CaveGirl
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Posts posted by CaveGirl
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28 minutes ago, Princess of Tap said:
I believe it was Mayer who picked Greta Garbo and she came to be their biggest star.
The thing about Mayer was that he was the executive who kept the talent in line. He dealt with them, disciplined them and praised them. He was the executive in charge and they never forgot it.
Mayer gave the public what they wanted and what they wanted coincided with his Viewpoint of how America should be idealized.
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As far as Thalberg being artistically minded, he let that go when he was working FOR his wife Norma Shearer. He probably spent 50% of his time promoting Norma Shearer's career. His desire to do this big-budget Marie Antoinette movie had more to do with promoting her than his desire to Simply have this historically, culturally, artistic film about French history.
Thalberg's career at Universal had shown that he placed budgets and financial management ahead of Art. Thalberg was the one who who fired Cinematic Legend Erich von Stroheim for going over budget.
Then much to Von Stroheim's Chagrin, at Metro Thalberg came under control of the Director's Artistic Masterpiece "Greed" and cut it to shreds for Financial Conservatism.
And worse than that, much of what was cut out--from what many consider to be one of the greatest American films ever made-- was simply lost or thrown away.
You could say that Thalberg had a serious bent for artistic production, if at the same time he would be making a big profit from it.
Some of his best work was done with the Marx Brothers. That's the kind of executive he was - - he wanted to tightly control the budget for the highest return. The Marx Brothers movies were perfect for that-- artistic, esoteric, some classical music, but always hilarious and every class of Americans, on every level went crazy over them.
Thalberg was no Art For Art's Sake guy. He and he alone effectively ended Erich von Stroheim's career in Hollywood as a director.
Thanks for bringing up "Greed", Princess. I'd kill to see the whole version. I have enjoyed when TCM has shown it with the inserted bits of stills to simulate the original, but if they would only locate those missing scenes I'd be a happy camper. I love seeing the gold simulated objects too in that version. Still revelling about how great Zasu Pitts was in that movie, a dramatic talent which was hardly tapped after that film.
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On 6/13/2018 at 2:38 PM, Dargo said:
Yes, Klaatu. I know.
In Autumn of 1932, one Mrs. Ida Shudastaydhom (I think that's Swedish) of Massapequa NY contacted her lawyer Malachi Howe(of the law firm Dewey, Screwem and Howe) after attending a screening of the aforementioned Tod Browning film at the old Rialto movie house in Manhattan, and with the intent of filing a lawsuit against the producers of said film because she claimed it caused her to miscarriage.
However upon further investigation, it was determined that Mrs. Ida Shudastaydhom (yeah, I'm pretty sure that IS Swedish) was never pregnant at all and had merely been suffering from an acute case of indigestion as a result of eating the overpriced Rialto snack bar's popcorn that had been covered with rancid butter.
(...see?!...some things never change, huh...I'm talkin' about the lousy overpriced popcorn ya get at movie theaters, not how litigious we Americans are...although I suppose that kind'a thing would apply here too, huh)
This post is also a miscarriage of justice...and humor, mostly stolen from one Julius Henry Marx.
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On 6/13/2018 at 1:42 PM, Klaatu said:
Here's a piece of trivia that I've heard for years that I think it is questionable. I've seen it online and in print. It's about the 1932 movie, "Freaks." The cited passage is from IMDB's trivia page on the film:
A woman who attended a 1932 test screening for the film claimed later that she suffered a miscarriage resulting from the film's shocking nature, and threatened to sue MGM.Did this really happen? Who was she? Who was her lawyer? When did she screen it? The story is fragrant with the air of a PR department. In those days even adverse news like stars feuding on sets or unhappy shoots could be fodder for a studio hungry for any way to stand apart from the competition.
Does anyone know any more about this?
Hey, Michael Re...I mean Klaatu, Man of my Dreams, I've heard that tale too since I love reading about the production of "Freaks". Now I first heard that from my grandmother who saw the film when it came out, and told of some of the objections. She also said she had attended many sideshows that would travel the country and had seen most of the performers in the flick, like Johnny Eck, The Snow girls, Prince Randian, Schlitzie and particularly the Hilton Twins. So that tale of a miscarriage was even legendary before it went into print, but whether true or not I don't know, but will enjoy researching. I have a book at home that I will check and thanks for bringing this up. It seems rather silly but did make the grapevine apparently. And you are right, one wonders if the PR department cooked it up themselves for some home grown publicity. I love Schlitzie by the way and there's some fine mythinformation, since movies dressed him as a girl but Schlitzie was really a boy, as if he even looked like a girl!
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On 6/13/2018 at 8:16 AM, Sepiatone said:
I was beginning to think someone was TYPING with a lisp.
And, how come THAT word isn't spelled L-I-T-H-P?
Or why of course, the word PHONETIC isn't spelled "fonetik" or(if you will) phonetically?
Sepiatone
Didn't some ancient king in Spain lisp, and to cover it, he made everyone in the country pronounce things with a lisp? I'm sure some history major can post what king that might have been, since I've forgotten.
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On 6/12/2018 at 1:33 PM, jimmymac71 said:
It was the first thing to enter my mind regarding the word myth. That gag shows up twice in the movie. "Myth, Myth. Yes!" Most of the time, CaveGirl is way over my head. I could ignore her threads, or have a wee bit of fun.
Pulleeeeze, Jimmy! Always have a "wee bit of fun" with my threads no matter how obtuse they are, since your input is appreciated.
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On 6/12/2018 at 1:07 PM, Hoganman1 said:
There are many movies based on historical people and/or events that have altered the facts to make the film more interesting. One of my favorite flicks is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I've read everything I could find about them and like the phrase on the screen said "most of what follows is true". Historical movies tend to romanticize the events. Movies about sports seem to exaggerate the most. Rudy, Brian's Song, and Hoosiers all took some literary liberties. Whenever I watch a movie "based on a true story", I do some research to make sure I know what really happened. Luckily, that does detract from my enjoyment of the film.
I'm just like you, Hoganman. I like to know the true story but can suspend belief if necessary. I will say, the real Sundance was one attractive dude and better looking than Redford, so no wonder Etta Place dug him!
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On 6/12/2018 at 8:20 AM, Sepiatone said:
This is no biggie, but it bothered me at the time(and still).....
In the movie THE DOORS('91) it shows VAL KILMER as JIM MORRISON jumping towards the camera with a smart-azz smile on his face as he sings the word "higher" in the song "Light My Fire" on the Ed Sullivan show( and singing it extra loud). When in fact, he actually simply sang the word normally explaining afterwards that the band sang that song so much before getting on Sullivan's show that he sang it automatically, and honestly forgetting to change the word as he DID really promise to. And his sincere apology to Ed was regrettably ignored.
Oh, and with Darg bringing up TV mythology, I'll add that it's been long debunked that when Arnold Palmer's wife was on Johnny Carson's old "Who do you trust" daytime game show, there never was an exchange in which Johnny asked her if she did anything related to superstition before Arnold had an important tournament, and supposedly she said, "I kiss his balls", and Johnny reportedly replied, "Well, THAT would make his putter flutter!" But it too, ever really happened. And too, over the years it's been attributed to JACK NICKLAUS'S wife as well.
Sepiatone
Those possibly apocryphal stories do entertain and that must be why they persist.
I agree with your exegesis of the Jim Morrison story, and have it on dvd in a boxed set to watch and enjoy. I do believe that someone from Ed's staff later entered the dressing room and said something to the effect that the Doors would never do the Sullivan show again, and the group said something like "We've already done the Sullivan show." A similar incident would be Bo Diddley appearing on Ed's program and also being told to sing one song, but he ended up doing the other song instead, which irked Ed. Poor old Bo, had a boo boo but he sure sounded good.
The most notable story about Ed was the bit about him demanding that all performers singing, do it live, until of course he heard Gary Lewis of the Playboys in rehearsal and apparently allowed him to lip sync, being that his voice was not so appealing.
Thanks for the memories of Carson stories and there's also the one about Eva or Zsa Zsa being asked about her kitten by Johnny, but we won't go there. -
On 6/11/2018 at 9:27 PM, jimmymac71 said:
I have the perfect reply to this, but I also have troubles getting YouTube videos to work. What I am not doing right, or what I'm doing wrong?
Hmmm, perhaps you didn't pay the electric bill, Jimmy?
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1 hour ago, TopBilled said:
Okay. I don't like being misquoted. But if you were quoting Mr. Benton then there's no problem. LOL
You were dead on with your Selznick theory, TB. Sorry my brain is atrophied and I typed in that you wrote "Mayer" instead. Mea culpa! I blame my problem on wood alchohol and sniffing too many moth balls.
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Although Bernard Herrmann did rip off some melodic themes from Wagner in his "Tristan and Isolde" I really enjoy the score for "Vertigo". I love hearing it as the movie proceeds and I own the cd and play it in my car sometimes while I am driving around. There is a lot of musicality in the film, with nods to Debussy and Ravel and even the bit about Mozart perhaps helping Scottie overcome his depression, but overall I think Herrmann's compositions really make the film come alive. Great topic!
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24 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
I didn't mention Mayer. I mentioned Selznick. I think Mayer was too busy focusing on the Andy Hardy movies, the Lassie movies and the Jeannette MacDonald musicals, those things that helped present his idyllic view of life in America. Thalberg and Selznick were much more artistically-minded, especially Selznick.
I meant the other TB, TB!
You know...Thomas Hart Benton who posts here infrequently.-
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35 minutes ago, arpirose said:
There were several Thalberg MGM films shown yesterday such as DAVID COPPERFIELD, TALE OF TWO CITIES, ANNA KARENINA AND OTHERS.In my opinion, tragically, Cinema lost so much when Mr. Thalberg died. What is your take?
I think Thalberg's sophistication in picking literate vehicles which could also be moneymakers, and his perfectionism in seldom sparing any expense that could improve a film, were essential characteristics of his psyche which brought classy movies, like those you mention to the screen and shot MGM to the top. Of course, as TB says, the other part of this success story was Mayer, who did add in different ways to the success that both shared, with other talents and skills.
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4 minutes ago, spence said:
I also agree with most in her ultimate role was 1933's "QUEEN CHISTINA" (MGM) & CAN't GET AWAY WITH SOME TRIVIA FOR YOU FANS What 3 films was she nommed for??? & even more so-(NO LOOKING IT UP NOW AGAIN, MUST COME FROM YOUR MOVIE BRAIN< AS I ALWAYS DO) What film did she win 3 performances did "THE GODDESS" WIN (NY FILM CRITICS SOCIETY)???
Thanks, Spence! She did make sure Gilbert got a juicy screen role though, even though she refused to marry him. I appreciate your thoughts.
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3 minutes ago, MotherofZeus said:
I forgot
Burt Lancaster: Sweet Smell of Success
Ernest Borgnine: From Here to Eternity
Daniel Day Lewis: Gangs of New York OR There Will Be Blood
Javier Bardem: No Country for Old Men
Anne Baxter: All About Eve
Sooooo many more that I love to hate, but there is still no love for Mitchum in Night of the Hunter. None. Just terror.
I dig them all, MOZ mostly because I dig arsenic cookies!
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Only one word needed to bring to mind her allure. Though I've seen all her movies from back to front, I got caught up yesterday in watching her as Anna Karenina in the Tolstoy classic. Usually a sphinx of emotion, in this film one sees other sides to Garbo in her loving and whimsical ways with son, Sergei, as played by Freddie Bartholemew.
Her metier was usually of a less emotive style, as witnessed in films like "Mata Hari", or "The Painted Veil" or "Queen Christina". We know deep emotional torrents are just below the surface, but Garbo's face often only shows such things behind the eyes. She acts usually in an internal, not external way, which makes things much more interesting since we can read into her thoughts and place our own feelings in the scenes, like the famous ending of "Queen Christina" on the vessel, with the wind blowing through her hair. I read once, that perhaps the wind was not realistically blowing correctly, but who cares. With that face, all is forgiven.
There is so much more to Garbo than her looks, but maybe not. Maybe her blankness is just the perfect canvas for everyone to claim entering her soul. A make-up man once rhapsodized about her facial physiognomy, commenting on the planes and her naturally long lashes and the joy of making her up. Her beauty was best expressed on screen by the work of cinematographer, Billy Daniels [aka Wm. H. Daniels] who was also a favorite of John Barrymore's, since he said Daniels could take out the bags from under his eyes just by his lighting techniques. Garbo chose Daniels for her final screen test made in 1949, which shows her still at her best and most luminescent.
I watched AK, wondering why no one since Garbo seems to have the same physical presence on screen, or the ability to transcend reality. Is it the off-screen mystique that still translates something special on screen? Though I can think of current actresses I admire, none really seem up to her persona in film lore. Some say, it is the androgynous quality which made Garbo a favorite of both men and women. I don't know but I do know that she was one of a kind never to be replaced.
Sorry for the paean to her magnificence. Any other fans here and please give your thoughts on why Garbo still invites praise and attraction.-
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7 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
I felt so guilty I ended up doing a whole month of reviews in the Essentials thread where I highlighted Deanna's best films. Just to prove I was a fan not a hater! LOL
But did you say three Hail Marys and promise not to sin again?
Penance is good for the soul, TB.-
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6 hours ago, MotherofZeus said:
Funny, I tend to use the British spelling of things having been an English major. I will mind my dropping of the "u" as I prefer its use as well. Speaking of replica jewels of Hollywood, I was looking at the selection on TCM and wished they had consulted me for suggestions, as well as design. So much potential left untapped. Do you have pics you can post of your collection? I will share the "Glinda Tiara" I made for my Halloween costume if I can find it.
The best people always do as you do, MOZ!
I so agree, that the selection of items sold on TCM, especially for the Noir time period, would not pass the test of anything a clotheshorse like Gloria Grahame would be seen dead in. One wonders if they are again allowing the males in their Noir hosting roles to pick such things, when quite obviously just as we all know in Noir films,the men are all the dummies and fools and the Noir women have the brains and knowledge. Sad that the male fans of Noirish scenarios are always a bit obtuse, and these current males guarding the dark and deadly Noir henhouse know little to nothing about fashion or how to look good in a Hurrell photograph, like Ava Gardner would know.
Speaking of Glinda, that tower high glass-looking but maybe lucite, sparkly crown is my favorite of all time, particularly for royalty. It is magnificent.
You are now in the will, MOZ as a lady like you does not come along very often in one's life so must be appreciated, even by the heterosexual among our tribe.-
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6 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
If I remember the situation correctly, TCM had just premiered LADY ON A TRAIN. Deanna had been a bit chubby in the late 30s when she was still in her slightly awkward adolescent phase. But by 1945 she had blossomed into a more mature young woman. However, she was once again a bit chubby looking in the face in this picture. Some people took offense at my mentioning this, despite my being a huge Deanna Durbin fan. It was what I thought to be a harmless comment, but you would have thought I'd done a character assassination! The ironic thing is that she was a bit heavy looking in the face because while she had filmed the movie she was pregnant with her first child. Anyway, I learned to just stick to the character and the story, not comment on the performers' appearances.
TB, it is very rude of you to first say Deanna was once again a "bit chubby" and then say you are a "huge Deanna Durbin" fan, TB. If you think you got that one over on us, you are sadly mistaken.
Misogynist Fat Hater!
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26 minutes ago, Vautrin said:
The only drawback is, how often does one get the use the word samovar, not to mention verst
or troika, in everyday conversation? Not very often.
Don't forget that little pencil. The Magic Mountain is one of my favorite novels. If I was truly in
good health I wouldn't mind staying for a time at the International Sanatorium Berghof surrounded
by my high end do dads and accessories, though I imagine the daily routine would pale after a
few years.
It can be done, for example:
"Oh my, your new hat looks just like the shape of a samovar I saw recently in the Coco Chanel retrospective."
You are so right that the diseased lure of the sanatorium, does often beckon to one, after reading TMM. The rarified atmosphere that promises such languorous activities, and the chance to meet up with fellow patients out in lawn chairs, and discuss world activities and philosophies at one's leisure. I'd like to pass on getting the tuberculosis, but those sanatorium conversations reported in the book always seem so high minded and more interesting than when one is talking to healthy individuals, since imminent death probably does bring one to more profound thoughts. Poor Hans though was there for so many years he must have gotten bored a bit. -
8 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
I had a warning back in 2015, which still shows up on my profile. Not sure if others can see it, but I can. I had gotten into a heated "debate" with someone about a Deanna Durbin film (of all things)...and I was issued warning points for "abusive behavior" because my comments were misconstrued or not taken well. And I am sure I did not phrase something as well as I could have. For all I know the other person I argued with might have received warning points too, if they had been deemed abusive. The warning points were removed after a few weeks, and I just learned to refrain from talking about Deanna Durbin. LOL (I love Deanna Durbin movies, by the way!)
But to answer your question, I think people have been banned due to language, insults, spamming, bullying-- anything seen as a violation of TCM's policies. The warning points are a gentle reminder to stay on track and to keep from getting banned.
How in the Hades can anyone get in trouble for talking about Deanna Durbin? You hide your Bad Boy side quite well, TopBilled, and you must be the Clifton Webb of snide comments to have warranted this "warning"!
I do appreciate though your thorough admittance of your Rap Sheet infractions!
Now I'm afraid if I bring up some Shirley Temple films and it gets heated, that I will get some warning points. These sweet girls like Deanna and Shirley would seem to only elicit innocuous comments, but I guess anything can get controversial in essence.-
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Posting while ignorant is a time honored tradition at TCM's Lounge, if you haven't noticed by now. I've done it myself quite a few times while speaking off the top of my head.
Yes, there are those who might complain about quantity, that are just your garden variety user. I've had comments given to me like that trying apparently to restrict my ardor for posting. L
Objectional language probably would be taken care of with the obligatory four beeps like ****, replacing your original word, which could be harmless in your intent but inadvertently salacious or racist or whatever, hence receiving the four asterisk result.
I'm sure a personal ad hominem attack might be reported and cause the poster to be possibly banned, as would bullying maybe. Not being J. Edgar Hooverish, I'm not as up on the rules as I should be. I do know of someone who was banned and I'm still not sure why. Perhaps we should discuss this while in the Ladies Restroom, MOV...where are the really interesting discussions end in any lounge with lizards hanging around near the entrance to the stalls. Okay with you? -
On 2/9/2017 at 1:49 PM, Winslow_Leach said:
This reminds me:
I've always been seized by the impulse to call him Czar of Noir, "Crazy Eddie" Muller.
He's just always had that kind of "Crazy Eddie" vibe for me. Not the frenetic, OTT, demonstrably nutters kind of "crazy". More a low key, quietly insane, subtly mad, killer-next-door sort.
Bet it's informed by his San Francisco roots.
Probably has that wild-eyed look due to using a false surname as his moniker. Those giant, rolling around eyes make Muller resemble a madhouse version of Alastair Sim, who sits home alone at the boarding house, having writer's block and getting out the thesaurus looking for different words than engorged or appendage to use in the romantic scenes of his next teen spirited potboiler about boxers in San Francisco who also double as detectives. When I watch Muller or Vukovich or whatever his real hame is, say how much easier it is for him to buy libation from the Wine Club because it is so difficult for him to pick his poison to drink with a movie, I think he should be called Slow Eddie.
By the way, "Conflict" is about as noir as "The Bobbsey Twins Visit the Mountains", but since it is in the canon of previous books written about noir, and all the usual "experts" just keep rehashing the usual dribble, it stays on the list. One would think anyone knowing film would see it for what it is, a boring programmer from the "Had I But Known School" which regardless of when it was released, is no true model of noir elements. Don't expect our current TCM "expert" to rock the boat though and go against the grain with any original thought though or with "conflicting" views. -
20 hours ago, TopBilled said:
Monday June 11, 2018
Leslie Howard in the 1930s on TCM
NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET with Conchita Montenegro
PYGMALION with Wendy Hiller
OF HUMAN BONDAGE with Bette Davis
ROMEO AND JULIET with Norma Shearer
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL with Merle Oberon
A FREE SOUL with Norma Shearer
Anyone who enjoys great performances should enjoy "Pygmalion" with Wendy Hiller. Thanks for the update, TB!
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On 6/10/2018 at 10:36 AM, NipkowDisc said:
never mind the nude babes. lets see some 50 foot ones going after their two-timing husbands and boyfriends.
You forgot the caption:
"Harry, Harr-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! You get away from that Yvette Vickers or I am going to kill you with my bare hands!!!!!!!"-
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Garbo
in General Discussions
Posted
"Ineffable as light" makes total sense, as does everything you reflected upon, MOZ!
Thanks for your most astute insights. There's just no one like Garbo now and how could there be another?