TopBilled
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Posts posted by TopBilled
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*HAL SKELLY*
THE DANCE OF LIFE (1929) with Nancy Carroll & Dorothy Revier
WOMAN TRAP (1929) with Chester Morris & Evelyn Brent
BEHIND THE MAKE-UP (1930) with William Powell, Fay Wray & Kay Francis
MEN ARE LIKE THAT (1930) with Doris Hill
THE STRUGGLE (1932) with Zita Johann & Charlotte Wynters
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*13 RUE MADELEINE (1947)*
From Agee on March 1, 1947:
13 RUE MADELEINE is doing astonishingly well at the box-office. I wish I knew how much of this, even in the semi-conscious part of the audience mind, could be credited to the use of uninvented backgrounds, in and around Quebec. These are selected and photographed with such intelligence, and give the film such vitality, that the good performances of James Cagney, Richard Conte and Annabella and a generally smart piece of movie-making look weak by comparison.
Louis de Rochemont, the producer, is not the only man making movies in this country who knows the great value of getting outside the studio and shooting in highly specific places; but he is getting more of it done, more effectively, than anyone else, and if the idea spreads, and becomes a practice, I expect that most of the credit will be due to him.
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Right...because Spielberg understands the difference between celluloid and high-tech video. This is something that I feel James Cameron does not fully grasp...and it's a simple concept, really.
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My guess is that there will be at least one SUTS honoree with silent or foreign films next August. But still, one of out of 31 days is not much. Hardly anything to complain about, unless you want more of that sort of thing.
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Your post suggests that Fox may have been plagiarizing when they adapted the 'original' material for GIRLS' DORMITORY, as several years had passed since the Paramount version with Bow.
Obviously, there are some stories (like the one about the sacrificing mother) that seemed popular with depression-era audiences and were endlessly recycled and repeated. The old chestnut about the girl having a crush on her teacher is one such example.
Except the interesting thing here is that it is more risque before the production code, then after the production code, it has a subversive happy ending pasted on to it. By the time we get to the mid-40s, the happy ending remains in-tact, but the earlier portions of the story have become more saccharine-like, even warm and overtly nostalgic.
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I think you misread what I posted. Fox did not pay to re-use the story for GIRLS' DORMITORY. They already owned it, so it was theirs to remake. What they did pay for was the additional material written by McKenney and Bransten, which gave them the new setting and the new characters. The Fox writers then combined these materials.
I would not say it was a direct remake. It was the reworking of a proven format with several variations (namely, making it more domestic and setting it in the 1920s). For fans enamored with MARGIE, who think it was an original story, it was not.
I am sure that MARGIE was meant as a vehicle to push Crain's career into the stratosphere, in much the same way the earlier film was meant to sell Simone Simon to the public. Because Crain seems a lot less exotic than Simon, a more wholesome approach was used.
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Thanks for posting this. I read the article earlier today and have been thinking about it virtually nonstop!
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>Although Margie shares the GIRLS' DORMITORY theme of a student falling in love with her teacher, any similarity between the two films and stories really starts and ends there. That said, I agree that GIRLS' DORMITORY is an interesting film which is worth checking out. Tyrone Power plays Simone Simon's cousin, not boyfriend...
Sorry MovieFanLaura, but according to the TCM database:
*Documents in the legal files imply that F. Hugh Herbert used elements from the screenplay by Gene Markey for Girls' Dormitory (1936), which was based on a play, Matura by Ladislas Fodor.*
Over at wiki, we have this blurb:
*In January 1945, 20th Century Fox paid $12,500 for a story written by Ruth McKenney and her husband Richard Bransten. For the screenplay adaption, F. Hugh Herbert used elements from the film Girls' Dormitory (1936).*
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I'm excited to see THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH on the schedule, too. I recorded it off Fox Movie Channel over a year ago, but it's nice that it will now make the rounds on TCM.
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES is another essential Monroe flick that could come TCM's way...
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More titles are up thru January 7th:
January 3:
THE GUNFIGHTER
RIVER OF NO RETURN
SON OF FURY
KISS OF DEATH
January 4:
ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM
HOW TO STEAL A MILLION
THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE
January 5:
BROKEN LANCE
THE DESERT FOX
THE LONGEST DAY
January 6:
THUNDERHEAD: SON OF FLICKA
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
January 7:
BORN TO BE BAD
LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL
LOVE ME TENDER
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
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These Monroe flicks are scheduled on TCM:
March 3: SOME LIKE IT HOT
March 9: LET'S MAKE LOVE
March 25: NIAGARA
March 26: THE ASPHALT JUNGLE
March 27: RIVER OF NO RETURN
March 30: THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
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For those who like MARGIE, I suggest looking at the earlier 20th Century Fox film GIRLS' DORMITORY. It is on DVD and can be found at Netflix.
MARGIE uses many story elements from the earlier film and while not a remake per se, it is definitely a reworking of the earlier plot with bits of nostalgia thrown in. In the first film, Herbert Marshall was the teacher and Simone Simon (in her first American film) was the young girl. Tyrone Power played the Alan Young role of the boyfriend who does not stand a chance. It was one of Ty's first important roles at the studio.
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I thought Ben did a fine job with the SUTS in August. However, I think the selections overall could've been better. There are so many great performers who never get picked.
One of the films I most enjoyed during the 31 Days of Oscar in 2011 was SKIPPY, which I forgot to mention in the original post. That was surely a highlight.
As for the series on middle-eastern images, I have to say that I did not find it to be entirely convincing. I felt the professor made many statements that posters were able to pick apart. These kinds of series are risky, but apparently TCM feels they are worthwhile.
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What were some of the highlights this past year?
We had several in-depth discussions (threads) about the middle-eastern images series mid-year. I don't think we ever resolved most of those issues...!
Also, we had Robert Osborne leave in July. He returned in December. Some of the guest hosts were rather interesting. I particularly liked Tippi Hedren.
There were several noteworthy memorial tributes to honor film artists who passed away during 2011. One that I remember is the day devoted to Cliff Robertson, as it gave me a chance to see AUTUMN LEAVES, a film that Sony has not put on DVD yet and one that I had wanted to see.
I loved the month of September. I thought that getting THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE and THE CONSTANT NYMPH on the air was like getting Christmas early. I do think the TCM logo should not have been on screen for nearly the entire running time of CONSTANT NYMPH, but that is a minor quibble. I am glad it is on DVD, recently made available thru the Warner Archives. I haven't viewed the disc copy of it yet, but my guess is that it does not have any sort of logo in the corner.
October was another exceptional month. There was a tribute for director Nicholas Ray to commemorate his 100th birthday (which was actually back in August). And Buster Keaton was Star of the Month, and I rather enjoyed that. I still would like to see the short subjects he made at Educational Films in the 30s. Maybe we'll be lucky and get those someday in the not-so-distant future.
Speaking of the SOTM topic...I do think that TCM could've done better overall in this area. I found the selection of Esther Williams to be a bit predictable, especially since her MGM films are in fairly frequent rotation. Same goes for William Powell. It would've been better if we were able to see the films they made at Universal. Where is RAW WIND IN EDEN (starring Esther Williams & Jeff Chandler); and where is THE SENATOR WAS INDISCREET (starring William Powell & Ella Raines with a cameo by Myrna Loy)...? The only reason I can see for showcasing a tried-and-true MGM star yet again as SOTM is if we add some of the other films they made at Universal and Paramount. For this reason, I am not too thrilled about the selection of Angela Lansbury in January as good as she may be.
But please do not think I am down on TCM. I am very much excited about the films that will feature cinematographer/director Jack Cardiff's talent. And I am sure that TCM has many more wonderful treats in store for us...!
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I am currently reading a book about Darryl Zanuck. This film, MARGIE, is one of many movies he made with sentimental, nostalgic themes. He had a shrewd sense of marketing and knew that people wanted to see images on screen that evoked earlier times and memories.
So, keeping in mind that this was nostalgia in the mid-40s...what does that make it now, 65 years later...?
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Thanks Thelma for such a great post. I knew when I started this thread that it would lead to some very good dialogue. That is the gift of McCarey's movie (and TCM's recent rebroadcast of it) despite its rather sobering theme.
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*GOING MY WAY (1944)*
From Agee on May 13, 1944:
GOING MY WAY, a rather saccharine story about priests, has a gentle, engaging performance by Bing Crosby, a very full and fine one by Barry Fitzgerald, and a general leisure and appreciation of character which I think highly of. It would have a little more stature as a religious film if it dared suggest that evil is anything worse than a bad cold and that lack of self-knowledge can be not merely cute and inconvenient but also dangerous to oneself and to others.
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*LUCILE BROWNE*
LAST OF THE DUANES (1930) with George O'Brien & Myrna Loy
KING OF THE ARENA (1933) with Ken Maynard
DOUBLE HARNESS (1933) with Ann Harding & William Powell
THE DEVIL'S BROTHER (1933) with Dennis King & Thelma Todd
TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS (1935) with Gene Autry & Smiley Burnette
TEXAS TERROR (1935) with John Wayne
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I watched a variety of films, most of them good.
Honorable mention goes to THE OMEGA MAN with Charlton Heston, based on the story 'I Am Legend.' I thought this was a very intriguing film, though it is ironically a science fiction that seems to be very much a product of its times. I guess we could call it anachronistic in a good way.
IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE had several airings on TCM this week. I recorded it two years ago and never watched it. This time around, I gave it my full attention. It was so wonderful I watched it twice! What a charming cast with some of the best one-liners I have heard in a long time.
Another film I recorded a few years ago and did not watch until this week was CHICKEN EVERY SUNDAY. Again, I don't know why I waited so long! It was interesting to read that John Payne and Maureen O'Hara had originally been assigned to the project. I thought Dan Dailey was perfect as the scheming father, and if Celeste Holm was not entirely convincing, she was still fine (even with her New England accent slipping into the role of a Southern woman). Alan Young, who plays one of the young leads, was even better, and he should've made more films at Fox.
Speaking of young leads, I really enjoyed watching Jerome Courtland's film debut in Columbia's TOGETHER AGAIN. This delightful film does not air on cable, at least not often, and it truly deserves airplay and an audience. Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer are reteamed for their third cinematic venture, and this screwball comedy fires on all cylinders. Of particular note is Charles Coburn who once again steals the show as Dunne's father-in-law.
And while we're on the subject of Irene Dunne, I did manage to see RKO's version of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1934), based on Edith Wharton's novel. This was one of the most lovingly made films I have seen by RKO from that era. No expense was spared on set design and costumes. John Boles is perfect in the leading man role, much better than Daniel Day Lewis in the remake years later. Boles has the perfect dream-like, yet masculine quality that Wharton's story calls for, and Dunne is equally sensational as his doomed lover. The cast benefits from the presence of Helen Westley, one of my all-time favorite character actresses.
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You're right about ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.
Also, I think HARVEY boasts some excellent comic relief by its varied cast.
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Of course, I may be pin-pointing a certain segment of the population...but I don't think the average American is going to have much more than $20,000 a year to live off in benefits when they retire. That is technically not at the poverty level, but it is not much above it.
Plus, let's say someone retires at 65 and lives to 95. That fixed income of $20,000 per year will definitely be at the poverty level in ten years, let alone 30 years from now. Then, we have medical costs always on the rise.
I don't like to sound pessimistic, but I think conditions are potentially as bad as they were in 1937 for the elderly. We need films about this topic. I don't care if it's in the TV-movie format. Just something.
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This could become a discussion about character actors, but not all character actors excelled at comedy (some mainly provided support in serious, dramatic parts). Also, there are leading actors and actresses that were well-known for work in screwball comedies.
Plus, we have performers like Eve Arden who are somewhere in between a character actress and lead. So this could apply to anyone.
I particularly want to draw attention to the comic sidekicks in B-westerns. There are so many good ones, from Smiley Burnette to Fuzzy Knight to Pat Buttram.
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*Marie Dressler* always played strong gals. She's great in MIN AND BILL, with Wallace Beery:
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*MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)*
From Agee on August 30, 1947:
Santa Claus (well played by Edmund Gwenn) comes to Herald Square and wraps up the holiday in one neat package. The film is clever, and pleased with itself, and liked by practically everybody. But I enjoy even less a statement of the profits accruing through faith, loving kindness, etc. I expect next a witty, tender little fantasy presenting the Son of God as God's Customers' Man.
WANTED: Classic Films Featuring This Classic Artist
in General Discussions
Posted
*ELEANORE WHITNEY*
MILLIONS IN THE AIR (1935) with John Howard, Wendy Barrie & Robert Cummings
THREE CHEERS FOR LOVE (1936) with Robert Cummings
ROSE BOWL (1936) with William Frawley & Tom Brown
TIMOTHY'S QUEST (1936) with Elizabeth Patterson, Tom Keene & Dickie Moore
CLARENCE (1937) with Roscoe Karns, Eugene Pallette, Johnny Downs & Charlotte Wynters
BLONDE TROUBLE (1937) with Johnny Downs
TURN OFF THE MOON (1937) with Charlie Ruggles & Johnny Downs
CAMPUS CONFESSIONS (1938) with Betty Grable & William Henry
THRILL OF A LIFETIME (1938) with the Yacht Club Boys, Judy Canova & Ben Blue