TopBilled

AMADEUS (1984)

THE ROSE TATTOO (1955)

CHICKEN EVERY SUNDAY (1949)

THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM (1932)

HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS (1987)

Special thanks to Fading Fast for sharing all those wonderful reviews of precodes. It has generated more lively discussion. I look forward to our posting more reviews at the other message board. https://classicfilmtvradio.freeforums.net/board/43/neglected-films

Thanks for the feedback. I did not mean to imply it was neglected by critics...but...it has been neglected by TCM programmers. Probably because they have to pay extra to lease it from Paramount, as it is outside the Turner library. As I had stated earlier in the thread, the criteria I used to defined neglected by TCM is that a title had aired 25 times or less. I chose the number 25 since TCM has been broadcasting for 28 years and that means on average, a title that aired 25 times or less has aired less than once a year. Of course some films have only aired five or six times during TCM's broadcast history which means they are even more neglected!

Note: This is the last day I will be posting a review in this thread. As I have said before, all the reviews can be found on my blog: https://oforinvolvingmotionpictures.wordpress.com/2022/10/31/welcome/ And there is a section for Neglected Films on the new message board, arranged by studio: https://classicfilmtvradio.freeforums.net/board/43/neglected-films Please follow us at either one of these places for each day's review of a neglected studio film. Thanks for reading!

What a great photo!

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988)

THE BRASHER DOUBLOON (1947)

OCTOBER 2022 THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (1935)..UNIV WOMAN WHO CAME BACK (1945)..REP THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (1951)..FOX WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (1933)..WB ALBUQUERQUE (1948)..PAR CITY OF FEAR (1959)..COL NEXT TIME WE LOVE (1936)..UNIV THE GHOST SHIP (1943)..RKO THE DESERT FOX: THE STORY OF ROMMEL (1951)..FOX BROADWAY SERENADE (1939)..MGM THE CAPTIVE HEART (1946)..BRIT JOHNNY GUITAR (1954)..REP MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR (1937)..WB FLESH AND FANTASY (1943)..UNIV TEACHER’S PET (1958)..PAR DON’T TURN ‘EM LOOSE (1936)..RKO DRAGONWYCK (1946)..FOX AMBUSH (1950)..MGM THE HURRICANE (1937)..UA DANGER SIGNAL (1945)..WB LOOK BACK IN ANGER (1959)..BRIT HONEYMOON IN BALI (1939)..PAR MOSS ROSE (1947)..FOX THE JAZZ SINGER (1952)..WB EXCLUSIVE STORY (1936)..MGM STREET OF CHANCE (1942)..PAR CATTLE QUEEN OF MONTANA (1954)..RKO FORBIDDEN (1932)..COL IMPACT (1949)..UA THE DEVIL MAKES THREE (1952)..MGM THE MUMMY (1932)..UNIV

Today's neglected film is from 1932. It has aired 19 times on TCM. This review can be found on my blog, along with all the other reviews: https://oforinvolvingmotionpictures.wordpress.com/2022/10/30/neglected-film-the-mummy-1932/ I was a bit relieved to discover that several contemporary reviewers did not write favorably about this classic horror film when it was released. Relieved because I struggled to suspend disbelief during the most important scenes, and was glad that I was not alone. It’s not that I wanted to dislike a motion picture others may enjoy. I certainly gave it ample opportunity to transfix me. The biggest problem I have with Universal’s original version of THE MUMMY is how it tries to give its audience an education on Egyptian artifacts. Obviously, the screenwriter and the producer knew the average moviegoer wasn’t an Egyptologist, so the dialogue has to explain many things that will be referenced or used as plot devices. Because the information has to be broken down into layman’s terms, a lot of the expository dialogue seems juvenile. Another issue I had was the lack of tension in scenes that should contain a great deal of nail-biting suspense. Instead, we get moments so bound up in the historical aspects of ancient Egypt, it feels like Universal is attempting to do a Cecil B. DeMille type treatment of the subject. But even DeMille knew when to drop the history lesson, take dramatic liberties and provide the audience with rousing entertainment. THE MUMMY fails to be the type of spectacle it could and should be. What I do consider film’s main asset is its central performance. Only Boris Karloff can take a clunky script and present us with a truly creepy character. Most Universal horror flicks are driven by macabre characterizations, and Karloff seems to know this better than anyone. He elevates strangeness to an art form in how he enunciates, in how he walks and in how he does things. As for leading lady Zita Johann, she comes across suitably possessed when her character is supposed to be under Karloff’s spell. But I feel she is too modern in appearance. So while she’s able to convey a troubled Depression era woman, there is nothing in her performance to suggest the timeless qualities of a woman reincarnated from several thousand years ago. Her scenes with handsome leading man David Manners are acceptable. But I don’t feel any real connection between her and Karloff. As in the SVENGALI tale, our delicate heroine should be shamefully drawn to the monstrous man, but that is not in evidence. Director Karl Freund was known more for his work as a cinematographer. He does well to keep the story looking sinister enough, providing the requisite shadows and lighting tricks. But he and Karloff are let down by a talky screenplay and an actress who doesn’t fully connect with the material and is unable to infuse it with the heart and soul it needs.

two thousand six hundred fifth category End times THE TIME MACHINE (1960) THE SWARM (1978) END OF DAYS (1999)

GIRL TROUBLE (1942)

WOLF (1994)

1776 (1972)

WALL STREET (1987)

Hill Street Blues

SING YOU SINNERS (1938) Next: SING YOUR WAY HOME (1945)

THE TUTTLES OF TAHITI (1942)

TAKE CARE OF MY LITTLE GIRL (1951)

BRUBAKER (1980)

Vinson, Helen

You are welcome. I will still be posting information about what's available to stream at the new message board: https://classicfilmtvradio.freeforums.net/board/10/streaming-suggestions