Bogie56

Is there a post in an old thread somewhere that would give one some tips as to how these challenges are put together and what is expected of one who enters?

I was expecting much better from Fritz Lang's Liliom (1934) starring Charles Boyer as the no-good carnival barker but it was just dreadful. An absolute mess with a thoroughly unredeeming lead who marries a terribly uninteresting young woman then ends up in heaven with the angels and... and... it goes from bad to worse. The only thing Liliom was missing was missing was some songs and dance. So, being a glutton for punishment I finally had to watch Carousel (1956). Pass me the needles! Gordon MacRea was just dreadfully boring. Shirley Jones was trying her best but the Rogers & Hammerstein songs were pitiful! I've been to a few New England clam shacks in my time but I've never run into prancing fishermen with their chests and 'rses sticking out dancing on the pier in lock-step and catching their babes as they jump from the roof. They don't make them like they used to and thank, God.

Monday, August 24 "'They'? Who the hell is 'they'?" It's Warren Oates day! Heart attack at 53. My word. What a loss. 2:30 p.m. Welcome to Hard Times (1967) with Henry Fonda. Haven’t seen this one or .. 4:15 p.m. The Split (1968) midnight. Bring Me the Head of Alfonso Garcia (1974) I know it divides the crowd but I liked this Peckinpah film.

"Everything's Jake" - meaning 'okay.' But I have no idea where this one came from. Help anyone?

"Give it to me straight, Doc. Is it the Big Casino?" - Richard Conte as Anthony Bergdorf in Ocean's Eleven (1960) **Has to be one of my all-time favourites lines in a film**

... I never met him, but my Uncle in Edinburgh once sold him a house that he bought for his mother.

Well, he moved to Edinburgh as a boy then actually emigrated to Canada of all places where he started with the CBC. My dad was from Edinburgh so I know how good Mr. Young's accent was. Looks like he is 95 according to the imdb. Wowsers. Must be the Haggis.

TikiSoo, I wonder if you recall if Sir John writes about his family home, The Wyck in Richmond, London? Apparently he owned it twice and that is where he brought up his kids. It is on the hill just outside the gates of Richmond Park overlooking Petersham Meadow. Pete Townsend owns it now. I mention it as when I live in London I am just down the hill from that lovely house.

I thought Alan Young (Wilbur of Mr. Ed) acquitted himself quite well in The Time Machine too. Good accent. But it really is the Rod Taylor and the SFX show.

Too much treacle on the schedule. That's why I mentioned Reynolds in Rat Race (1960) with Tony Curtis and Albert Brook's Mother.

Sunday, August 23 "Good morning. Good morning." It's Debbie Reynolds day. ​I wish they could have dug up a few new ones. Like Rat Race (1960) with Tony Curtis or Debbie's brilliant turn in Albert Brooks' Mother (1996). If you are going to celebrate Debbie Reynolds let's show off her versatility! midnight. The Catered Affair (1956) with Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine. This is worth seeing again.

Is that cannon fire, or is that my heart beating?" - Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca

Saturday, August 22 Well, I’ve seen all of these Dietrich films a few times over but if I had to pick one to watch again this day it would be 10:15 p.m. Shanghai Express (1932) by Josef von Sternberg with great cinematography by Lee Garmes.

Let me know what ya think. When I saw it about 40 years ago I thought it was a right stinker.

Friday, August 21 "Emergency. Emergency. Everybody to get from street." It's Alan Arkin day! Fans of Arkin should seek out Joshua, Then and Now (1985). I think it is his best film performance. His second best, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) is also missing from the schedule. Here are two that I haven’t seen … 10:15 p.m. Popi (1969) 2:15 a.m. Freebie and the Bean (1974). I think I was put off by the film's title when it was released in theatres.

I see that Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day (1991) which was scheduled for Sunday Sept 6/Monday Sept 7 at 2:30 a.m. has been replaced by Kurosawa's Hakuchi (1951) at 2:45 a.m.. This is both in Canada and the US. I think Hakuchi was shown not long ago and my guess is that A Brighter Summer Day was to be a premiere. The Yang film is now quite hard to find. Let's hope TCM can secure the rights to show this in the near future.

Sounds like a cable broadcast freezing problem. Rare, but I have encountered it too. And not just on TCM. Sometimes on a news channel.

Well, there is one chapter at the end of Part One that is pure stream-of-consciousness as I recall. When Dmitri is racing to meet Grushenka. One of the most powerful pieces of literature that I have read.

Thursday, August 20, Mae Clarke day. Good one TCM. These are the two that interest me tomorrow … 3:30 p.m. Parole Girl (1933) with Ralph Bellamy 5 p.m. This Side of Heaven (1934) with Lionel Barrymore.

So, he sounded nothing like Dick van Dyke?

I'm going to break form the pack on this one. I'm ready to duck as you hurl rotten fruit. When I saw The Egyptian many years ago I thought it was a complete laughable cheeseball of a movie. Is that its allure? What can I have missed? I will give it another shot one of these days based on everyone's love of this film.

I think The Getaway has been on. Coup de Torchon is great. It may have been on TCM too but I'm not certain. I see the Stacy Keach The Killer Inside Me (1976) was recently remade by Michael Winterbottom (2010) with Casey Affleck. And then there is his screenplay work with Kubrick on The Killing and Paths of Glory. Not too shabby.

Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan (1998) had a lot of noir elements; double crossing, people in over their heads, and a good femme fatale in Bridget Fonda. Someone previously mentioned that they thought this film was a remake (French film?) or at least inspired by an older film. I'm sorry I cannot recall the details of that post. But if so, it certainly wasn't credited as screenwriter Scott Smith based A Simple Plan on his own novel.

I was just reading that The Breaking Point (1950) was restored with help form Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation and is held in the UCLA Archive. I'm not sure when this was done but I am guessing that this was the copy that TCM was showing recently.

Wednesday, August 19 4:30 a.m. Tall In the Saddle (1944). A Duke film that I’ve never seen. Have to finally catch this one.