CaveGirl
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Posts posted by CaveGirl
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12 hours ago, spence said:
Hope this takes this time, had an awful night just tryiong to log back-in?
My vte for the overall all-time finest performance by a child actress must go to *Peggy Ann Garner in 1945's utterly wonderful "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (Fox)
& thought I always never really thought kids should be separate then adults in the *Oscar race, she deserved leading actress at any rate & official winner *James Dunn won a more than deserviung s. actor statue
Also, my pal Cliff Aliperti-(he's should, but for some reason never wanted to join us TCM-ITES n here though? just reminded me of this & T HANK YOU!m Check out his massive memorabilia site at (thingsand other stuff) & he also has a classic movie newsletter sent to you for free!
Well, I couldn't agree with you more, Spence!
I was just watching a performance of Peggy Ann Garner as an adult the other day, and felt so sorry that she never achieved as much stardom later in life as she did as a child. Really, as much as I love folks like Margaret O'Brien, Sybil Jason and the like, Peggy Ann Garner's performance in ATGIB is one of the finest, if not the finest by a child actress that I have ever seen. The interplay between her and the great James Dunn and the implied less than happy connection between her and the mother as expertly played by Dorothy McQuire, is tangibly impressive.
She shoulda won an award but all are lucky to now still have the enjoyment of seeing her at her peak as a kid in films. Thanks, Spence for your salute to her power on film and evocative talents! -
On 5/13/2018 at 1:12 PM, TopBilled said:
To be honest I dread the three and a half days that TCM devotes to war films each year at the end of May. It's not because I dislike the films per se, some of them are true classics and competently made. But it seems like overkill, pun intended.
Also wouldn't it be refreshing if they could just set those films aside one year and do a whole weekend on anti-war films or films where the main message is about peace?
Thoughts..?
Well, I have never been a fan of war films but not for the good reason of hoping wars end, but just because I don't enjoy them. Yet I think there are a lot of people who probably do like them, so I just bide my time and don't watch TCM for a few days each year when they schedule a slew of them. It's odd since I love history and would watch a documentary of Patton, or MacArthur or the Normandy Beach landing, or Eddie Rickenbacker but really can't get into these films. I might not be alone though since a friend of mine had an aunt who was elderly and lived through WWII in Japan. One day in the 1990's the film "Tora Tora Tora" came on tv, and the aunt was watching. After a while they told her it was time for dinner, and she said "I can't leave now, I want to see who wins this war."
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2 hours ago, spence said:
Perhaps Sepiaton should walk in other fans shoes!?
Spence, sweetie! You just gave Sepiatone a moniker, with the appellation, "Sepiaton", which sounds like a Japanese film monster, that is fire breathing and will take out Tokyo even if Raymond Burr gets in his way.
Sepia will get a big head, and lord it over all of us if you continue this way in your posts.
P.S. Love your posts and I dig cryptic comments, but I think you need to slow down a bit while posting and typing, and let's be more stingy with the ALL CAPS comments, since people here will start to think we have Donald Trump as a secret member if you aren't careful.-
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On 5/13/2018 at 12:58 PM, TopBilled said:
It's a huge liberal cause, which TCM supports. So I doubt they will stop mentioning it.
I can never forgive them for causing Joseph Losey to leave the country!
In all seriousness, this is an interesting topic. You have a famous director like Elia Kazan, who aided the blacklistings by HUAC by supplying names of others in the industry, but then defends his position in this instance by creating a great movie to explain his position, with "On the Waterfront". So a fabulous movie is formed, by a director who some would say was antithetical to movie making by turning in some compatriots.
Was he right to do so? Was he wrong? Does this act make him less of a fine director or is it not tangential to evaluating his career in toto? The answers to these questions are difficult to ascertain with a black and white certainty for some I'm sure.
The Hollywood Ten probably are pretty sure of how they feel but overall what is the conclusion of film buffs? I don't know the answer to this but the questions are worth exploring but probably will never be totally agreed upon.-
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1 hour ago, LawrenceA said:
Citizen Kane is better than Vertigo.
And a lot of movies are better than Citizen Kane.
Ooooh! I like a person who will go out on a limb and risk the wrath of fellow compatriots.
That takes some guts, Lawrence.
I like both films tremendously. I dislike though trying to rate films, or people, or things and put them into little compact boxes, and make them compete. I've always thought of CK as a primo example of film, and the cinematography and cuts and dialogue is without compare. Yet Vertigo is a more emotionally stunning film in a totally different way. Welles and Mankiewicz combined to make a very important film, but being based on a real life person is somewhat limiting. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes it very different in comparison to Vertigo, which is about falling, falling in love, falling down stairs, falling into a vortex that is symbolized by a hairdo formed into a French Twist style. Plus all art eventually ends in the death of beauty which is encompassed in the ending of Vertigo and makes it profound. Comparing these two films is like comparing the attributes of Judith Anderson to Brigitte Bardot. Totally impossible and inconceivable, so why try.
So sorry, Spence, though still fun to compare each to the other, ultimately it will end in a match that can never end though I still enjoyed reading all the takes on each film, so it was worth putting both horses to the match.-
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I first became aware of this technique in college during my "Theology in Film" class. We were assigned the film "The Night of the Hunter" book by Davis Grubb and the film, by Charles Laughton. Though I'd seen the film quite a few times, our research into it encompassed all sorts of trivia, resulting in deep background into the forced perspective techniques of master cinematographer, Stanley Cortez. As we all know, he supposedly used a pony with a diminutive actor aboard for the scene that was to appear to be Mitchum in the distance. Such optical tricks not only can be effective for cost reasons but also serve as semaphores for other hidden meanings in the tapestry of a film.
Forced perspective is ostensibly used to make objects appear larger or smaller than their true size, to increase distances being viewed or a panoply of other possiblities. Films can use optical illusion for many purposes, but I've not seen such things as Anamorphosis, like that of Hans Holbein's painting "The Ambassadors" and its skull, but that's not to say such a trick could not be in a film. The origins of forced perspective can probably be traced back in films to German silents and of course through masterpieces like "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca".
I found the delving into the construction of the film, TNOTH to be an enjoyable enterprise, and am always interested and intriqued when I see possible instances of forced perspective in other films, be it, B-potboilers trying to save a few cents or highbrow films that perhaps are looking for a unique visual style. I could name my other favorite instances of forced perspective on film, but would prefer to hear the favorites of other posters first and I might learn of some examples of which I am not aware.
Thanks for any contributions you make to this thread.
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52 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
DAMN THE DEFIANT
Next: THE SPANISH GARDENER (more Dirk Bogarde)
Gosh, is there any movie with Bogarde in it that isn't worth watching, TB? I loved "The Spanish Gardener" so much!
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On 5/8/2018 at 11:09 AM, Stephan55 said:
He vehemently denied anything negative until it was staring him right in the face, at his own (former) front door, and likely couldn't face the reality even then.
Haven't read the short story yet. But my conclusion was that he suffered a breakdown, and was institutionalized someplace with a tanning booth. His wife sold everything and took off somewhere with the kids.
Somehow Ned got out (probably just walked out, when no one was paying particular attention). Maybe all he had on were his tanning shorts at the time.
In a delusional state of mind he made it back to his old neighborhood where the movie begins.
He is in a time lapse and thinks that only a few days have passed, instead of weeks or months.
While on his imaginary quest to reach the utopia that he once believed he had, he reacquaints himself with his former neighbors, and persons that he apparently screwed over in the past, and others to which he is in-debt.
He cannot connect with what they are saying and remains locked in the confabulation that has become his state of mind.
Even when he finally reaches the doorstep of his old house, he still cannot, or refuses to, connect the dots...
End of story...
We don't know what happened to Ned that caused him to lose his mind. All we can see is the end result as presented. He is not an all bad man (most of us aren't). There were a few gentle and sensitive moments that showed that somewhere inside Ned there had been a decent, caring human being, at least at some time in his life. And he obviously still believed that is what he was (of course most delusional persons tend to think that way).Stephan, contrast this film with the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" version of Cheever's short story, "Oh Youth and Beauty" and you will see similar insights, if you've not seen it. Bizarrely I also always think of Newman in Tennessee's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with his broken leg in a cast, and the attempt to return to the past. Just my off the wall take on Cheever's ideas about marriage and relationships in the 1950's.
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2 hours ago, Dargo said:
I guess she didn't know that Ned had actually gone and bought her a Hallmark sympathy card.
(...but it got water soaked while he was on one of his earlier swims back through the neighborhood)
Anyone who has read the story by John Cheever or a biography of Cheever, will probably have a take on the meaning of this tale. The first time I saw it, my mother watched also and kept saying how much she hated it, as Burt would swim his way through the neighborhood pool by pool. I thought she was going to lose her mind. It is really a movie with a message, but one most people probably would prefer not to get. I kind of have gotten to the point of loving its absurdity after all these years. Cheever was really a man out of tune with the life he had chosen for himself, as opposed to the life with other romantic figures he might have preferred, instead of his typical life in suburbia. I will say, Burt looked quite fetching in his swim trunks plus that is the movie where Joan Rivers said he hit on her, which made her day. Of course he hit on almost everyone but I digress...
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On 5/8/2018 at 8:08 AM, rayban said:
Billy Chapin and Sally Ann Bruce as the Harper children in "Night of the Hunter" -
I so agree, but it makes me sad that Billy Chapin supposedly was quite jealous of his sister's longer lasting fame on the "Father Knows Best" show, as Lauren Chapin. He was a fine little actor in everything but particularly in this masterpiece from Laughton's hand.
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4 hours ago, Dargo said:
So, who the hell is "the young, new narrator with the English accent" the OP is talkin' about here???
Oh, wait. MAYBE they meant "the young, new narrator with the AUSTRALIAN accent" here, RIGHT?!!!
(...yeah yeah, I know I know...many of us Yanks seem to have a tin ear when it comes to differentiating those two groups of superfluous-u users, huh)
I think she is quite glamoUrous too, doncha think, Dargo? Does the "narrator" resemble at all your own uxoUrial distaff half?
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11 hours ago, Philip1749 said:
The young, new narrator with the English accent featured on TCM hosted a showing of Tarzan films on Tuesday, May 9th. She referred to the censorship imposed on those films of the 1930's by the movie industry's certification board as a lack of "sexual freedom." Apparently the lead female character was required to wear clothing that was less skimpy than a bikini would be. Is this another example of TCM promoting a liberal position when it comes to traditional social attitudes about sex? It sometimes seems that TCM feels frequently compelled to promote what might be called younger-oriented attitudes about sexuality, perhaps in an attempt to gain a larger television audience of viewers under thirty...thus the need for using terms like "sexual freedom" on the air.
Let's just be honest here. Maybe she was referring to Cheetah's "sexual freedom" since I have seen footage where Maureen O'Sullivan noted that Cheetah had to be chained down in any publicity photos Maureen was in, since Cheetah would often look like he was going to attack her and he did NOT seemingly like her. Yet Maureen said Cheetah had a real affinity for Tarzan, as played by Johnny Weismuller and would try to get close to him. Perhaps Cheetah was gay and this restriction for his desired object of lust, was in antipathy towards a male vis a vis male relationship? Just a thought and by the way, I knew from the topic title that I would find Dargo in this thread!
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I totally enjoy the most fakey background footage also!
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On 5/8/2018 at 2:15 PM, FilmSnob said:
David Bordwell is also considered another leading voice when it comes to Ozu and Japanese cinema. His book is available free to read online, so check it out sometime!
Ozu and the poetics of cinema
So wonderful to have a self-proclaimed "film snob" here. And any film snob would love Ozu. First became aware of him when I was a teenager and saw "Tokyo Story" which was so enlightening and profound. I remember buying "A Story of Floating Weeds" and being enthralled. When I saw "Good Morning" which I think TCM has shown, it showed Ozu's mastery of a current culture and was inspiring and funny too, which let's face it not all directors from his place of birth can muster up. I look forward to your future posts, FS and so enjoyed reading your exegesis of this amazing director's oeuvre! Thanks for joining and posting.
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On 5/7/2018 at 5:52 PM, jakeem said:
Did you mean Revue (Universal)?
Yes, I did but currently my brain is scrambled from watching too much tv news! Thanks for being my official proofreader, Jakeem!
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I totally appreciate your post about DownGoesFrazier, Miss Wonderly, who I always enjoyed bantering with at this site.
I loved having fake fights with DGF over things like if Dick Clark and Philadelphia were rock and roll legends or not, and other things. He had a great sense of humor and I am going to hope he is just taking a very long breather, but if you are right about his demise, his contributions are and will be eternally missed.
I don't want anyone here to die since I refuse to die. I feel it would make too many people online and in my orbit happy, and I never try to be that pleasing. Hopefully just like Mark Twain, the reports of DGF's demise are greatly exaggerated...-
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On 4/28/2018 at 2:46 PM, Swithin said:
TCM could have really made a festival out of it, showing all the Quatermass films and the television serials as well. Quatermass and the Pit is my favorite -- a really literate horror/science fiction film. Great cast, but I want to single out Duncan Lamont as Sladden, who gives one of the best performances of demonic possession ever put on film.
Mr. Sardonicus is also a worthy film, with a particularly enjoyable performance by the great Oskar Homolka.
You are so right about the Sardonicus film, but don't forget Guy Rolfe. Just recently watched him in the incredible "Thriller" episode called "Terror in Teakwood" which I highly recommend.
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On 5/2/2018 at 12:30 PM, yanceycravat said:
Most definitely. Someone figured out a way to monetize the average TCM viewer's affection for the network under the guise of making them feel they're a bigger part of things. The line is blurred and, as you say, where it leads remains to be seen.
I too would like to hear what others think. Maybe I see something that's not there.
On 5/2/2018 at 12:30 PM, yanceycravat said:Most definitely. Someone figured out a way to monetize the average TCM viewer's affection for the network under the guise of making them feel they're a bigger part of things. The line is blurred and, as you say, where it leads remains to be seen.
I too would like to hear what others think. Maybe I see something that's not there.
Though I can definitely see the good points, TB makes I probably am more the cynic that you are, Yancy. And the lines crossed seem a bit murky. Kind of like Doctor Phil not telling people for ages that all the books he pushed on his show were done by his son's publishing house. That's different, but has a similar feel. I bet you might be one like me who always reads the small print on tv ads, that say things like "Actor portrayal" or "This stunt was not really performed with a monkey driving the car!"
Being that your moniker is "Cravat" my guess too is that you are an aethete sartorially, which brings me to my distaste for the authenticity or even style of some of the noirish apparel being hawked. Let's just be honest, no clotheshorse like the alluring Gloria Grahame would have been caught dead in TCM's chapeau section, with the "Smoky Fascinator" or the "Fatale Hat". She would have preferred something classy made by Oleg Cassini and not these tired imitations of Forties fashion. Get a designer who knows the era next time, TCM. Those repro cufflinks also make even inexpensive ones by Swank, look like they are personally made by Pierre Cardin or even Cartier. -
I'm partial to any sounds from the Acme Sound Effects Compendium. I also like any sounds created by Juan Esquivel like his Screen Gems signature ending coda.
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On 5/6/2018 at 1:11 PM, cigarjoe said:
The remake is pretty ridiculous, it spectacularly wastes the talents of J.T. Walsh and M. Emmet Walsh, and has way too many implausible and predictable train action sequences too boot, seen it all before, all that adds roughly, about a half hour of runtime. 5/10
I couldn't say it better, CJ. Go with the original to anyone who's seen neither.
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I try not to use the term "stupid" to denigrate anything, not because I am nice [we all know I'm not] or for any other humanitarian reason, but just because using the word "stupid" seems to show a lack of depth in one's vocabulary and lexicon of life experiences. Gee, if you are going to insult something ya really need to up the ante and use words that are so much more expressive, like saying "This film has the most desultory and nescient denouement of any film I've ever viewed!" Only someone like a Kardashian would be limited to insulting something by using a first grade word like "stupid". Ergo, it might make one look "stupid" to try to insult anything with the word "stupid".
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16 hours ago, Dargo said:
I once watched Groundhog Day over and over and over in a row that I began to think I was Bill Murray.
(...but even more strangely, without being a big Cubs fan)
What song came on when your alarm clock rang the next morning, Dargo?
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Was watching the Peter Graves' classic, "The Killers from Space" the other day and was just feeling so sad for the poor monsters!
Not only were they not scary with the giant golf ball eyes, they looked a lot like Marty Feldman clones.
It's hard to work up a sweat with monsters that look like they were designed by Marie Osmond.
Though some like these bug-eyed creatures are pathetic, I do have a soft spot in my heart for them. So much that I feel like Greta Garbo who said "Bring back the beast" when Cocteau's film ended, even though her reason was that she hated the candy box prince character who had been transmogrified into a handsome lad.
Name your favorite facially challenged sci-fi monster on film. -
Saw this film many years ago and watched it again the other night. For those who've seen it, I only need mention...shrimp, plastic containers and navels!
A lot funnier than "In The Realm of the Senses" but still with the dichotomy of food and sex.
Must be where George on "Seinfeld" got the idea to combine his two favorite things, by putting a sandwich in the drawer of his bedside table, for intermittent gnoshing.
I also watched "The Funeral" which I'd never seen and thoroughly enjoyed its very realistic take on rituals concerning the moribundus.
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Author Tom Wolfe (1930-2018)
in General Discussions
Posted
Though Irving, Updike and Mailer dissed Wolfe I can't say I didn't enjoy reading things like his "Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby". RIP, Tom!