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*ELISABETH BERGNER* THE RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT (1934) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. AS YOU LIKE IT (1937) with Laurence Olivier DREAMING LIPS (1937) with Raymond Massey A STOLEN LIFE (1939) with Michael Redgrave PARIS CALLING (1942) with Randolph Scott & Basil Rathbone CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970) with Vincent Price

>Excellent thread, Topper! Thanks. The idea came to me when I was watching THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN this morning. In that film, both Freddie March and Alexis Smith age from sexy young specimens to ripe old ancient relics. In some of the Hollywood films where a character has to age significantly, the make-up is applied too thick and it is obvious the actor is still young underneath. Recently, TCM aired JALNA. Jessie Ralph played the 99 year old granny in the picture. She was obviously not that age when she was cast in the movie. They had her all made up as old, they gave her dialogue where she said she was old, and they had a scene where she had to rest after dinner. But she moved around with more energy in that picture than I have seen people do who are half that age! Anyone who is almost 100 is going to be very achy and very stiff and have very prolonged, maybe even unbalanced, movements going from one room to the next. Looking old and playing old and being old, these are all different things. Also, when the studio make-up artists had to age a performer, I would think they would ask the actor or actress to bring photos of old relatives from home...to see how someone with their genes and body type would likely look at a much older age.

>Maybe Sidney Greenstreet next year? They do not seem to feature the character actors during SUTS. I think it's an oversight, and surely one day could be allotted to these great performers.

I just want to add a few things to the discussion, if I may: First, I did not remember seeing Dominick's thread. I think his may not have lasted, because it was more speculation instead of actual information about the SUTS offerings (it was too early at that time). Next, when I started my thread, it was very carefully not labeled 'August Schedule.' I had no intention of duplicating calvin's day-by-day list of titles that he usually posts. My goal was simply to create a thread about the 'lineup.' Who were the 31 honorees and were there any major surprises. I still plan on posting short bios of the stars each day in August on that thread. So I will not be focusing on the films but rather on the legacy of each performer and why their work is worth celebrating x-number of years later. Finally, what would happen if someone locked up the rights to future threads. What if Dominick or myself or calvin or anyone started creating threads now for 2013 SUTS and 2014 SUTS...? I think a thread stays active for up to a year. So every few months, a general blurb could be added to keep the thread active until that year's SUTS came to pass. Do you see how ridiculous it gets? LOL Obviously, there are going to be duplicate threads from time to time, but we should also try not to look at this like registering internet domains, where nobody else can own a similar thread. However, when someone does have a strong thread going and there is plenty of activity on it, then there is really no need to go out and make another thread about the exact same thing.

Hey Fred, I wanted to point out that PEYTON PLACE (the book, the movies, the TV series) became such a phenomenon and is so remembered today that Billy Joel has a line about it in his song 'We Didn't Start the Fire.'

*Did they really look like that when they were older?* *Barbara Stanwyck.* She goes from a young woman to a very old gal in THE GREAT MAN'S LADY. But did she really look like that when she appeared on TV in the 1980s in productions like The Thorn Birds or The Colbys?

*JACK LA RUE* THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933) with Miriam Hopkins TO THE LAST MAN (1933) with Randolph Scott & Esther Ralston GAMBLING SHIP (1933) with Cary Grant & Benita Hume GOOD DAME (1934) with Sylvia Sidney & Fredric March HIS NIGHT OUT (1935) with Edward Everett Horton & Irene Hervey SPECIAL AGENT (1935) with Bette Davis & George Brent GENTLEMAN FROM DIXIE (1941) with Marian Marsh THE LAW RIDES AGAIN (1943) with Ken Maynard & Hoot Gibson ROBIN HOOD OF MONTEREY (1947) with Gilbert Roland & Evelyn Brent BUSH PILOT (1947) with Rochelle Hudson NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH (1948) with Hugh McDermott & Linden Travers

*Played Both Holmes & Watson* Reginald Owen was one of a few select actors who portrayed Sherlock Holmes as well as Holmes' assistant, Dr. Watson. First, he is Watson in Fox's 1932 version of SHERLOCK HOLMES, then he is Holmes a year later in A STUDY IN SCARLET.

*PARIS UNDERGROUND (1945)* From Agee on October 27, 1945: Constance Bennett production about two women who helped innumerable grounded airmen get back to England. Good performance by Bennett except in any attempt to portray actions requiring a heart. Excellent performance by Gracie Fields. Otherwise mainly trash, involving enough handsome young men, in various postures of gallant gratitude, to satisfy Mae West in her prime.

I think I am probably in the minority, but I like the sequel RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE much better. Carol Lynley is her usual gorgeous self, and Jeff Chandler is photographed much better here by Fox than he often was by Universal in those formulaic westerns. It's directed by Jose Ferrer who has a way of getting actors to push otherwise dull material over on the audience and make it seem half-way interesting. Eleanor Parker and Mary Astor have juicy supporting roles in this one, too.

They both appear in CAESAR & CLEOPATRA (he has a much more prominent role than she does in that picture). And they are very good together in a later British effort called FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG. I wish TCM would dedicate a night to them. Her movies with Brooks are interesting, too, but I think she works best with Granger.

Right, perhaps they were head of their time. Or they were overshadowed by similarly-themed films that had a bigger publicity push but were not made as well. Time is the true test of these things. One film I really adore is THE GRASS IS GREENER. Deb Kerr gets to play something light instead of all those heavy dramatic roles. She is reteamed with Cary Grant and he is allowed to be very British in this film, something the Hollywood studios did not often let him do. And then we have Robert Mitchum who worked so well with Kerr in several other dramatic pictures. Jean Simmons is also on hand, and like Kerr, she is getting a chance to do something else instead of her usual sturm-und-drang. This is just a perfectly made film directed by Stanley Donen, with a very literate script. It was not a hit when it was first released, but it found new life on cable television and has since come to be regarded as a classic.

*Jean Simmons & Stewart Granger* I love watching this magnetic couple act together on screen. They have the perfect chemistry and energy in films like ADAM & EVELYNE and YOUNG BESS.

*THE SEARCH (1948)* From Agee on April 24, 1948: A displaced mother and child seek and find each other in American Germany. Awfully well intended and sometimes sweet and touching, but pathetically mild and unimaginative. It seems as if it had been made to interest American clubwomen, so that they might send care packages. At one point, while starving children grab for bread, a lady commentator informs one that they are hungry, and that the bread is bread.

*JANE FRAZEE* MOONLIGHT IN HAWAII (1941) with Johnny Downs SAN ANTONIO ROSE (1941) with Robert Paige & Eve Arden SING ANOTHER CHORUS (1941) with Johnny Downs GET HEP TO LOVE (1942) with Gloria Jean & Donald O'Connor MOONIGHT MASQUERADE (1942) with Dennis O'Keefe WHAT'S COOKIN'? (1942) with the Andrews Sisters ALMOST MARRIED (1942) with Robert Paige MOONLIGHT IN HAVANA (1942) with Allan Jones & Marjorie Lord RHYTHM OF THE ISLANDS (1943) with Allan Jones WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME (1943) with Allan Jones & Gloria Jean HI' YA, CHUM (1943) with the Ritz Brothers SWING IN THE SADDLE (1944) with Guinn Williams & Slim Summerville ROSIE, THE RIVETER (1944) with Frank Albertson & Vera Vague KANSAS CITY KITTY (1944) with Joan Davis THE BIG BONANZA (1944) with Richard Arlen BEAUTIFUL BUT BROKE (1944) with Joan Davis COWBOY CANTEEN (1944) with Charles Starrett & Vera Vague SHE'S A SWEETHEART (1944) with Larry Parks TEN CENTS A DANCE (1945) with Jimmy Lloyd SWINGIN' ON A RAINBOW (1945) with Brad Taylor A GUY COULD CHANGE (1946) with Allan Lane CALENDAR GIRL (1947) with William Marshall & Gail Patrick SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS (1947) with Roy Rogers ON THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL (1947) with Roy Rogers & Tito Guizar THE GAY RANCHERO (1948) with Roy Rogers & Tito Guizar GRAND CANYON TRAIL (1948) with Roy Rogers UNDER CALIFORNIA STARS (1948) with Roy Rogers INCIDENT (1949) with Warren Douglas RHYTHM INN (1951) with Kirby Grant

Fred, I like the second part of your thread title. 'Still a great film.' I like the idea very much that if something was once great it can still be regarded as great. That is what qualifies it as a classic and nothing else.

Interesting title for a thread. However, it seems like a near duplication of two other threads that exist on the subject of Garfield's films. I hope people do not become over-saturated and turned off. We want them to sign your lovely petition.

Hi infinite, I think it was important that you replied to kyle on his earlier post. First, I think it is always risky when trying to speak for TCM's management and its advertising and programming departments. Until one of those employees actually posts a direct reply to why 'TCM is becoming less classic' or why it may be perceived that 'TCM is becoming less classic,' then it is all just speculation. I definitely disagree about the idea that TCM had to bring young viewers in or risk being wiped off the face of cable. This is not a commercial-driven channel like others that depend on younger demographics to charge advertising rates. I am not saying TCM should not court young viewers or viewers of all ages, but that even if a channel like TCM catered to the senior citizen crowd, that would not necessarily make it unacceptable for broadcast on cable or any other platform. Instead, I think the mission of gaining younger viewers is to help preserve our Hollywood history and film legacy and ensure that it continues and that in this regard, the channel remains viable. In other words, that the brand of film history and cultural history TCM brings into our homes each day can be valued and appreciated by multiple generations for years to come. That does mean that films being produced this year, in 2012, would have to become labeled as classic at some point and be broadcast on TCM in 2072, right along with the titles from 1927 and 1972. Therefore, TCM would never become less classic, but instead it would become more classic.

I recorded it and have not watched it yet. I love seeing how young they are in these early 30s flicks.

It is the long shot, Freddie Bartholomew. He's a good choice. I knew there had to be at least one child star. I kept thinking it was going to be Dean Stockwell, so maybe we'll get him next year. It's not too difficult to figure it out, when you think about these things: a) the most repeated honorees; any other big league MGM stars, RKO stars or WB stars; and c) the formula that consists of at least one child star, one or two stars from Fox, one silent star, one star from the 70s, and one international star.

I think a poster scolded you in your duplicate thread about your wish to create a rival thread on this topic. I do feel this thread will continue, because we are discussing the honorees, not necessarily the individual film titles offered in August. I envision offering up short bios of each of the 31 honorees, so if the thread falls off page one, it will certainly be back each day in August when we celebrate these remarkable classic stars. Thank you, TCM, for giving us another season of SUTS. We love it!

Also, I think since the advent of Saturday Night Live, we have been given a new variety of the character actor. It is usually a young, loud brash comic (male or female) who is not sexy enough to play romantic leads but who is allowed to carry a film at a major studio if there are enough laughs or outrageous situations to bring in the bucks at the box office. That is the main type of character actor we have in movies today.

I completely agree. Thank you for stating that. At the very least, calvin could've let us know which actors were being featured on the days I had not figured out then graciously alluded to his new thread. Instead, it seemed underhanded and snarky, which does not usually seem to be calvin's usual style. When I created the other thread, my intention was to simply offer a list of all the honorees and elicit comments about that. I had no intention of adding all the individual titles by day, because that is labor intensive and quite frankly, with a busy schedule, I did not have time to put into that. Plus, calvin usually does a good job with that, so why not let him continue doing that. There is room for everyone to enjoy the great treats TCM's programmers offer us each month and to post threads in anticipation of future schedules. However, when it seems like posters are threateing to boycott or make unnecessary duplicate threads, that is what in my opinion erodes away at the good spirit and community feeling of these boards. So again, I do agree that calvin sort of made a mis-step here, and you are right to point that out to him, and with no hard feelings, I think we can move on and should not worry about monopolizing certain kinds of threads. We are here to share information about a cable channel we enjoy, that's all. And that's where it should end. Thanks.

>Overall the WB factory of the 30s and 40s cranked out quality movies, even many of the 'B' pictures. The character actors are a key reason. i.e. they alway brought a certain level of quality to these WB movies. I think that is a very true statement. Movies today do have character actors. It is just that they are dwarfed by the Tom Cruises and Sandra Bullocks. They do not get the chance to really shine like character actors did back in the 30s or 40s. And they most certainly do not, with rare exception, get the chance to carry a major studio film (unless it's a low-budget sleeper that was independently financed and has found distribution through a major studio). John Malkovich is what I would call a character actor today who occasionally gets to do meatier parts.

It is possible that one of the days I could not figure out will feature an international star. If anyone knows the information for the 9th, the 18th and the 24th, feel free to post it.