Suaredancer
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Posts posted by Suaredancer
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We both miss watching Robert Osborne very much, and often would watch his intros even if we couldn't be home to watch the movies.We both notice he has not looked his usual self lately and we pray for a speedy recovery and hope he is back to good health soon! He is a class act and knows so much about films, the stars and the history in such depth with fasinating details and makes watching so enjoyable. We've been avid TCM addicts since early 1995 and It hasn't been the same on TCM these past few weeks without him...
I would hope if there ever had to be a replacement long term it would be Ben Mankiewicz because he just seems nice and likeable to watch. Several people mention the obvious choice Alec Baldwin, and also RW. But these would not be my personal choices for hosting, jmho.
If anyone desrves a rest it is RO, who has had such a long run on TCM. Sending best wishes to Robert Osborne for a speedy recovery!
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mfarish I agree with you. I also love vintage films but on TCM it is what it is. I admit I also enjoy some of the 50's schlock, always did, and I've been enjoying my radioactive Thursday nights this month. But it was nicer when TCM was all classic vintage and I'm not an "old timer" either - I'm only in my 50's.
I'm looking forward to Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and the Singing Cowboys, and I love the foreign film features every Sunday. Wild Strawberries is a true Bergman classic.
If you really love rare vintage films from the 20's through 50's considering getting a ROKU machine and streaming films from Netflix.com. You would not believe some of the incredible rare titles they have from that era, and excellent rare imports, too. Many of the titles are either unavailable or not shown on TCM. For instance, recently TCM showed De Sica's "The Bicycle Thief" which is also available on Netflix. But on Netflix I also streamed "Umberto D.", another De Sica masterpiece. Once you order one film from your favorite era, you receive recommendations of numerous films of all genres from the same era. Right now I have in my instant Netflix queue 278 rare films from the 30's through 50's, most of which I'll probably never get to see, including almost every John Wayne film dating to the early 30's. And I can play them any time I want. Just saw "Where the SIdewalk Ends," a crime drama starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. Wonderful tilm.
Also, with ROKU you can stream films from Amazon.com.
Since I'm with Netflix and streaming the films I'm not as upset about the TCM "upgrades" anymore. It may definitely be an solution for you - and others like us.
Footnote: I do not work for Netflix or Roku or Amazon.com and have no affiliation with them nor is this a paid endorsement. I just love old movies and they've got plenty of rare titles!
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Ava Gardner was much more beautiful than Mara Corday. At least, up until the point where she began drinking and smoking like an old stove.
I love this 50's Monster series and I was always a fan of B-movie drive-in monster fare from that time. I like John Agar alot; he was a good actor. But I never figured how he started in "A" films with the likes of John Wayne, such as Sands of Iwo Jima and then ended up doing mostly cult monster flicks in the 50s and 60s. That's strange. Did Agar choose that path? Or did he beat up Shirley Temple? (Relax folks...Only kidding....only kidding...!)
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For what it's worth, many of the staff that work at the channel have been there for many, many years and they have said here on these boards and in public appearances that TCM (and Time Warner, their parent company) are not interested in following in AMC's footsteps.
That is great news to know, thanx.
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tzcutter, thank you for such an informative post and reply regarding Betty Grable/Alice Faye and the Twentieth Century Fox issues. Excellent post! Now if you can help me get the "q" back into my name Squaredancer I'd be grateful since I haven't gotten an answer on how to do that on the technical thread.
To dark blue, Eyegouge, et al...
The issue (at least for me) is not to deprive TCM viewers their right to view gory films. Heck, I have seen many horror flicks over the years, and I do support freedom of speech, viewing etc. And since the TCM Underground is a block of only four hours of programming cult horror films like The Beyond I agree with what you're posting.
My issue is one of future access. There are no longer any networks that carry "traditional" (for lack of a better word) classic films on a regular basis. To wit, many years ago AMC (which once was American Movie Classics hosted by Nick Clooney) presented films predominantly from the 30's up to the 50's. Then they introduced more modern classic films from the 60's and seventies. Today, AMC has morphed into a network that shows almost all contemporary films and it is rare to see a film on AMC from the traditional classic era of the 30's or 40's.
THere are parallels between AMC and TCM, I think. On AMC, it started with that network introducing occasional contemporary films to their programming. Over time, the contemporary films predominated until finally that's almost all you see on AMC. I'm not saying AMC is bad, but it was a shame to see all the old films go.
The question is this: Twenty years from now, will TCM do what AMC did and abandon traditional classic films altogether from their programming? Since it happened that way on AMC (to the point where they are no longer called "American Movie Classics and just kept the "AMC? acronym) it stands to reason this can happen on TCM, too. And if that did happen, then there would be no networks left on cable that regularly show traditional classic films from the 20's through 50's. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of Cable channels that show nothing but contemporary films.
The same thing happened on radio here in New York. On FM there used to be 3 classical music stations in NYC. WNCN was taken over and became a rock station. Rock stations predominate all over the FM dial (yes, I know it's about listener demand and marketshare) and the two remaining classical stations (WNYC and WQXR) play alternative as well. So there is no real classical programming anymore. But so many rock stations? I mean, come on. How about diversity?
I am pretty much a sponge when it comes to films. I've watched plenty of horror (Splatterday) and the biggest problem I have is that it comes down to one basic theme, followed by spin-offs. So in the 1980's you started with Jason and Freddy killing a bunch of unlikeable teenagers in the middle of the woods. Usually the ones having sex got it first, I have a problem with that. Then you had spin-offs and more movies on the same theme. Hostel has merit to it, as does Saw. But again there have been so many Saw spin-off horror films with similar "Oh, I just woke up and I don't know how I got here..." - and the theme gets boring after awhile.
darkblue, what does being a republican have to do with anything? That's testy and irrelevant.
Prince Saliano, what does a vote in NYC on gay marriage have to do with films? That belongs on a political forum not a film forum.
AMC shows good stuff. As I write this, I just turned on AMC and they are presenting "Lonesome Dove." Robert Duvall.
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When I signed up I left out the "q" when I typed in Squaredancer and my name still appears as "Suaredancer."
I tried to go to my profile and change it, and I saved it the right way but it doesn't seem to stick or change in the posts.
Any assistance please? Minor issue, but I really would like to post with the correct spelling of my user name. Thanks so much.
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TCM has gone too far with The Beyond, IMO. I agree with the previous poster about having two TCM's, but I go one step further. I'd like to see three TCMs: One for original timeless classic films (silents through late 40's), one for modern classic "Method" films (early 50's through 70's) and one for post-Modern classics that would appeal to a younger crowd. Of course there could be subsets of these categories, such as post-Modern slasher-gore classics. Just about any Lucio Fulci film would fit into that category.
When I began watching TCM in 1995 it was a new station and the first film I saw was "The Unsuspected," starring Claude Rains. What a terrific film. In those days TCM showed many rare and long unseen films from the 30's/40's but now those films are fewer and farther between. Plus, TCM now repeats films over and over under different themes, which is very annoying (i.e., GWTW one month highlighting Vivien Leigh, again on the month when they do Academy Award pictures, etc.)
There are many films woefully absent from TCM. I am totally perplexed why the network has not done a single month's tribute to one of my favorite actresses, Betty Grable. They've done tributes to every actress I can think of, some multiple times. Not once to Grable or another favorite Alice Faye, in all the year's I'm watching. Wish someone could explain that.
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I am very upset that I missed these episodes as I have wanted to see them for years. I was out of town. Didn't even know they were on - I subscribe to the TCM magazine but they did not exactly put a bold 'alert' on the cover that such a rare treat was on. I would really like to see these episodes and would hope that TCM would re-air them since they can not be purchased or seen anywhere else. Very disappointed that TCM magazine headlined the Hal Roach comedies but hardly any ink in the magazine on these. Play it again please and soon...!
Annette Funicello
in General Discussions
Posted
A bit late to this thread but I grew up adoring Annette and watching all the beach movies. I was really sad to hear of her passing and she really suffered. She was one of those rare lovely creatures (like Marilyn Monroe) who was loved by guys and gals alike. And she was a kind caring person.
This is not a MT thread, but to the classless dolts who take pleasure in MT's death: Suppose it were a relative you cared about and you had to read those disgusting placards. You wouldn't like it would you. If you have nothing respectful to say about someone who's gone - whether you like their politics or not - then at least be respectful of their families and keep quiet.