't aired since the summer (TCM lost the rights to it for awhile). But I'm sure that it will be back and scheduled twice a month! But we do know it won't air again until at least March, since we have the schedules that far in advance and it's not listed. The message boards have pluses and minuses. I still read plenty of things I don't like on these boards, but I find a lot I do like.

I wanted to comment on these two...clearly, he was the big movie star, and he helped her break into movies (she was his real-life wife for many years). Last night TCM aired EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED and ROOM FOR ONE MORE. I had never really studied Betsy Drake's acting...and I thought she did rather well. Her voice and mannerism remind me a lot of an early Joanne Woodward. Drake was known for her writing abilities...she tended to 'doctor' some of her husband's scripts, usually uncredited. And she is the one who found the story of ROOM FOR ONE MORE. She also had a hand in developing HOUSEBOAT. She was actually set to star in it, but then Sophia Loren took over. Drake is also remembered for having survived a sunken watercraft. She was traveling between the United States and Europe when the ship she was on went down. Fortunately, she was rescued at sea. This was during her marriage to Grant. After their divorce, they remained good friends. She is 87 years old and has written a well-regarded book about children and spent many years after her motion picture career as a psychoanalyst. She never remarried and has appeared in a documentary about her life with her ex-husband. Among her U.S. and British film credits: WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER?, PRETTY BABY, THE SECOND WOMAN and INTENT TO KILL.

Great post...and a reminder about all the different types of classic movie programming TCM does offer.

What about atheists who may dislike the subject of this thread, since it refers to the act of 'blessing' someone or something...? LOL

That does seem a little bit extreme, Arch. Your experience sounds like the plot to an old movie: QUIET PLEASE -- MURDER. At least you left without a criminal record. LOL

On my Netflix queue I have EXECUTIVE ACTION, an early 70s flick starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan. It's about the Kennedy assassination, told from the point of view of the conspiracy theorists. It supposedly makes the Warren Commission report look like child's play. I have a feeling Oliver Stone was heavily influenced by this film when he did JFK nearly twenty years later. TCM should air it...it's part of the Warners video library.

That's dedication, Valentine...I haven't gone to such desperate lengths (yet). LOL

When was the last time they aired THE BEST MAN? I've been waiting for it, as it is not widely available.

> Diegesis had not been recognized as a disease in those days. Persons suffering from it were considered mentally ill, and treated as such. It wasn't until the famous article in The Saturday Evening Post was published that society, and Hollywood, began to reshape their views on this terrible scourge. That is too funny! LOL

I realized the other day how ALL films are a suspension of disbelief. Every death scene is simulated and requires us to believe in the 'killing' of the character, not the actor. And very little reference is ever made that a character in a film even uses the restroom.

Oh, that's confusing. I am glad you took the time to check and let me know. I did think it interesting that all those Chaplin films had perfect scores. LOL

I don't know how much stock people take in these ratings, but I do use them as a guide...if the title gets four or five stars (on a scale of five stars) then I am inclined to go with it and put it in the queue. I think it's remarkable that so many films have a full five stars. All it takes is one or two people to dislike it and give it a low rating, to automatically ruin its perfect rating. These are the ones on my queue that have 5 stars...do you agree? *CITY LIGHTS* *MODERN TIMES* *THE SONG OF BERNADETTE* *PILLOW TALK* *THE GOLD RUSH* *THE CIRCUS* *THE COWBOYS* *THE THREE FACES OF EVE* Many others have between 4 and a half and 5: THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS (looks like 4 and 7/8 stars. LOL) EACH DAWN I DIE (also seems to be 4 and 7/8) THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (looks like 4 and 3/4 stars) HEAVEN CAN WAIT by Ernst Lubitsch (right at 4.5) THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (also 4.5) CLEOPATRA starring Claudette Colbert (4.5) THE TRAIN starring Burt Lancaster (another 4.5) Anyway, it seems pretty unanimous for some of these titles that they are classic crowd pleasers.

Don't forget two with George C. Scott (PATTON and A CHRISTMAS CAROL which I am very eager to see.) The version of SEVENTH HEAVEN is the one with Jimmy Stewart and Simone Simon. It certainly seems to be a month of Shirley Temple...glad about that. Plus, Tom Rothman has a Fox Legacy piece on her career at Fox. Ty Power's AMERICAN GUERRILLA IN THE PHILIPPINES is also airing in December. Plus LLOYDS OF LONDON and JOHNNY APOLLO. Then, on January 1st, THE RAZOR'S EDGE is broadcast. I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE is not scheduled on FMC (perhaps it's on another channel).

_Scheduled for December:_ CALL ME MISTER...Grable & Dailey ALL HANDS ON DECK THE TURNING POINT THE LUCK OF THE IRISH...Ty Power CALL HER SAVAGE...precode with Clara Bow & Thelma Todd THE BOSTON STRANGLER THE LEOPARD BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID...Fox Legacy intro by Tom Rothman MY COUSIN RACHEL ALASKA PASSAGE PATTON RAID ON ENTEBBE IN OLD CHICAGO ROXIE HART I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE CLEOPATRA NINE TO FIVE ONLY THE LONELY I WAKE UP SCREAMING LAURA NO WAY OUT THE CRUCIBLE SITTING PRETTY HOME IN INDIANA BLUE DENIM WHEN THE WHALES CAME A CHRISTMAS CAROL...84 version with George C. Scott as Scrooge I WAS AN ADVENTURESS...Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Peter Lorre SPEED LADIES IN LOVE...Loretta Young, Janet Gaynor & Constance Bennett ON THE RIVIERA DAISY KENYON THE RAINS CAME CLAUDIA AND DAVID THE JACKPOT...James Stewart and a young Natalie Wood THE BLUE BIRD REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM THE GANG'S ALL HERE WINTERTIME UNFAITHFULLY YOURS THE MUDLARK NINE HOURS TO RAMA THE RIVER'S EDGE OUR LITTLE GIRL JUST AROUND THE CORNER STOWAWAY SUSANNAH OF THE MOUNTIES LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING SEVENTH HEAVEN SALLY, IRENE AND MARY CAVALCADE CLAUDINE ALL ABOUT EVE ALL THAT JAZZ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO + JULIET...with Leonardo DiCaprio

We're also forgetting Errol Flynn in the earlier film GENTLEMAN JIM plus William Lundigan and Dan Dailey in SUNDAY PUNCH.

The print was in poor condition (the one they showed yesterday on TCM). Honestly, it made me want to press 'stop' and find the Technicolor copy I have starring Stewart Granger.

Thanks, Bing. I am also surprised the entire Andy Hardy series has not made it to DVD. Just the titles with Mickey & Judy. The Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series would be fun to have as well.

Are you serving tea with that slice of happiness? The thread has generated some good discussion about how frequently silent films are aired on TCM.

Good comments. As for music: synchronous sound is when we as the audience hear something and so do the characters. Like if a character in the middle of a scene turns on a radio. We hear the music that they are hearing. But asynchronous sound is when we hear incidental or background music that the characters do not hear. Remember the TV series Moonlighting in the 80s? There would be opening scenes where we would hear the beginning of the theme music and so would the characters...and Bruce Willis or Cybil Shepard would break the fourth wall and tell the sound technician to stop the music. In that case, it was originally non-diegetic, then it abruptly became diegetic.

> Thanks for asking MFF. Actually, it was during the 40s when the term, and the concept of teenage as a separate entity came into general use and the public consciousness. Great. I figured you would have the answer!

Well, John Garfield made a boxing picture not long before this one, BODY AND SOUL. And a year later, Kirk Douglas would don the gloves for CHAMPION. Mickey Rooney also did KILLER MCCOY at this time. Robert Ryan was hardly the only one in shape to play such a role. It was one of those cycles, where each studio did a similar movie using a proven formula.

Good post, Kinokima. It's a lot learning how to make films successfully. It helps to concentrate on visuals in the beginning, then you get to sound later. In many ways, this happens today when a film has to be extensively redubbed and the foley needs to be corrected. As long as you have the visuals, then you can refine the audio problems. You can have good visuals with slightly poor audio, and the audience will forgive it. But you can't have sloppy visuals with great audio...then you might as well go into radio. I think our silent film pioneers teach us the utter importance of the visual. And it shows how film is ultimately different from literature and live theatre.