slaytonf

Now, I'm speaking from an ignorant position, but if I'm right, I think you've stated why he isn't estimated as highly as a composer as he ought to be. You're looking from him what you look for from other popular composers, comparing him with Gershwin and Porter. I'm talking about him in an entirely different way, looking at his longer works, ones he meant to be in the same arena as composers like Ives, and Copeland.

He wasn't not allowed to do anything in music. As I said, he composed a wide range of works, from three-minute swing numbers (many the best known standards), to choral, orchestral, and musicals. And he got them performed. Mostly, lamentably, they weren't well received. People weren't looking for more sober, serious works from the great swing man. But take a listen to Black, Brown, and Beige. You don't have to hear the whole thing (though I recommend it). Even from the very beginning, boy, you can hear America in every note of it: If you don't want to spend the time listening, I recommend you at least skip to the end to hear Mahalia Jackson sing the 23rd Psalm.

There is only one Duke, and he--SWINGS!

A novel position. Permit me to think it a sick view of human society that its value or interest must be based on hatred and persecution.

He has no confines. As the Duke said himself, there are only two kinds of music: good and bad. Even a slight familiarity with the standing he had with his contemporaries, and his current estimation, reveals his worth. He is regarded by many, but not by enough, as the greatest American composer. And his work gets some, but not nearly enough performance by symphonies.

Just as others have to condemn them for it.

John. . .who?

Priggishness is a failing not limited to any political philosophy. And did not originate with the Civil Rights Movement. Hateful pettiness can be found everywhere. I notice it a lot here. One thing lefters have, I notice, is enough patience not to get exasperated with it in others. The logical fallacy, is to take extreme examples of priggishness and use it (as is often done by conservatives) to delegitimize honest objections to intolerance, bigotry, and racism. I have long held that the concept of political correctness was developed by racists and bigots to allow them to parade their prejudices as legitimate.

Duke Ellington, making an appearance with his band tonight in Cabin in the Sky (1943), is one of the most renowned American musicians and composers. But still I don't think he gets his due. In fact, I think a solid argument could be made that he was the best of all American composers--notwithstanding the likes of Ives, Copland, and Bernstein. He's mostly known for popular swing hits like "Take the 'A' Train," and "Mood Indigo". But he also composed many other more ambitious orchestral and choral works which are magnificent. I don't know enough about music and theory to say exactly why, but when you listen to works like Black, Brown, and Beige, you hear an energy and vitality, even in the reflective segments, that is fresh, exciting, and wholly American, pulled both from his African-American heritage of gospel and blues, and contemporary life. He also composed sound tracks for movies like Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and musicals, notably Jump for Joy. It's beyond my understanding why this last hasn't been revived by anyone, listen to some of it: I'm sure it'd be a smash. In the movie, Ellington's band included probably at that time Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, and Harry Carney.

My guess is The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), with Debbie Reynolds, and Bobbie Van: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/66856/The-Affairs-of-Dobie-Gillis/ click on the READ THE FULL SYNOPSIS button to read about the lab scene.

In this war it is particularly the people who shouldn't get killed that get killed. That is the particular evil of the enemy.

The lower classes may have the presumption to advance. But they cannot do it of themselves, but must be granted it of the aristocracy, through noblesse oblige.

I've always admired you for you acute insight.

The enemy are crude, brutish, and have bad table manners. Scary, but ultimately weak inside. That's why we're right. They are so provoking it makes us lose our sense of propriety to point we feel compelled to slap them. This is unforgivable. Bomb us, kill us, destroy our armies, subjugate whole peoples, but if you make us abandon our surface composure, you have offended us to our deepest core.

The canal system of England made Dunkirk possible.

The class system is alive and well and living in the English Islands. Those who violate it will come to no good. But we'll all pull together for the war, anyway. The biggest defenders of the aristocracy are the lower classes (got them fooled!). The best way to drive home a point is through gentle home-spun humor and dry wit. (Gulp! We really need to win this one!)

I guess I've been living in ignorance. I didn't think all TVs had as many settings as mine, most of which I don't understand or use. But I thought all TVs had at least the choice of 16:9 or 4:3 settings. After all, they're all advanced technology and hi def. So people are stuck with a stretched picture with only the option of zooming, which only makes it worse. So be it. But I don't understand the automatic assumption that TCM is responsible. How does anyone know if this is something under their control? The fact that no other channels are affected, and no other material on TCM itself is affected indicates one thing to me. It's not TCM, it's the movie. If it was TCM, then why isn't other material affected? Why only some movies? I don't know the technology of how movies are turned into digital files from a roll of film, or what happens to it from any of the middlemen it goes through, or when TCM sends it (however that happens) to the cable and satellite companies that air it, but because TCM's brand is on the broadcast, everything else gets overlooked.

There was nothing wrong with The Wild North (1952). My picture was correct. I can stretch the picture or have it the correct ratio depending on the setting on my TV. Check the options on your TV.

Hey--waiiiiitaminit. How did they get that picture?

Why. . . .so it is!

I beliveve television was around in 1936. The real qusstion is, did H. G. Wells have it in his book?

I'd still hesitate to blame TCM unless I knew the entire process of getting the movie from the distributor to your TV. There are so many ways for the picture to be altered. Is your recording to a DVR? or is it recorded to a DVD? I know when I record a movie to disk, I sometimes have to change the setting on my TV to get the picture right. Don't ask me why. Have you tried this when you watch your recording? I mean can you change your picture to make it the correct ratio?

I have never noticed TCM stretching a picture to fill the screen. Whenever the picture has not been correct, it is because of the settings for the picture in my satellite feed or on my TV.

They are really zombie alien vampires. Now do you like them?

Sorry about that. It's still a great movie. TCM shows it on occasion.