Bogie56

I think I first saw Charles, or Charlie Ruggles in his recurring role in The Beverly Hillbillies. I think he played Drysdale's father-in-law. It was years later that I saw Ruggles in many roles in the 1930's such as If I Had a Million, Madame Butterfly and Ruggles of Red Gap. And He didn't play Ruggles in Red Gap.

Oh, and then there's Jack Warner from London, Ontario. Maybe they can trot out Casablanca for Canada Day, 2016?

Recalling that Roddy Piper was from Saskatoon I thought maybe it is time to campaign for films with a Canadian slant for Canada Day, next July 1, 2016. Let's see, we have Roddy Piper, Norman Jewison, Marie Dressler, Walter Pidgeon, Mary Pickford, Fay Wray, Walter Huston, John Candy, Glenn Ford, Deanna Durbin, Colleen Dewhurst, William Shatner, Martin Short, James Cameron, Michael J. Fox, Keanu Reeves, Norma Shearer, Christopher Plummer, Donald Sutherland, Leslie Nielsen, Laura Linney, Chief Dan George, Graham Greene, Gary Farmer, David Cronenberg, Hume Cronyn, Yvonne De Carlo, Brendan Fraser, Alexis Smith, Genevieve Bujold, Barry Pepper, Catherine O'Hara, Jim Carrey & Mike Myers (but be selective!), Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Bruce Greenwood, Raymond Massey, Ivan Reitman, Kate Nelligan and Raymond Burr.

I tuned into a bit of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (9147) this evening, a film I have seen many times. Two things struck me as being pitch perfect; one is George Sanders' performance and the other is the exquisite score by Bernard Hermann. The score takes this picture to a new magical level.

Sunday, August 2 10 p.m. The Proud Rebel (1958) by Michael Curtiz with Olivia de Havilland and Alan Ladd. This is one I’ve still not seen. 4:15 a.m. Government Girl (1943). Another de Havilland I’ve yet to see.

I just heard on the news that Roddy Piper (1954-2015) passed away yesterday, July 31.

Saturday, August 1 Yikes! It's August already. 6:30 a.m. Never Let Me Go (1953) with Clark Gable and Gene Tierney. Haven’t seen this one. 3:45 p.m. Laura (1944). If you missed it the other 12 times it has been on recently. 2:30 a.m. Close to My Heart (1951) with Gene Tierney. Haven’t seen this one either.

Try to catch pre-nose job Paul Newman in The Silver Chalice (1954). Probably the most interesting aspect of that turkey.

If you happen to be in London on Sunday, September 20th you may want to go to the BFI Southbank's screening of Trog (1970). It is being introduced by none other than director, John Waters. Looks like a lot of fun. Waters is getting a BFI retrospective. The BFI guide describes Trog as .."one of the most ludicrous, touching, mind-boggling star vehicles ever. Joan Crawford, desperate for a job, teams up with director Freddie Francis (!) and an actor in a pitiful monkey mask for a sci-fi howler like no other.

I noticed that Last Summer was pulled the last time it was scheduled on TCM. Co-incidence?

Exactly. And hence the drastic decline in the numbers of medium budgeted films being made. If you only have one fifth the number of adult dramas being made then it probably follows that there are probably 80% fewer good ones on offer today. If you compared the 'In Production' charts that Variety puts out it is clear that the movie industry has shifted away from producing as many films as they once did.

I only took exception to your view that there were more films being made than ever before. Not about the quality of them. The numbers are continually on the decline. And it is the medium budgeted films that are suffering the most. Today it is either films being made for under 2 million or over 80 million.

You aren't taking a serious look at the industry, my friend. 75% of the film distributors have closed up shop in the last 20 years because of the decline in genre and middle budgeted films. That is where most adult dramas came from. Sure there are still quality films being made but not in the numbers that we saw in the 80's. Maybe you have to be in this business to realize that. There are not more films being released than ever before. I have no idea where you come by that crazy notion.

Friday, July 31 6:00 a.m. The Big Heat (1953). Well, again if you haven’t already seen today’s films this one may be the pick of the bunch. Gloria Grahame is fabulous in it.

It would make for an interesting statue. Photoshop anyone?

Yes, the same ones they have been showing for several years now. The lineup is unchanged as far as I can see.

Not at all. It's a good recommendation and it was a piece that really made Hoskins. I'd go as far as to say that The Singing Detective with Michael Gambon is one of the best tv dramas that I have ever seen. It works on so many levels. Cheap dime store noir. Campy musical. The hero is constantly hallucinating because of the drugs he is on. And then there are the childhood flashbacks which, I would say unexpectedly tie the entire piece together at the end. Dennis Potter is held in very high regard in Britain.

You are absolutely right, I'm sad to say. The number of medium budgeted films directed to an 'adult' audience has shrunk considerably over the last 20 years. Studios prefer to put all of their rotten eggs into one big blockbuster basket now. Yes, there have always been blockbusters but not at the total expense of an abundance of good dramas which is the state of things these days.

Canadians don't get this 96 year old film.

Incorrect assumptions in romantic comedies. I saw him with that girl and ... it's revealed that he is the son of the bad guy and ... etc, etc., etc., as Yul Brynner would say. Followed by half an hour of the hero trying to reverse those assumptions.

Norwegian with subtitles actually.

I've just been going through the October schedule with greater scrutiny. My dawg did David Niven make a whole load of turkeys. And star of the month, not once, but twice? Did the programmers think that having a June Allyson and a Kathryn Grayson day would make up for it? And what's with the same old, same old horror movie retreads every Halloween? Unbelievably bad month apart from a few here and there. Little Dorrit and An Angel at My Table are gems but even some of the choices for the Women's films are tired romantic comedies. But I suppose, Hollywood WAS relegating Women to making films like that in the 80's.

The original Dennis Potter British teleplay of Pennies From Heaven with Bob Hoskins is interesting to see as well. AND Potter's original The Singing Detective with Michael Gambon is light years better than the Downey movie remake.

I'm tearing my hair out trying to figure this one out - Sunday, October 18, The Essentials Lost and Found at 8 p.m. - The Grim Game (1919) with Harry Houdini replaced in Canada with The Flying Fortress (1942). What is the reasoning for this? The film is almost 100 years old.

Alain Resnais' Providence (1977) featuring a brilliant performance by John Gielgud as a constipated writer who uses his own relatives as characters in his imagined novel. Where does reality and imagination leave off?