dpompper

RT was lovely, indeed. However, I lean more toward Olivier in "Wuthering Heights," Newman in "The Long Hot Summer," Grant in "Suspicion," Gable in "GWTW," Melvyn Douglas in "Blandings," Jourdan in "Madame Bovary," Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity," Brando in "Streetcar," Rains and Bogart in "Casablanca," Terence Stamp in "Far from the Madding Crowd," Peck in "Mockingbird," and Mitchum in everything! I'm sure there are MANY more, but these are the ones that come to mind right now. Nice topic for those of us stressing about Sandy. Thanks, smitty!

A few years' back, I attended an anniversary of "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" where it was filmed at Wakulla Springs, FL, and had the pleasure of meeting these actors. They were most gracious and proud of their work.

Any time the sexy Robert Redford was on a movie poster . . . that "could" constitute sex and a "hope" for nudity

<The size of the ship's rear end rising out of the ocean compared to the minute size of the people in the water was chilling.> Yes. Rear ends can have that effect.

Yeah . . . I think I have, too (without actually acknowledging it).

In "Happy Accidents" (2000), Vincent D'Onofrio's back-travelling character talks about living in Iowa -- on the Atlantic coast.

<Also: see how cruel Rose was.. Jack could have fit; it would have just taken balance, like boarding a canoe.> I always wondered about that, too. Cameron has been laughing his way all the way to the bank.

He didn't say much at all. He let Drew have the spotlight. On some points she was remarkably articulate (despite her annoying voice and bathrobe).

Seems to me the "Cloud Atlas" is one of those over-hyped Cumbaya-type films like "Crash." No, thank you.

Oh, guess I should have read the instructions more carefully.

Many of these sound like "Twilight Zone" episodes, too. {font:Times New Roman} {font} {font:Arial}2) Evil Videocassette – "Videodrome"{font} {font:Arial}4) Bulging Doors – "Poltergeist"{font} {font:Arial}5) Ghostly Television – "Poltergeist"{font} {font:Arial}7) Possessed Portrait – "Portrait of Dorian Gray"{font} {font:Arial}8) Mysterious Toy – "Trilogy of Terror" {font} {font:Arial}10) Oozing Walls – "The Amityville Horror"{font} {font:Arial}12) Indian Burial Ground – "The Shining"{font} {font:Arial}13) Sinister Maze – "The Shining" {font} {font:Times New Roman} {font}

You nailed it, Eugenia. And Janet, I think menopause might have something to do with it, too. Just remembered -- another "comfort film" I "use" is "Queen Christina."

I belonged to a book club once. It lasted for only a few months. The books the women selected really didn't appeal to me. Then, I wanted to discuss them critically (but politely) -- and they just wanted to talk about how much they loved the books. Guess I don't play well with others. . .

As for the sleep and film-watching point . . . I LOVE DOING THAT! -- It's comforting. In fact, sometimes I know I've only got 30 minutes of less in me before falling asleep so I'll put in one of my favorite B&W classic film DVDs. They're like lullabies to me, I guess. By now, I must have seen the beginning of "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" at least 100 times. Other faves for this are "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," "Rebecca," "Casablanca," "The Sea Hawk," "Captain Blood," "They Drive by Night," and "The Postman Always Rings Twice."

Excellent and time-appropriate post! "The Wolfman" -- I always felt sorry for him and cried when I was a kid. He was so sad and wanted so much to not be a wolf "Dracula" -- When I was a kid, Bela put the scary on me for sure! "Creature from the Black Lagoon" -- I admired him. It was the slimy guy that I wanted to die. "The Mummy" -- Like someone else on here said, not scary because he moved too slowly. "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) zombies -- Yeah, these are the ones that scared the bejesus out of me -- especially the little girl in the basement who ate her mom. (I still have nightmares about this 40+ years later.) "Alien" -- I agree with others about this one. It was sooooo good. What happened to Ridley Scott that he now makes a pile of crap called "Prometheus?" "Predator" -- OK, he was a spiteful, crafty, dirty-pool-playin' ****. "The Devil's Backbone" (2001) -- when the little boy ghost peers into the keyhole, I jump every time. "The Shining" (not the movie, which I do like because Shelley Duvall plays petrified better than just about anybody) -- I read the book in college in one sitting. So scared that I backed a chair into the corner so I could see what might be coming through the door and turned on every light in the apartment. "The Haunting" (1963) -- hands down the scariest horror film ever made. That booming sound, the children's nursery (which looks a lot like a room in a Cardiff castle, BTW), and the inability to make a lot of sense out of it at a certain point, makes it a real gem IMHO. Edited by: dpompper on Oct 27, 2012 3:54 PM

<Even the Classic Movie MeetUp group I joined will attract people who've never seen Casablanca! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!> Naw . . . you're makin' that up, surely!?

Me, too! I wholeheartedly concur. If they have a PBS channel or Animal Planet, I can survive. . . but if not, I have even one more reason to look forward to coming home.

I thought I was the only other person in TCM-land who can't stand this film (except for the orange tabby and some nice shots of George's blue eyes). Holly is a terrible person and so is the Mickey Rooney character <-- like fingernails on a chalk board. I just can't stand it.

Intriguing questions, misswonderly. I especially like watching films with people who love films as much as I do (and have seen a lot of them as I have). It adds more dimensions to the experience because we can discuss it afterward. More often than not, I watch TV with my cats at home, under a big blue quilt on an overstuffed chair and ottoman, and usually with a snack (esp. ice cream). DVDs usually in the bedroom, because I routinely fall asleep fairly early in the evening and then wake up early in the a.m. (what some might consider "the middle of the night.") To talk or not to talk . . . is a good question. I don't mind a short comment or question during a non-dialog scene, as you described. But, I know some people really object to that. A "game" I routinely play inside my head -- whether it's a classic or contemporary film -- is "where did I see that actor before?" If I cannot figure it out, sometimes it bugs me so much that I'll pause the DVD to check IMDb. For example, while I know his name now, Henry Daniell always will be "Mr. Brocklehurst" (Jane Eyre, 1943) to me as in . . . "Hey, Mr. Brocklehurst is playing another meanie in THIS film." I tend to watch a lot of films with British actors and so I'll turn on the English subtitles . . . because if I "miss" a piece of dialog due to accent or sound quality (or my failing hearing??), I fear that I may have missed something crucial.

Why thank you, sonof. Arthritic fingers in the a.m. must be excused. Edited by: dpompper on Oct 26, 2012 10:15 AM

Good post, skimpole. When you say "benign," do you mean "kind, caring" or do you mean "harmless?" If the former, perhaps I'd add to your list: 1. Barnabus Collins in "Dark Shadows" (1966-71). He loved his gal, Vicky, and couldn't help that a curse had been put on him. 2. The Count's son, Herbert, in "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967), since he had the hots for Roman Polanski's character, Alfred, rather than (or in addition to) bloodlust.

You rock, misswonderly!

Is that REALLY Gary Cooper??? Never saw him looking sexy!

Yup, you nailed it misswonderly!

Tippi was just sooo stiff and stilted and wooden . . . Even Grace Kelly could bend over a picnic basket in a car!