EugeniaH

*I have just finished a terrific book by Robert Matzen, Errol and Olivia: Ego and Obsession, which I highly recommend.* Hi rosebette - Yep, I did read this book a while back! Glad you reminded me.

:^0

...and back then, we actually had to STAND UP AND WALK TO THE TV to change the channel! Imagine!!

When I was a kid we spent half the time adjusting the antenna (sp?) to get a good picture, and then when that didn't work we had to adjust the horizontal and vertical buttons... All that, with only 7 channels to choose from (in New York).

Hi James, I vaguely remember DeHavilland not wanting to do this movie, and that she kept quiet about it to Jack Warner... Stocking her ammunition for the lawsuit, no doubt. I like watching DeHavilland and Davis together in this movie, thinking about the others they've done together and also the fact they were good friends off the set. Interesting about Davis and Flynn detesting each other... I love all the "behind the scenes" stories.

I hate these changes. It ****. I hope it's true they will fix the "bugs" by next week, but who knows.

Bette, this is turning into a fantastic thread! By the way, last night I watched THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH & ESSEX. I absolutely loved it. I could tell that Davis was completely into her role, and I loved the mannerisms she gave to Elizabeth I (the way she nervously moved her hands, her facial expressions, etc.). She outshone DeHavilland and Flynn (two actors I like a lot), imo. The only part that was implausible for me is that Essex would be more in love with Elizabeth than Penelope Gray (DeHavilland). It's true that Essex had a bit of an interest in the kingdom, but he was also so taken by Elizabeth that no other woman, even a woman as beautiful as Penelope, could turn his head...

Hi Rickey, I logged on just to respond to this. Occurrence is one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes (even though it is really an independent film that was shown on the show). Beautifully filmed, jarring ending - it has few lines in the whole film but I was riveted from start to finish. Many viewings later I still brace myself at that "final moment" - the drums and that sudden sound as he jerks upward is a near-masterpiece bit of filming.

Bette, I've got *Essex & Elizabeth* at home (from Netflix). I'm looking forward to seeing this, maybe over the weekend.

I don't think I saw this listed here yet, but speaking of wolfman/"wolf" movies, has anyone seen *Wolfen*? Great movie, and it even has themes in it to make you think.

*This is interesting: it seems the majority of people who watch TCM - or at least the people who responded to this thread - read mostly biographies and other non-fiction ( as opposed to fiction), the exception being the P.G. Wodehouse fans.* Definitely interesting, misswonderly. It made me realize that while I love to escape into the fiction of old movies, I don't like to do the same with books. P.G. Wodehouse for me is the rare exception when it comes to fiction I like (and The Razor's Edge because it's so well-written, but I believe this story was based on actual events, though I could be wrong). Most of the books on my shelves are biographies and non-fiction works. With e-Readers, since I stare at a computer all day, I like to give my eyes a rest at night and look at something printed.

As mentioned elsewhere, I would be waiting on the beach with a net for Burt Lancaster in *From Here to Eternity*. But the guy I would probably end up with is Jimmy Stewart.

gagman, thanks so much for letting me/all of us know about this. Exciting news, and definitely worth waiting for.

My one gripe about Chaplin DVDs is that I have been unable to find a new copy of *City Lights* that is relatively affordable. It sells new on amazon for $70! There are used copies for much less, but you never know what you are going to get (quality-wise) when you buy used.

Hi ugaarte, We think alike. One other thing about books and movies - for whatever reason it bugs me when new editions of a book come out, and instead of the original cover they put pictures from the movie that was made from it. Like the Julia Child book My Life in France - I remember some recent edition had pictures of Meryl Streep on the cover, because of *Julie & Julia*, or whatever the title was. Crass promotion, but anyhow. I'm not really a crotchety old character, but since the topic was brought up...!

Boyer, *The Razor's Edge* is one of my all-time favorite books. I haven't seen the movie because I don't want to think of the movie when I read the book again. Another of my favorites is *Travels with Charley*, by John Steinbeck. I first read this in grade school because it had a dog in it , but of course, now it's so much more than that for me. Does anyone read books of letter collections of authors? I have a book of letters by Steinbeck that is as entertaining as anything he's written for the public at large. I've also read the letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald. There are others I've read, but off the top of my head I'm thinking of these two.

No worries, I knew you weren't being sarcastic, but I didn't know it was a Steve Martin joke. Speaking of Steve Martin, though I'm not a great fan of his, I loved *Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid*. Has that movie been discussed on these boards? Absolutely hilarious. Anyway, back to our other "trips"...

*I'll have to read some of his writing.* pturnman, as SansFin also referenced, Wodehouse wrote for Hollywood as well and *A Damsel in Distress* (1937) was based on his book. But primarily he wrote books, from the 1920s (and earlier?) all the way through the 1970s. I would recommend starting with some of his Jeeves stories, but of course my opinion is subjective. There are books that are collections of different stories, so you could start with that and just decide what you like, if any.

:^0 That was the strongest dang placebo I've ever had!

I haven't read much of Mulliner and I also tried to get into the Psmith stories, but I gravitate more towards the Jeeves and the Blandings stories. With the Jeeves stories in particular, it's so interesting how Wodehouse can construct such complicated plots even though the premises are the same (Bertie gets roped into a scheme, Jeeves has to intervene to pull him out). The humor is wonderful and I frequently laugh out loud reading his stuff even though I've read it multiple times before. Escapist entertainment but very intelligently done. His Jeeves stories go all the way back to the 1920s and yet they still feel contemporary to me.

*Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse. It is insane comedy about an English twit and his gentleman's gentleman. It is odd to reread it now because I have seen the BBC television series based on these books and the star is Hugh Laurie who is Dr. House on current television.* SansFin, I am a P.G. Wodehouse fanatic! The Jeeves series is my favorite (I own all the Omnibuses published in England), and I just recently got the Blandings Castle omnibus. Haven't started that yet, though. Heh, and to be honest, what I am reading right now is the latest Pearls Before Swine collection by Stephan Pastis. Love this comic strip...

(I wanted to turn the subject line in bold above back to Bette Davis... since this isn't a Eugenia discussion!

Hey Bette, With this post you made some days back (see below), when I was looking at it today I was laughing to myself in thinking that these schoolmates probably told their grandkids, "Hollywood doesn't know it, but I acted with Bette Davis!" __________________________ Here's a picture of Bette in a school play in her teens- (get a load of all of that greenery!)

*Speaking of Of Human Bondage, wow, I know it's a breakthrough movie for Bette, in whch case I want to own it, but all of the actors in it are so good and the plot is just so crazy, that it's a little hard to watch sometimes! What do you think of it, Eugenia* Hey Bette, I like Davis in this because she seemed to embody her role as a waitress. With her low-class Cockney accent and with her sneers, mannerisms, lines, etc., she had me forgetting it was an actress playing a role. Leslie Howard was a sap but he was such a sympathetic character - he didn't aggravate me with his blind adoration but rather I felt sorry for him that he was continually taken advantage of by Bette. I kept wanting to slap Bette for every time she answered him with a disdainful, "I don't mind!" B**** !

Wow.... so now I'm trying to imagine her and Gable together and how their chemistry would have been... I wonder if she would have been a better choice than Vivian Leigh? I know that most of the women in Hollywood vied for this role (including Jean Arthur!), but I didn't know Bette was the first choice.