CaveGirl

Yeah, sorry...I just got up, and am still groggy [don't ask!] and those guys always remind me of each other, but you are right. It was Nick who did the bits after filming had ended, since Dean was dead and had mumbled his way through the scene as I recall. Thanks for the correction!

Whenever I see this scene, I always think how cool it would be to integrate Sergei Eisenstein's, Odessa Steps sequence from the "Battleship Potemkin" into the shots. Imagine if the baby carriage came tumbling down and knocked Cagney over and saved him from being shot. Just a thought...

Divine, was so wonderful as a bargain basement Liz Taylor! On the other hand, Travolta was just embarrassing in that role. The original film is the one to watch...

I was watching that recently too, Sepia and he did a fine job, did he not! I still say though that Sim looks a lot like Eddie Muller.

Yikes, she looks like Brian Aherne!

Fascinating topic! There probably are a lot of offensive blackface scenes in films, but for the most frightening, it has to be Joan Crawford in "Torch Song"! Good thing that her paramour in the film, Michael Wilding was supposed to be blind, as the sight of her blackface make-up against dyed red hair and those giant caterpillar eyebrows, could give anyone glaucoma! sistercelluloid.com/2014/07/13/torch-song-joan-crawford-in-blackface-and-thats-not-all/

I totally enjoyed your "all about me" confessional! Would you hate me for saying that I actually paid money once to see Sam Kinison in concert?

That's nice, but I don't think it is. Maybe it was in the script to use Sydney, but it surely does not sound like him. I would guess it was also in the script for "Giant" that lines for Jett Rink would be done by James Dean, but after his untimely death, it was Dennis Hopper as I recall who actually had to do some of the lines for the film in the banquet scene. Sydney has a very memorable voice and accent, which does not sound at all like the voice used in the film. But thanks for your research, which I still appreciate.

Absolutely wonderful cinematographer!

Now you know what they say when one assumes, Nip! But you need to relisten now and really put on your thinking cap, and see if it really sounds like old Sydney. Thanks for your thoughts though!

Just curious, did you not like Cobb in "On the Waterfront"? Love your Beyonce dig!

Hey, watch it. I love John Lund. He's like a Swedish cupcake. All pretty and who cares if the taste inside is not exactly up to par with a Hostess cupcake. So cute, with those pretty blue eyes and nice blonde hair and lovely physique. Eye candy is always welcome in films, especially if it is of the male variety as there are so few worth looking at sometimes. But I still appreciate your submission, Fedya!

Thanks, DarkBlue...excellent choice!

He's a hunk, Dargo! Only men are listening to him speak in films...

I agree with you, GGG! It used to be horrid with faded tones, skin colors seeping into other areas like the collar or hair, and just in general, looked crappy. But now it is so advanced and looks so real, that I see no reason for it not to be utilized. I do like there to be both versions when I buy something on dvd though. I guess we could get into the validity of changing the original vision of the director or producer, but as long as both versions are still extant, it doesn't seem to be a horrible transgression. Personally I like black and white films, and think many would look horrid in color but it still doesn't bother me if someone wants to try. It's not like they decided to paint the statue of David in Florence, Italy with bright day-glo colors or anything.

Gee, I would bet Eddie Muller is happy to be doing the ads for some more moola. His writing as an author is not very memorable or of the calibre of a Chandler or Hammett, so I think it is great of TCM to give him a job to bring money in, since pulp fiction isn't what it used to be. And being a shill with all that faux noir stuff like fedoras and cuff links on his Noir Internet sites must get tiring, so he probably needs to imbibe occasionally. I never got the feeling that any of the "wine experts" were very "expert" so using the spiel, "Wine is fine for regular folks" seems to hit just the right mark, albeit low. Too bad George Sanders is not still alive, since he would be the wine connoisseur extolling its virtues, that I would really enjoy seeing on TCM, but alas, Muller is no Sanders! But I do admire TCM for giving him a job, so kudos to them.

Sydney Pollack was one I was going to mention originally. Great as an actor, though that may have come first AND as a director. I still remember his fine acting in that I think "AHP" episode as the camp counselor with the kid who made a sculpture of his dad, with one arm. Really moving tale and Pollack was great in it. Thanks, TB! Episode was called "The Contest for Aaron Gold" and Barry Gordon played the kid.

His acting is very impressive, even if he is just giving Bogie spare change! Huston in "Chinatown" was so viscerally moving that he kind of gave me chills, especially when he was trying to take his daughter/granddaughter, Catherine away from Mrs. Mulray [aka Faye Dunaway]. Yikes, he was scary! Having read a book on his participation in a group of people who some thought might have had something to do with Beth Short's death, as the Black Dahlia, didn't help in assuaging me of the fear of Huston. I would approach him with trepidation, after seeing "Chinatown" for sure. Great choice, James!

I'm assuming the connecting link here is Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher? If not, I apologize.

After my recent dismissal of the acting of Ali MacGraw, I feel the time has come to praise all good actors, even if they are directors. Normally I would not expect much from a director, as an actor being that they might just be in a cameo like Hitch, but there are some who really do a fine job as thespians. Perhaps for some, acting was a bit in their early formative years, and I think Roman Polanski is an amazing director but also a really fine actor too. He was quite engaging in "Chinatown" with his verbal jousting with Nicholson, and had great moves with that switchblade but another film impressed me more which was "The Tenant" in which he did an excellent job of portraying paranoia and other emotions. The scenes with the tooth in the wall, still haunt me as does possibly his bit in drag, but I digress. Any directors who you feel could have a full-time career as an actor, because they are just that good?

I always liked Bonita and thought she was top drawer in anything, even silly Nancy Drew mysteries. Her performance in "These Three" was rivetting and that film was so much more true to the original story unlike the boring Hepburn-MacLaine one. Bonita was also a very attractive girl and definitely brought Nancy Drew to life!

Lydecker, do you think they drink before shooting all the wine club ads? It might add some spice also to have instead of Eddie Muller, perhaps some of the wine producers like Francis Ford Coppola, which would enhance the ads appeal. I'm waiting for the Christopher Walken Sauvignon Blanc to be produced and sold at TCM. They should also include a cow bell with any purchase, with the TCM insignia on it. It would be a great embellishment to snacks consumed while watching "The Deer Hunter" doncha think?

Though the original Don Siegel version is my favorite, I did totally appreciate the later version and plus, it had the plum Kevin McCarthy bit, which made it so special, like he'd been wandering around the highway for years warning people about the seed pods! To this day, when I see a panelled truck late at night, I think..."Seed Pods! Yikes!" That Veronica is scary when she is scared!

How far back do the foreign and art house films go on FilmStruck, Lawrence? You know I don't watch any films made ideally after about 1970...

You called that one, Lorna! Nowadays they would have Rosie O'Donnell play her in the films.