MyFavoriteFilms
-
Posts
3,069 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by MyFavoriteFilms
-
-
At the end of the original IMITATION OF LIFE, it says 'a good cast is worth repeating,' but it only lists the names (no visuals).
I think they showed names with visuals during the credits, not for stylistic reasons, but for financial reasons. They were trying to build up certain stars and they wanted audiences to get more familiar with new talent they had hired from the stage. Seeing the name with the face, exhibitors and viewers were more likely to remember and start identifying with that celebrity.
But I think the explosion of the fan magazines and gossip columns like those written by Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper had a more immediate (and lasting) impact on the movie-going public. A short write-up accompanied by images in print, appearing on a weekly or daily basis, was a more effective way of stamping or branding a new personality on the movie-going public. At least that's my theory...
-
I'm not much into horror movies either...some are okay, but I can't stomach too many. LOL
If the programmers wanted to help make horror a more respected genre, then they would sprinkle these films throughout the year, instead of overdosing viewers on them in October. I dread the October schedule every year because it lacks balance.
December is almost just as bad, when they not only show the usual classics, they often repeat them, so we have three showings of both versions of LITTLE WOMEN...three or four showings of SCROOGE, and so forth.
I thought it was refreshing to see PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE, a film that usually only gets trotted out once a year for Thanksgiving, back in August. That's because they were short on titles for Gene Tierney's SUTS. If it had been Van Johnson or Spencer Tracy's SUTS, it would not have aired.
-
There are plenty to choose from...he's known for his dramatic roles, but if you prefer lighter fare, concentrate on his films from 1937 to 1942. There are some good comedies. Among them:
THERE GOES MY HEART
NOTHING SACRED
BEDTIME STORY
I MARRIED A WITCH
-
My public library also has its fair share of Criterion titles. I recently picked up THE LADY VANISHES and BLACK NARCISSUS at my library.
And we seem to have a lot of W.C. Fields titles...I don't know why...I checked those out in the summer and they were a lot of fun.
-
Remember that when you are searching most Paramount films from the 30s and 40s, they were sold to Universal, so they are packaged as Universal film products now.
Also, to look up classic Columbia titles, you have to search by Sony.
And some of the RKO and Republic titles are now controlled by Lionsgate home entertainment.
-
This reliance by a studio on Jack to bolster the leads began at RKO. Not only does he support Ginger and Ronald Colman in LUCKY PARTNERS, but he also does comic relief in MR. & MRS. SMITH with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. (At least he got to work with Hitchcock...that must've been a crazy set!)
-
*EASY LIVING (1937)*
Viewed: Netflix
While watching a rented copy of EASY LIVING (a TCM/Universal release with a substandard print), I focused on Jean Arthur's performance. I have enjoyed her in countless other pictures. But it had been awhile since I've watched a Jean Arthur film, and because I may have a highly-inflated view of her talents, I approached this one a bit more critically. In short, I wanted to see if the actress' work stands the test of time or if I had overrated her.
I think I underrated her.
First, I have to say that Preston Sturges' script is dated and the humor is rather over the top. I don't think audiences today will find it as funny as movie-goers in 1937 probably did. But Arthur is a bright cinematic light in this film.
She is joined by Ray Milland at the beginning of his Hollywood career (indeed, he is billed after the title and after character actor Edward Arnold). And Arthur is directed by the superb Mitchell Leisen. In fact, Leisen's background in art design pays off handsomely in this film-- the plot involves relocating our daffy heroine from a run-down apartment to a posh hotel suite. The hotel sets are elaborately decorated.
Anyway, back to Jean Arthur. It occurs to me while watching this film that Jean would be just as big a star today, in the 2010s, as she was seventy-five years ago. She is a star for the ages. She has that offbeat, yet sweet, comic delivery that works well in recession-proof romantic comedies.
Jean Arthur is sort of the prototype in this genre for current actresses like Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Sandra Bullock. Maybe they have looked to Jean's earlier films for inspiration. I don't know. But I do know there is a tradition in the screwball sense of the word that has been passed down. And Jean's self-deprecating yet wholesome style of comedy is something that still sells with audiences today.
-
Wow, Tiki, you really did your homework on this one. That's great.
I figured he still had some relatives living in the area. His wife died in the 80s, so did she move after some of the land was sold? Or did she stay in the house until her death?
Also, when was the tree planted? Was it when his ashes were placed there?
The film about a circus was Fox's MAN ON A TIGHTROPE, directed by Elia Kazan. It was produced in 1953 and it has been airing recently on FMC.
-
Glad you mentioned Adrian. Some of the other posters talked about films that were mostly black-and-white but featured segments in color.
At least in THE WOMEN, Adrian's gowns do get the Technicolor treatment in the fashion show sequence.
-
About the remake of ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD...I was talking with a friend of mine who did not think it was entirely appropriate for kids.
In films from the 40s and 50s, if there's a locker room scene, most of the athletes have at least t-shirts on...but in anything made after the 80s, the guys are almost all shirtless, showing off bulging muscles and tight-fitting sports gear.
Hollywood seems to be making family films sexier nowadays and marketing them to lusty mothers who come with their kids to the movie theatre. LOL
At least we never had to worry about seeing Paul Douglas shirtless.
Edited by: MyFavoriteFilms on Oct 30, 2010 11:13 AM
-
I hope what I'm about to say makes sense LOL...
You can search titles on Netflix by studio. So I try to find classic titles I have not seen yet that I know will probably not show up on TCM...
For example, I usually pick Fox films that aren't airing on FMC (there are a lot of them). And I pick Universal releases and Paramount releases. I don't really pick MGM, Warners or RKO films on Netflix because I know they cycle through on TCM frequently and I have many of them already recorded.
I also select from the Criterion collection.
There, I think that made sense!
-
Yes, Criterion is an excellent source for classic foreign films.
See the Three Colors trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski. He's a very noted Polish director. He also did THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE which is a rather fascinating film.
-
I think you will enjoy THE BICYCLE THIEF...it's a great film with some poignant, extremely touching scenes.
-
I agree...ZIEGFELD GIRL should've been in color and so should the other musicals that Busby Berkeley directed for MGM.
At least the lion learned and ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, produced in 1945, was in Technicolor. So we have William Powell playing the great impresario in both black-and-white and color.
-
Sorry to hear you have injured yourself, Big Bopper. Sounds painful.
I am glad you have recommended this movie...sounds like a great one and I am eager to get a copy of it.
-
Jayo,
Great, wonderful. Maybe the ones they are selling on ebay are 'advance copies.' The cover art did look very modern. It has a yellow cover with a picture of Mickey skating.
If Netflix doesn't add it, I will probably buy it.
-
I just looked on ebay and they have it in VHS and in DVD. Apparently, at one point, it was released as part of the Warners Archive series. When???
So that seems to suggest that Fox probably sold the rights to Warners...maybe WB had been thinking of doing a remake.
The customer reviews that appear on Amazon and ebay seem overwhelmingly positive. Raves for both Mickey (his skating ability) and Marilyn (her ability to turn dialogue into honey).
-
I tend to line up films by performer...there were some in Ray Milland's filmography I had not seen yet...at the top of my Netflix list are EASY LIVING and THE LOST WEEKEND. Amazingly, I have not seen either of them (yet).
-
I rented THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE and found some of the background on this color film interesting.
One critic lamented the fact that it signaled the onslaught of color photography.
Also, they had to do close-ups early in the day because if they filmed the actors too close after a certain hour, the natural lighting affected the Technicolor process in a weird way.
It was the first full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor outdoors. What's remarkable is that it was filmed in 1935 and was probably in the planning stages for awhile. Walter Wanger produced and Paramount distributed.
***
Another early Technicolor film was Warners' GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT in 1938. Again, a lot of it was filmed outdoors. It was considered a test-run, as the studio readied for production on THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
So we have people like Olivia de Havilland and Henry Fonda doing several color films before 1940.
-
Thanks for the explanation.
But....
_I think a cheaply produced (yet still classy) obit can be made using still photographs and other news clippings from the performer's career._
-
SWEETHEARTS (1938) was the first MacDonald-Eddy collaboration in Technicolor. They made one other Technicolor project, BITTER SWEET in 1940.
She had a few solo projects in Technicolor like SMILIN' THROUGH, THREE DARING DAUGHTERS and THE SUN COMES UP.
These musical extravaganzas were costly and Technicolor would obviously inflate the budget.
Warners seems to 'go cheap' with SHINE ON HARVEST MOON. Only the final number of that film, featuring the signature song, is done in Technicolor. But really, the entire film should've been in color. I'm surprised they didn't redo it with Doris Day in the 50s.
-
Yes, that film did good business at the box office due to the public's curiosity about her.
I think CLASH BY NIGHT, though, is important in her career for other reasons. In the mid-50s, when she gets tired of the fluff projects Fox pushes her way, she finds herself eager to do more substantial acting parts. I think she liked the material in CLASH?BY NIGHT, and it is writing like Clifford Odetts' that will lead her in search of the William Inges and Arthur Millers.
-
Humphrey Bogart is sort of like Hedy in this regard...he only made a handful of color films:
THE AFRICAN QUEEN
THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA
THE CAINE MUTINY
THE LEFT HAND OF GOD
WE'RE NO ANGELS
-
I asked about sound actors, because I was sure that there were plenty of silent actors who did not make the transition to sound, let alone to color.
Norma Shearer is a great example of someone who was successful for many years...but considering all that MGM build-up and being married to Irving Thalberg, I am surprised she was not in a Technicolor feature. MARIE ANTOINETTE seems like the obvious choice.
What's in your Queue?
in Hot Topics
Posted
Public library collections obviously depend on who does the ordering. Maybe Criterion offers special rates...? We also have a fair share of Fox classics which surprised me, because I am sure they were costly.