Bogie56

Your LuPone story reminds me of reading an interview with a well-known Canadian film director (there aren't many of those!) who told the reporter that what he hated most about going to the movies was sitting beside someone who was eating popcorn. After reading the story in the Toronto Star I emailed the reporter to say that not once, but twice I had been seated behind that same director in a public film screening when his phone went off! **I might as well tell you, the film director was Atom Egoyan. And on both occasions he was seated smack-dab in the middle of the theatre, and got up and walked out taking the call.

Yes, but they are Theatre people, darling. One might say the same thing about Finney in The Dresser. I thought he was damned good too doing his larger than life, Donald Wolfit. I'm sure you've met plenty of OTT people in real life. I love to see actors go for it when they get roles like these. Like George C. Scott did in Patton. As for Davis and Swanson, yes they had their extreme moments but the characters also had a bit of 'down' time in those films too and IMHO it was all rather well balanced highs and lows. And we were forewarned to fasten our seat belts.

But don't you think in the case of All About Eve and Sunset Blvd. the 'mannered' performances of the ladies fit the characters they were portraying and were therefore entirely appropriate?

... Joe E. Brown in The Circus Clown (1934). A mildly amusing b-comedy. Brown's athleticism impressed me. He is obviously doing some of his own stunts. What was curious though is that a major plot point has Brown falling in love with a rather manly female impersonator. And of course he has no idea that she is really a he. Shades of Some Like It Hot.

The stories in Wajda's WWII trilogy are not related so therefor can stand alone.

Monday, July 13 6 a.m. The Mikado (1939). Never seen this colour Gilbert & Sullivan film. 9:45 a.m. The Bad Sleep Well (1960). Recommended for those who haven’t seen this Kurosawa film. 12:30 p.m. Scandal (1950). This is an early Kurosawa/Toshiro Mifune that I have not yet seen. Kudos to TCM for programming these films! 8 p.m. Stowaway (1936). Never seen this Shirley Dimple film. 11:45 p.m. Heidi (1937). I liked this when I was younger so I’ll be recording it. 1:30 a.m. Little Miss Broadway (1938). I can’t say I recall ever seeing this one.

They used to play that fight at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) every year for quite some time. I think I saw it three times in all. I seem to recall they billed it as Clay vs. Marciano. I wonder if that one is kicking around? Interesting that youtube shows the alternative ending with Ali winning the fight by TKO.

Yes, curious about Ozzie. Even Herman Munster had a job. Again, according to wiki ... Herman is employed by Gateman, Goodbury and Graves, a funeral home in Mockingbird Heights, having started out as a "nail boy."

The Ladykillers has a tremendous performance by Katie Johnson as Mrs. Wilberforce. Sellers, Guinness, Herbert Lom, Cecil Parker and especially Danny Green are great too. It's probably my favourite Ealing comedy.

You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life. - Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (1993)

Delbert Mann's remake of All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) was very good. And it had a fine cast with Richard Thomas, Patricia Neal, Ernest Borgnine and Donald Pleasence.

Great story. Add The Ladykillers (1955) to this list!

have we had ... "If they move, kill them" - William Holden as Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch (1969)

I've been watching a bunch of circus themed movies. The other night I watched He Who Gets Slapped (1924) and tonight I watched Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) both with Lon Chaney. They were both from TCM broadcasts and both very good. The music with Laugh Clown Laugh was particularly good. I think it was by H. Scott Salinas for the 2002 restoration. I know the silents are entirely a different sort of screen acting but I might stick my neck out and say that Lon Chaney was perhaps the very best screen actor of all time. He is just so versatile. The silent style is no longer 'believable' but I wonder if stars of today could have possibly have achieved what Lon did in his variety of roles. Alternatively, I think it would have been a breeze for Chaney to act like a Gene Hackman or Robert De Niro. But this is kind of like asking who would have won the fight if Cassius Clay had ever faced Rocky Marciano. (Some will know that there was such a staged fight that was filmed. It was supposedly determined by a computer. I saw it several times). Loretta Young was a revelation in Laugh, Clown, Laugh. I couldn't get over how incredibly beautiful she was at that age.

Sunday, July 12 10 p.m. A Boy and His Dog (1946). An Oscar winning short subject starring Harry Davenport. Not sure if the 10 o’clock start will be accurate. midnight. Grandma’s Boy (1922) and … 1:15 a.m. For Heaven’s Sake (1926). Two good Harold Lloyd films that are worth recording. 2:30 a.m. Ivan’s Childhood (1962). If anyone has not yet seen this Tarkovsky film I would highly recommend it. It is a lot more accessible than some of his later films and has a great juvenile performance from Nikolia Burlyayev.

If you are okay with European dvd's I think you can get all of these quite easily. I bought Travelling Players ant Mother ... in the BFI shop right off the shelf.

mr6666 has just listed Bayou, which is on at 2.a.m. in the TCM Premieres thread. Looks like Baby Doll in swamp country and as he points out it has Timothy Carey in it. I finally caught up with Bunuel's The Young One (1960) at the BFI. What a weird film and Zachary Scott making out with a fourteen year old girl. My word.

Both Tommy Lee Jones and Rosanna Arquette were pretty darned good in The Executioner's Song (1982). The story of Gary 'let's do it' Gilmore.

"Well I don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip up sir." - George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove; of How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Agreed. Plus everything was in b&w on the home television - at least in my house.

I wish they would get rid of the turgid music. It is just a bunch of stings strung together so badly you can hear the edits. And it detracts from the beautiful montages someone has taken the time to put together.

Saturday, July 11 7:30 a.m. Beauty and the Boss (1932) with Warren William and Marian Marsh. Another pre code that I have never seen. These just weren’t on tv when I was a kid. 10 a.m. Batman and Robin: Tunnel of Terror (1949) 5 p.m. America, America (1963) by Elia Kazan. If I didn’t already have a dvd copy of it this would be my pick of the day. Really solid supporting performances by Paul Mann, John Marley, Salem Ludwig, Lou Antonio, Katharine Balfour and Linda Marsh. 12:15 a.m. The Baroness and the Butler (1938). A William Powell film that I have yet to see.

There are some moments in this preview where you almost feel like you are watching Flynn, circa Roots of Heaven and The Sun Also Rises.

"I have already given the order" - Sessue Hayakawa as Colonel Sato in The Bridge on the River Kwai

You've come very close to describing Angela Lansbury's performance as Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. She was a real treat to see on the stage.