TopBilled

*7 Reasons to Like Randolph Scott* Here are the first two: 7TH CAVALRY and SEVEN MEN FROM NOW.

*THE FIGHTING SEABEES (1944)* From Agee on March 11, 1944: In THE FIGHTING SEABEES American bulldozers engage in direct combat with Japanese tanks, but this opportunity for a few minutes of wonderful film is almost completely muffed. The Japanese are represented, both verbally and by mannerism, as subhuman. One is caught up screaming in the jaws of a steamshovel; he is shot and dropped. The dramatic intention is apparently one of grim humor but I wonder whom the laugh is on.

*LIZABETH SCOTT* YOU CAME ALONG (1945) with Robert Cummings & Don DeFore THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck & Van Heflin DESERT FURY (1947) with John Hodiak & Burt Lancaster DEAD RECKONING (1947) with Humphrey Bogart PITFALL (1948) with Dick Powell & Jane Wyatt I WALK ALONE (1948) with Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas EASY LIVING (1949) with Victor Mature & Lucille Ball PAID IN FULL (1950) with Robert Cummings & Diana Lynn DARK CITY (1950) with Charlton Heston & Don DeFore TWO OF A KIND (1951) with Edmond O'Brien & Terry Moore THE RACKET (1951) with Robert Mitchum & Robert Ryan THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS (1951) with Jane Greer & Dennis O'Keefe STOLEN FACE (1952) with Paul Henreid RED MOUNTAIN (1952) with Alan Ladd & Arthur Kennedy SCARED STIFF (1953) with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis & Carmen Miranda SILVER LODE (1954) with John Payne BAD FOR EACH OTHER (1954) with Charlton Heston LOVING YOU (1957) with Elvis Presley & Wendell Corey THE WEAPON (1957) with Steve Cochran & Herbert Marshall PULP (1972) with Michael Caine & Mickey Rooney

Editorial note: I changed the name of the thread while it was still allowed. I felt the original title seemed a bit negative, and I want to be fair since it is still a worthwhile picture to view. Thanks.

I think classic film lovers should check it out. As I wrote, it is on DVD now. It's a glossy production, and Fontaine fans will want to check out how gorgeous she is in this picture.

I went back and watched the ending again. It definitely improves in the last section. But the seventy or so minutes that precedes the final sequence is very belabored and drawn out. It's like, okay we get it, she's a drunk...get her to A.A. already! One must admire the filmmakers for their attempts to present a not-so-unique message: that a very successful but isolated woman (Joan Fontaine) can be redeemed by a man (Ray Milland) who is a proper stranger. Yet she could just as easily have been a prostitute as opposed to a renowned stage actress; and he just as easily a pimp as opposed to an advertising executive. Of course, if that had been the case, the film would've been much seedier and not as polished as Stevens' finished product. And Fontaine would not have the great luxury of wearing such a glamorous hairstyle or fabulous wardrobe. It is Milland who fares best in this picture. He is embroiled in still another off-the-wagon story. Only here he is the recovered drinker-- unlike his roles in THE LOST WEEKEND and NIGHT INTO MORNING, where he is in full-blown inebriation mode-- with his character this time valiantly trying to save Fontaine's flawed heroine. Teresa Wright is his long-suffering wife who seems subconsciously attuned to the fact that he has this other life with Fontaine. Wright takes a mediocre part and turns chunks of coal into diamonds, but this production and her involvement in it pales in comparison to the grittier, more grabbing work she does in THE MEN, or her earlier essay of sweet American goodness in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Clearly, her character and Milland's character have seen better years together. The direction and casting are not the problem; however, Paramount could've made a much more interesting and engaging picture, and I am still trying to figure out what doesn't exactly work with SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR. I think the real problem is Dwight Taylor's script, which has inspired moments but takes longer than a kettle of tea to come to a boil. Indeed, if SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR had been tightened up and condensed into something that ran just under an hour, it would've made for a really great episode of live television, you know on one of those playhouse/anthology programs. Edited by: TopBilled on May 22, 2012 5:04 PM

Olive Films recently put SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR on disc. This is a turgid Paramount melodrama from the early 50s. George Stevens directs the picture, and it stars Joan Fontaine as a boozing actress (based on Laurette Taylor); Ray Milland as the married man she wants; and Teresa Wright as Milland's sweet-tempered wife. All the right ingredients are there, if not to make it a blockbuster, then at least a highly engaging drama. But something is terribly wrong. It's just plain dull. How can such a talented group of artists turn out something like this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_to_Live_For_%28film%29 Edited by: TopBilled on May 22, 2012 5:01 PM

>Fans get a chance to see her in the rarely shown 'Look in Any Window' (1961) - a dramatic vehicle for the - then - teen idol, Paul Anka. Scheduled on June 28. Thanks for the reminder. I am very much looking forward to that film on TCM.

*SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! (1948)* From Agee on June 19, 1948: Some very handsome mules, and enough reverent talk about them to turn their ears bright red.

*KEVIN CORCORAN* OLD YELLER (1958) with Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker & Tommy Kirk THE RABBIT TRAP (1959) with Ernest Borgnine & David Brian THE SHAGGY DOG (1959) with Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen & Tommy Kirk TOBY TYLER (1960) with James Drury POLLYANNA (1960) with Hayley Mills & Jane Wyman SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1960) with Dorothy McGuire & John Mills BABES IN TOYLAND (1961) with Ray Bolger & Tommy Sands BON VOYAGE! (1962) with Fred MacMurray & Jane Wyman SAVAGE SAM (1963) with Brian Keith & Tommy Kirk

*Non-Musical Jeanette MacDonald* The emphasis is on intrigue, not music, in MGM's CAIRO; and on a famous costar, Lassie, in THE SUN COMES UP.

*Connie Stevens & Troy Donahue* Paired by Warner Brothers in SUSAN SLADE and PARRISH.

*NANCY SINATRA* GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL (1964) with Mary Ann Mobley & Chad Everett FOR THOSE WHO THINK YOUNG (1964) with James Darren & Pamela Tiffin MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS (1965) with Frank Sinatra, Deboarah Kerr & Dean Martin THE WILD ANGELS (1966) with Peter Fonda & Bruce Dern THE LAST OF THE SECRET AGENTS? (1966) with Marty Allen & Steve Rossi SPEEDWAY (1968) with Elvis Presley

*THE ROAD TO RIO (1947)* From Agee on February 14, 1948: Hope, Crosby, Lamour. Enough laughs to pass the time easily and to remind you how completely, since sound came in, the American genius for movie comedy has disintegrated.

Some film stars gradually go into decline, then we have these other more iconic talents who give it their all in one final feature film effort. Carmen Miranda in SCARED STIFF at Paramount. And Lizabeth Scott in PULP at MGM.

The actress was on TCM earlier today in THE FAR COUNTRY. Excellent western from Universal International with James Stewart.

Ruth Roman, who appeared on TCM earlier today in THE FAR COUNTRY, is one of my favorites. This is a shot from TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY:

*JACKIE GLEASON* SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES (1942) with Betty Grable & John Payne ESCAPE FROM CRIME (1942) with Richard Travis & Julie Bishop TRAMP, TRAMP, TRAMP (1942) with Jack Durant & Bruce Bennett THE DESERT HAWK (1950) with Yvonne de Carlo & Richard Greene THE HUSTLER (1961) with Paul Newman & Piper Laurie REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (1962) with Anthony Quinn & Mickey Rooney GIGOT (1962) with Gene Kelly directing PAPA'S DELICATE CONDITION (1963) with Glynis Johns SOLDIER IN THE RAIN (1963) with Steve McQueen SKIDOO (1968) with Carol Channing HOW TO COMMIT MARRIAGE (1969) with Bob Hope & Jane Wyman DON'T DRINK THE WATER (1969) with Estelle Parsons HOW DO I LOVE THEE? (1970) with Maureen O'Hara & Shelley Winters SMOKY AND THE BANDIT (1977) with Burt Reynolds & Sally Field THE TOY (1982) with Richard Pryor NOTHING IN COMMON (1986) with Tom Hanks & Eva Marie Saint

*I DOOD IT (1943)* From Agee on November 29, 1943: To spite a faithless fianc?, a dancing actress (Eleanor Powell) marries a man (Red Skelton) who, she believes, owns a gold mine. She kicks him out when she learns that he is really a pants-presser. While this musical-comedy plot thickens to the curdling point, a good many variously gifted people are kept busy making the show entertaining. Jimmy Dorsey's band establishes one hit (the smoothly meandering Star Eyes). Hazel Scott blends swing and quasi-classical music to the disadvantage of both and the delight of millions. Comely Lena Horne proficiently marshals Count Basie's band and numerous choristers. And Eleanor Powell, who is the best female tap dancer on tap, proves it in a rope dance. But Red Skelton is the best bet of all. Most of Skelton's comedy is Bob Hope laid on with a ball bat. Now and then Skelton's broad and cheerful silliness, notably in one stretch of pantomime, upholstering himself in a false beard, comes so thick and fast that the effect is like being held down and tickled.

*Jury Duty* Dennis Morgan & Ginger Rogers are PERFECT STRANGERS who meet on a jury and fall in love; while Henry Fonda and a company of 12 ANGRY MEN deliberate another man's fate.

I've been meaning to comment on this thread. Sometimes stars took their names from stage plays. Archie Leach, who became Cary Grant, took his professional name of Cary from a character in a play entitled 'Nikki' that he did on Broadway. The character was actually named Cary Lockwood, but Paramount (the studio that first signed him) insisted on something else for a last name, so he picked Grant. Meanwhile, Barbara Stanwyck, born Ruby Catherine Stevens, took hers from a role she did in a play called 'The Noose,' where her character was named Barbara (Stanwyck being the last name of another actress in the same production).

In June, I am going to post daily on this thread. Each day I will feature one character actor, alternating between the men and women. I will not stick to just the golden age of Hollywood...it will include occasional character actors that are working in films today. Also, it will include former A-list stars who became character actors at the end of their motion picture careers. What will be different about this thread is that instead of listing films or sharing a critic's review, I will just highlight some dialogue they have spoken in a classic movie.

*Out West with Gene Autry* Gene is PUBLIC COWBOY NO. 1 crooning tunes at MELODY RANCH.

I thought Stewart was acceptable in ROPE, though he did seem slightly miscast. Personally, I would've cast Robert Donat in the role, sort of a reverse twist on Mr. Chips and his boys.

*TYCOON (1948)* From Agee on February 14, 1948: Several tons of dynamite are set off in this movie; none of it under the right people.