TomJH
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Posts
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Posts posted by TomJH
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6 hours ago, JakeHolman said:
1. Patton
2. Godfather II
3. The Godfather
4. The Exorcist
5. The Shootist
6. Dirty Harry
7. Papillon
8. The Outlaw Josey Wales
9. The Getaway
10. Marathon Man
What, no Sounder, Jake? 😄
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Ironically, The Horn Blows At Midnight is actually one of the very few good (or, at least, pretty good) films that Jack Benny made.
Angel Face.
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57 minutes ago, Janet0312 said:
Did they really find it necessary to take a photo of Bud Abbot looking at the news of his partner's death? Come on.
I read somewhere that one of the reasons Bud Abbott was so upset at the time was that no one had even told him Lou was sick in the hospital, a reflection of the estrangement that sadly existed between the two comics at the time of Costello's death. Abbott's sadness would only increase with the years, feeling dejected by the Hollywood community that had once so embraced him and his partner. Of course, Internal Revenue would pursue him ruthlessly for back taxes and he would later, in a wheel chair, be reduced to appearing on television to ask his fans if they could send him a little money.
Aside from whatever you think of the photographer who took this shot of Bud reading his partner's obituary, I find the photo quite poignant. The good times were over for him and would never return.
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1 hour ago, Arturo said:
Tom, I remember feeling this way decades ago when I saw stills of BLACK SPURS, and years later, when I saw a clip of it on Linda Darnell’s Biography episode. However, when I bought the film on Amazon Prime several years ago and finally saw it, she didn’t seem that bad. Sure the part was a nothing supporting role, as a Madam in an Old West town which gave her little to do, much less a challenging part.
But, maybe after some years of finding tv episodes from the late 50s, early 60s, and stills promoting same, or for general publicity, it no longer felt shocking. There are some scenes where you can imagine her looking similar to what she looked 10-15 years earlier, overlooking the mid-60s hairstyles and makeup. I’ve mentioned here in the past that Linda had a tendency to put on weight. Even as a young star in her teens, she had this tendency. She fought with weight issues constantly throughout her career. As decent film offers dried up and she channeled her acting into TV and the stage, and her bitterness with her career arc and personal life took center stage, her drinking increased, and she began to get more bloated. But it was all a matter of degree. Where in seemed most noticeable was in her face, which got fuller and she developed an incipient double chin, and in her waist. However it wasn’t that much different than during earlier times, just a little more so. I guess I’ve gotten used to it after seeing her during this time more than previously. I remember some 40 years ago when I first saw her in an episode of the first season of Wagon Train, from 1958. I remember thinking how heavy and bloated she looked. Some 10 years ago, I bought a dvd collection of that season, and when I saw that episode again, I marveled as how well she looked. Nothing like I remembered from years earlier. Go figure.
Sure, after several years Linda Darnell having a much more substantial role than in BLACK SPURS would have left a better end to her career and life, but it was not to pass. Apparently though, there was enough interest in Hollywood to have several offers made to her. A possible comeback could’ve happened, had she not had her tragic death.Strangely, Arturo, I think I mentioned to you earlier in your thread that I have vague memories of having seen Linda appear as a guest panelist on a daytime game show, Your First Impression when I was a kid. That show was on the air from 1962 to 1964 and my ancient memory of it is that Linda was still a striking beauty. I guess that left me unprepared for her considerable weight gain (particularly in the face) that I saw in Black Spurs. Somewhere I read that one day she showed up on the set of the film holding a spear, joking she was trying to extend her screen time in the western. A. C. Lyles westerns in the '60s were known for giving employment to a lot of Hollywood "has beens" and certainly this film had a large collection of formerly big names in it, of which Darnell got second billing. That second billing, in turn, left me unprepared for how small her role would actually turn out to be in a film which was sadly released shortly after her death.
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On 11/30/2020 at 11:13 PM, Dargo said:
And not to mention, after Gene Tierney, THE sexiest damn overbite in the business!
Yep, always thought Abby Dalton was sexy as hell.
(...R.I.P., Abby)
I was half waiting for you to make reference to Abby's sexy overbite, Dargo. But you're right about it. She was a lovely looking woman.
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Lennox Pawle.
It's not a name that many will recall until I mention his performance as the pixelated Mr. Dick in David O. Selznick's DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935). It's a small role and while it may pale beside those of W. C. Fields as Mr. Micawber, Edna May Oliver's Aunt Betsy, Roland Young as Uriah Heep and Basil Rathbone's sadistic Mr. Murdstone, he still makes an impression. Perhaps it's more of a "Who is that guy?" reaction than anything else.
Pawle was a former newspaperman and British stage actor who only appeared in a handful of films. He brings a wonderful innocence to his characterization as Mr. Dick and his scenes in the film, whether dancing in excitement in a circle with David and Aunt Betsy or flying an oversized kite with young David make me smile. Unfortunately Pawle died of a cerebral hemorrhage in February, 1936, barely a year after David Copperfield had its U.S. premiere.
But it's apparent that Pawle had a sense of humour, as well as refreshing candour, as evidenced by this exchange of letters with a theatrical manager -
Regent St., October 2, 1902
Dear Mr. Lennox Pawle,
What are your terms for pantomime?
Yours faithfully,
Robert ArthurGreen Club Room, October 4, 1902
Dear Mr. Robert Arthur,
My terms for pantomime are £30 a week
Yours faithfully,
Lennox PawleRegent St., October 6, 1902
Dear Mr. Lennox Pawle,
Before I paid you £30 a week for pantomime, I should like to see you in pantomime.
Yours faithfully,
Robert ArthurGreen Club Room, October 8, 1902
Dear Mr. Robert Arthur,
If you saw me in pantomime you wouldn’t pay me £30 a week.
Yours faithfully,
Lennox Pawle
Does anyone else have any one shot or, at least, rare performances from a little known actor or actress they'd like to recall?
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5 hours ago, Arturo said:
There are others in Linda Darnell’s filmography that has her doing this, including FOREVER AMBER, where as Richard Greene says, (paraphrasing here) “You just can’t climb up society from man to man, like rungs on a ladder”. Which is what she schemed to do, and did it.
Ironically, in real life Linda's career was hurt when she refused to climb up a studio ladder rung by rejecting Darryl Zanuck's sexual overtures towards her.
I watched Black Spurs (1965) for the first time a few months ago, While, as "B" western of producer A. C. Lyles, it was a bit better than I expected, I still found it dismaying watching Linda play such a small, insubstantial role that could have been cut right out of the film. It was her first film role in eight years and, since I haven't seen any of her TV work during those years, her bloated appearance came as a real shock to me. She was physically quite dramatically changed from the dark haired beauty that she had still been when she had appeared in Zero Hour in 1957. It was a dissatisfying screen farewell for the lady, I thought.
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1 minute ago, Dargo said:
What Tom? Couldn't find a way to work the line "my cold dead hands" into this thing here TOO, dude???
"Let my cold dead hands reach from the grave to throttle the life from all those putrid pagan worshippers who dare to not program my film."
Hey, thanks for the suggestion, Dargo.
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33 minutes ago, Dargo said:
Oh hell! Then I'm STILL gonna post the following anyway!...
"Myeah SEE?! Where's your DeMille movie NOW see?!"
"May the wrath of the LORD THY GOD bloweth a terrible vengeance on all who are denied seeing my film, no matter what the time of the year may be. And may lightning bolts and hail rain down upon all those who worship at the feet of pagan network Gods. May their toe nails curl upwards making the wearing of shoes a terrible thing! May venomous snakes fill their pants and bite them in places best left unbitten! Let those television networks not showing The Ten Commandments explode into a FIERY HELL of agonies previously unknown to man. Heed my words, thou network swine, before I pluck your eyes from your . . ."
Look, folks, this might not have a lot to do with Christmas movies but it's a lot more fun writing this Wrath of God stuff than it is about Bing Crosby movies, Capra films or miracles occurring on 34th Street.
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10 minutes ago, Arturo said:
I have not seen TWOJ on the Fox Movie Channel, at least not in this century. I found it some years ago online, a clean version apparently released in Spain only. I can only play it on my computer, since I don’t have an all-regions DVD player. At least two other Darnell films also had a similar release there only, in 2009. It appears that they were readied for general release everywhere, when Fox cancelled general releasing dvds of their classic films.
THE WALLS OF JERICHO would be only one Darnell film that would make a great TCM premiere for Linda Darnell’s SOTM, imho.
What is gratifying about THE WALLS OF JERICHO for Darnell fans is that it gave the actress the opportunity to play a manipulative schemer.
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Friendly Persuasion (1956)
Director William Wyler's thoughtful, sensitive screen adaption of Jessamyn West's novel about the Birdwells, an 1862 Quaker family, and their struggles to adhere to non violence principles as the Civil War is about to intrude upon their peaceful farm in southern Indiana was one of the prestige film releases of its year.
Leisurely paced, a little long at almost two hours and twenty minutes, it remains a warm and charming drama, chock full of humourous incidents. Dorothy McGuire is fine as the stern mother of the household, the most doctrinaire family member when it comes to adhering to Quaker traditions, while Gary Cooper is a delight as the easy going father. Cooper didn't age overly well during the '50s delivering a number of rather tired looking performances, at times. This is the one film of that decade, however, in which the actor re-discovered the little boy charm in himself, particularly in any of those scenes involving the Sunday morning buggy races. Cooper brings a subtlety to his facial responses in these humourous sequences that makes his performance most engaging.
However, it was Anthony Perkins, as the family's eldest son who has to wrestle with his conscience when it comes to fighting in the war, who was the one cast member to receive an Academy Award nomination (in support) for his sensitive performance. This was four years before Hitchcock's Psycho forever changed the actor's screen image.
Robert Middleton, often cast as villains, has the opportunity to play the laughter booming Sam Jordan, with whom Cooper indulges in the buggy races on the way to church. Middleton is solid in his role. Richard Eyer is a natural mischief maker as the family's youngest boy, ten year old young Jess. The film is introduced, in fact, with a highly amusing comedy sequence depicting the boy's latest chapter in his eternal conflict with Samantha, the family's pet goose who loves to hide in bushes and then rush out to bite the boy's legs or hind quarters,
Thrown into the film for broad comedic effect, too, is the wonderful Marjorie Main as the Widow Hudspeth, head of an all female household, with her three man hungry daughters. It's a delightful comedy sequence, as Cooper and Perkins visit their farm and Perkins finds himself the reluctant object of all young female attention.
There's a certain unreality about this production inasmuch as life on the Birdwell farm is presented as an idyllic existence. There's never a hint that farm life is difficult, as you see Cooper roaming through his large field of corn stalks. And when the rebels finally do ride in upon the farm, McGuire's response to them, while practical from the viewpoint of survival, could be seen by others as a form of collaboration. They are also the nicest collection of rebel soldiers you will ever see. Not even a hint that a shooting or rape could take place with them.
Probably my biggest complaint about the film after repeat viewings is in regard to its length. It could have used some judicious pruning in the editing room, possibly in regard to the scenes involving young love between the family's daughter (Phyllis Love) and a Union soldier (Mark Richmond). Those two actors, while both are quite adequate in their roles, are also the film's two least interesting characters.
Finally Dimitri Tiomkin contributes a lovely musical score to the film, which includes a gentle love song, Thee I Love, sung under the film's opening titles by Pat Boone.
Friendly Persuasion is available on DVD and frequently comes on TCM. It's a heart warming gem that deserves to be seen.
3.5 out of 4
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Only one actor ever starred on a bomb
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32 minutes ago, Hibi said:
When did Linda go blondish? Was this for a movie role?
Is that blonde hair or is it just the lighting? In any event, Arturo is the authority around here on all things Linda.
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Good to see you back in General Discussions, Arturo. The talented, beautiful Miss Darnell, whose life and career deserved more breaks than it got, still needs her biggest supporter.
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About Bonita Granville shooting Barry Sullivan . . .
"We knew that kid was no good."
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41 minutes ago, midwestan said:
Really? Well, what did he say? Clue me in...I don't recall hearing him say anything you could pick up on screen. If you don't know, that's OK. I'll see if it's still in the On-Demand section so I can get to the bottom of this.
He whispers that a statesman will be assassinated in London. He adds that he hates "Que Sera Sera."
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47 minutes ago, midwestan said:
C'mon Tom, don't ever underestimate the prowess of Edith Head and Perc Westmore! While Duryea might have to spend an inordinate amount of time in wardrobe or the makeup chair, you can't deny that his on-screen persona would mesh nicely with Tonya Harding's mindset of the 1990's. 😁
Yeh, but I don't think Dan could skate.
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19 hours ago, cigarjoe said:
Directed competently and stylishly by Craig Gillespie. The film was written by Steven Rogers and based on the sometimes contradictory interviews with all the participants. I, Tonya sort of depicts a modern take on the type of small time racketeering that in Classic Hollywood would have focused on boxing or horse racing.
One of the bennies of watching a lot of Film Noir is that you become very familiar with a large range of actors from the classical period Noirs through the transitional Noirs to our current era of Neo Noir who seem made for certain parts and they easily slip into certain shady characters like one would slip into a comfortable pair of slippers.
When you think of low rent, cheap, sleazy, slimy, weaselly crooks you think of Classic Noir actors Zachary Scott or Dan Druyea. In this film Zachary would get the nod he looks like the real Jeff Gilhoolie. Dan Seymore or Victor Buono would have made a good Shaun, Doro Merande or Agnes Moorhead as Tonya's mother, Tonya would have probably been played by Belita (the star of our ice skating Noir Suspense) but, if they could skate, I could see Shelly Winters or Barbara Stanwyck, in it or Joan Crawford with blonde hair.
Anyway, projecting the past performers upon this film in no way diminishes it. Chek it out.
I'm trying to envision Dan Duryea as Tonya Harding. It's not working for me.
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23 minutes ago, Arturo said:
As for SUSPENSE, I had never seen it, but I enjoyed it, cliches and ice revues and all. Both Belita and Bonita were lookers, and I agree that the latter could’ve been better utilized. Never been a big Barry Sullivan fan, but something about him makes him perfect for noir; his smarmy presence makes one nervous. Good thing they repeated it this morning, as I fell asleep while watching it last night, not due to the film, but the tryptophan from my leftover thanksgiving dinner.
You and Eugene Pallette, Arturo. Well, maybe it wasn't from tryptophan from a turkey but Pallette was certainly falling asleep in the party scene. This was Pallette's last film and I wish that Eddie had said something about what happened to him after that. He returned to LA after spending two years at his Oregon "fortress" but never resumed making movies again. Pallette always added (not just talking about his size here) to any of the films he was in, whether it was dramas or comedies, and it was good to see him providing solid support in Suspense. His career extended back to an uncredited part as a Union soldier (he was slim in those days) in The Birth of a Nation.
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21 minutes ago, cigarjoe said:
What, you missed the White Trash Tragedy On Ice?
To my ever lasting shame.
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I enjoyed Suspense. Not only does it have the expressionistic noir photography in many scenes but it's the only noir hybrid I know of to blend double crosses with double axels.
But was I the only one to cringe a bit when Barry Sullivan, whose character may lack charm but certainly not brashness, crashes in on Albert Dekker's cottage love nest just as he's sitting comfortably by a burning fire place with the missus? The next thing you know Barry's settling down in the couch beside Belita with more eye popping coming out of him towards her than the wolf in a Tex Avery cartoon. And within a minute of Dekker excusing himself to go to bed good ol' Barry's telling her to ditch the guy.
I can't say I really blame Albert for eventually deciding to take his rifle down from the wall. Speaking of which, I enjoyed Dekker's performance in this film but, then, I usually enjoy Dekker. He brings an intelligence and unruffled smoothness to his characterizations, be they villains or not. I'm just sorry he didn't have more scenes in the production.
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I happened to be discussing The Birds today with a friend and when I commented, "So what's wrong with Rod Taylor in that film, choosing that Ice Princess over Suzanne Pleshette?" he was nodding his head so hard it almost came off his neck. And I don't care how frumpy Suzanne's clothes were in that film, you can only do so much to disguise the fact that she was one beautiful woman.
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Green Hell (1940)
Standard jungle adventure from Universal about a hunt for Inca treasure, distinguished by an above average cast of stars.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays the intrepid leader of the group of adventurers, barking orders as they venture into Amazon jungles. Comprising the all star collection are George Sanders as a Brit who enjoys singing Home On The Range, Alan Hale as a scientist (sporting some kind of accent), John Howard, George Bancroft and Vincent Price as a mysterious stranger who joins the group at the last minute. Later, rather incredulously, joining this motley collection will be the wife (Joan Bennett) of one of the men, suffering from jungle fever just in time to learn that her husband has been killed by natives.
This proves rather convenient for the film's romantic story line as Fairbanks and Bennett soon become interested in one another. But that, in turn, is one of the problems of this film inasmuch as as much screen time is devoted to a tepid romance as it is to any adventure. James Whale, curiously, directed this project, which adds to its overall disappointment because it is such a generally undistinguished film, despite the cast. Sets left over from Universal's The Mummy's Hand were utilized here, including the giant stone staircase that high priest George Zucco rolled down after getting shot in that film.
On a personal note regarding this film years ago a friend contacted me after he had had correspondence with Douglas Fairbanks in which the actor stated he was looking for copies of his films, and Green Hell was one that had eluded him. My friend knew I had a video tape of this production so I made a second generation copy of it which he sent to the actor. I'm afraid the quality of that copy was not very good. Years later I read an autobiography of Fairbanks, Salad Days, in which he referred to Green Hell as being about his worst film. I always hoped that Fairbanks hadn't come to that conclusion because of the quality of the print we sent him.
2.5 out of 4
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I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
Yes, it's the suggestion of the sex in this scene in Friendly Persuasion that brings it so much charm. Cooper and McGuire are in the barn. Cooper looks at the straw mattress upon which she is sitting and tests its softness with his foot. That is all you see. Night changes to day as we look at the barn and Coop and McGuire are now returning to their house from it. Coop merely says to her, "Let's go back some time" in reference to the barn. We know what happened, two adults still capable of being excited by one another in their middle years and having sex, but our noses aren't rubbed in it. Our imaginations fill in the gaps. Love it.