Filmgoddess

I watch a lot of great TV (Homeland, Dexter, Fringe, Mad Men, Justifed, Walking Dead) and I've never heard of any of that stuff. Sounds like sit-com fare to me. I think I'll pass.

I suppose if Cary Grant and David Niven had had a child, I would be their offspring. Barring that, I think if Monty Wooley and Elsa Maxwell had gotten "it on" I might be their child

LOL. You can see how closely I was paying attention. The film had me asleep in minutes. Volleyball, soccerball, goofball. I couldn't tell one from another.

That explains it.

Of course, which makes the point further than having an American character at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 saying "World War 2 just started" is completely and utterly ridiculous.

Not me. I find it appalling that Americans think the war started in December of 1941. The filmmakers were complete dolts for that comment.

I don't believe that "values" are ever dated. Values are values. So I don't see anything "dated" about STELLA DALLAS. I don't think things that are "classic" can ever be dated. We just have different definitions. It's just a matter of opinion.

It reminds me of watching PEARL HARBOR the other day and during the attack in Hawaii one of the characters is on the phone and says "World War 2" just started. I laughed out loud. Nobody in 1941 referred to it as "World War 2." A bad anachronism in that film. A real howler I thought.

If this were a discussion of TV, you'd be right. It ain't. The bottom line is that of her film output, less than 8% were color. That was the point. Very few which is why I mis-remembered the number ... and I might add, they are among her lesser, much lesser films. ROUSTABOUT I saw once and hope never to see again unless I'm sent to Gitmo and it's used in the torture technique. Same with CALIFORNIA. When you get to heaven, perhaps you can ask her if in a discussion of film, she would include her TV work. Get back to us as soon as you can

This is my other choice for perfect Christmas film. It has wit, sophistication, comedy, Barbara Stanwyck, Cuddles, handsome Dennis Morgan, Connecticut, Una O'Connor, and Sydney Greenstreet! What's not to love? I always think of the real life BS when I see this film. She was a lot like Elizabeth Lane but, perhaps, I little tougher. There are so many things I love about this film but especially that it manages to be warm and funny without ever resorting to sentimentality (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm not sure whether I love the scenes between Stanwyck and Greenstreet or Greenstreet with Cuddles better. They both crack me up. I love Barbara constantly -- and without emphasis -- referring to the baby as "it." I watch this one every year and often at other points of the year when I might be down because it always lifts me back up (like Casablanca or Gosford Park). It's perfectly paced, great set pieces, good performances by all. And "she can't cook." Elizabeth Lane is probably what Martha Stewart would like to be, if she weren't evil. This is one of Stanwyck's best comedies and a wonderful anecdote to too much treacly Christmas fare. It's a timeless gem.

The only thing that Brando is tops at is over-acting. I always think the following exchange could have been written for him: Actor walks into a restaurant, sits down, says to the waiter: "Do you serve a ham salad?" The waiter says: "We'll serve salad to anyone."

For beauty, she is sure damn near the top. Breathtaking!

Blah, blah, blah ... I missed the so-called "personal name calling" in that post. But that's okay, I'm not surprised you'd resort to that sort of thing. No argument, attack, it's an age old tactic.

I think it would be more appropriately called a "lust child."

Who are these people you refer to? I've not heard of any of them. Are they film stars or reality tv stars or some other such creatures most of us have never heard of?

We can definitely agree on that. You're a fool

That's why I said "I think" because I couldn't actually remember. I was also confusing THE MAVERICK QUEEN with CATTLE QUEEN OF MONTANA which is the one whose color I can't stand. So there were 5 color films out of some 80 movies. I knew there weren't many. TV don't count. As for familiarity with a person vs familiarity with their work, I'll quote Mary Martin on that one. At the AFI Salute to Lillian Gish (who she had known for 50 years), she got up and said "to have known you all these years and to see this stuff on the screen for the first time ... oh my." I'm happy to be in that company.

Eve Arden, like Jack Benny, could get a laugh just by sitting there, doing nothing, with that sardonic look on her face.

My problem with the film is that the color is SO bad. No one looks quite human. I think this was Barbara's only color film. Perhaps it needs a restoration because the color looks so unnatural.

Do you have a source or where did you get it from? Or is it just gossip along the lines of "I have in my hand a list of 250 Communists in the US State Dept" sort of thing?

Look at the Oscar winner for Best Song in the last 15 years. It's enough to make you cry. Sometimes it's not familiarity that can make you hate a song. I only have to hear 30 seconds of that clackety-clack thing from HIGH NOON and I want to turn off the movie.

That's just reflective of the current critical consensus which is that Stanwyck was the most versatile actress of the golden age of film and one of the greatest actresses in the history of the American cinema. It's pretty simple.

I kinda figured that Addison would be the first to give up the argument and resort to personal name-calling of another board member. Surprise. And sad.

Seriously? Just about any actress of the golden age was above average. That's sort of the point. Could you name the westerns, dramas, film noirs, thrillers, mystery -- just to name a few -- films in which Ginger Rogers was at least "better than average." Thanks.

I'll grant you that one. Ginger Rogers was supreme when it came to pig .... latin.