drednm
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Posts posted by drednm
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Pia Zadora won again.....
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With Nicholas Smith's passing, all the original stars are gone. Frank Thornton, Wendy Richard, Trevor Bannister, Arthur Brough, Harold Bennett, and the always hilarious John Inman and Mollie Sugden.The two head maintenance men Mr Mash (Larry Martyn) and Mr Harmon (Arthur English) are also gone. Senior menswear replacements played by James Hayter, Alfie Bass, Milo Sperber, Benny Lee are gone. Mr Grace's replacement (Kenneth Waller) is gone. Canteen manageress (Doremy Vernon) is still alive as is the nurse (Vivienne Johnson). The major cleaning lady is gone (Hilda Fennemore). I imagine many of the secretaries are still with us. Chief among them Candy Davis, Penny Irving, Isabella Rye, and Nina Francis. And Mike Berry is still with us. The Ab Fab Joanna Lumley made 2 guest shots.
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Has anyone heard anything about helping Baby Peggy? I'd like to know how this is resolved before I get on my soapbox and rant about how today's Hollywood "stars" have no respect/regard for their profession's history (oops - I think I got on my soapbox a little anyway. Oh well...).
A social worker visited.... We're supposed to hear something by end of today.
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The Balloon Man is one of the little charms for me of The Third Man. Yes, he could have been completely cut out of the film, and who would have known it? I'm so glad he's in the film, though, as yet another (remember that crazy parrot that bites Holly's hand?) bizarre, humourous element that is a bit unexpected.
This post war Vienna is dark and dangerous for anybody, let alone a naive western pulp fiction writer who mistakenly believes that an old friend working for the black market there is not nearly the bad guy the local authorities make him out to be. Holly Martens does a little bit of growing up during this stay in Vienna, a city where anything can happen, ranging from the big, a friend, who changes and is ready to kill him, to the small, an old guy, maybe a little worse for wear from alcohol, selling balloons late at night on those dark cobblestone streets.
The unusual sounds of the zither music, by the way, I feel is crucial in adding to the the very "foreignness" that naive Holly woud feel in this city so very far, far from his safe American home.
I forgot about the parrot. Yes another "not as it seems." Martins ducks into a dark room and hears a voice... it's a bird.
The alpine zither would have been practically the national instrument in old Austria, so it is entirely appropriate for this film.
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Comical as his appearance is, I've always thought of the balloon guy as peripheral filler. Not really that pertinent to the story, if at all to anything.
And if any of you are done with the analysis of this movie, have any of you also made(or noticed) any comparison to this film's HARRY LIME, and WALL STREET'S GORDON GEKKO? As BOTH characters seemed to feel there was nothing wrong with anything they have done or were doing. Seems Welles may have created the template for that kind of guy.
At any rate, the film does manage to focus on an area of post-war life that few other movies("The Best Years Of Our Life" and "The Search" come to mind) chose to deal with.
Much as I like the movie, I still wouldn't rate it as one of the "best", however, it does deserve the distinction of being one of the better films of it's day. We all know that calling any movie the "best" around here opens a can of worms. That rating is purely subjective, and offends anybody with a differing point of view.
At any rate, opinions differ, and we've all a right to our own, and the right to, in here, state it. And they're best stated if they are presented in a way that doesn't seem to indicate that the opiniator feels he is better qualified to give an opinion.
Sepiatone
It's another "not as it seems" moment. They see the shadow and think it might be Lime. It's a shadow of a man in a wide brim hat, arms stationary, hands maybe in pockets. The minute the shadow passes from view, the balloon man shows up with upstretched arms holding balloon and the other arm swinging his walking stick. The balloon man does not match the shadow at all and there's no shadow of the balloons. Yet when he reaches the corner and the light source changes, the balloons clearly throw a shadow on another wall. He's also not in any shot with Trevord Howard and Bernard Lee as he tries to sell them a balloon. After Lee buys a white balloon the old man, who seems drunk or unsteady on his feet, puts on his soft hat (no stiff brim) and goes away. So was the shadow Lime? It certainly does not match the balloon man.
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Why doesn't Entertainment Tonight cover something like this? Or are they too busy with movie premieres and Hollywood scandals?
I think there was a decision to keep this "quiet" until we see what MPTF does today. If they pull a fast one or go into bureaucratic stall mode, several news sources will be given the story. Blackmail? YOU BET!
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West Coast time..... only 7 AM there
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I have a feeling that the anonymity of the person playing Balloon Man may always remain that way.
It's been a few years since I last saw the film but, if, as you say, drednm, the viewer doesn't see the Balloon Guy actually say the word, "Ba .. . . loon," it might even be a voice that was dubbed after the shot was taken, possibly even by someone other than the grizzly faced actor with the balloons. Ah, the mysteries surrounding the Balloon Guy deepens even further.
Or maybe just misidentified in the credits.... I think it was probably dubbed in later; it sounds dubbed.
M (1931) also features a bearded balloon man as well as a boy bouncing a ball.....
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To my way of thinking, The Third Man is as close to perfection as any film made. With all of the artistry involved of great filmmaking, including some of the most stunning photography and camerawork you'll ever see, it is also enjoyable, dark at its tale is, as one of the great light escapist entertainments of the movies.
But for all of the celebration of so many aspects of Carol Reed's masterpiece, from the zither music to the performances to the film's off beat sense of humour, it is also a production of delightful small touches which add so much to it as a package.
One of my favourite of those "small touches" is this guy . . .
"Ba . . . loon?" he asks repeatedly, and it's a bizarre humorous touch (during a sequence of genuine suspense) that stays with us.
Does anyone know what the story is with the Balloon Guy, though? Was he a local resident with a character face grabbed and given his little moment in the sun with this legendary production? Or was he actually a professional actor, one that may never have appeared in another film again?
Anyone know the story of the Balloon Guy?
To my way of thinking, The Third Man is as close to perfection as any film made. With all of the artistry involved of great filmmaking, including some of the most stunning photography and camerawork you'll ever see, it is also enjoyable, dark at its tale is, as one of the great light escapist entertainments of the movies.
But for all of the celebration of so many aspects of Carol Reed's masterpiece, from the zither music to the performances to the film's off beat sense of humour, it is also a production of delightful small touches which add so much to it as a package.
One of my favourite of those "small touches" is this guy . . .
"Ba . . . loon?" he asks repeatedly, and it's a bizarre humorous touch (during a sequence of genuine suspense) that stays with us.
Does anyone know what the story is with the Balloon Guy, though? Was he a local resident with a character face grabbed and given his little moment in the sun with this legendary production? Or was he actually a professional actor, one that may never have appeared in another film again?
Anyone know the story of the Balloon Guy?
His horrendous shadow precedes him. From the ominous to the benign. I don't see any credits that list the baloon man although the film's credits list is fairly exhaustive. Also I noticed in this viewing we never see the man ask "Ba---loon?" The camera is always on Howard and Lee when the questions is aked.
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Actually I think Sunset Boulevard is the best film of all time, certainly my all-time favorite, but The Third Man is right up there. With these great classic films, you can watch them over and over again and always find something new in them.
The ending with Alida Valli walking down that road toward the camera must rank as one of the all-time great film endings.
Anton Karas' theme song was #1 on the US charts for 11 weeks.
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HEY,,,,,, the sewer scenes are nothing to sniff at.
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If that happens, you will have to rename this thread to Baby Peggy Received Help.
Fingers crossed.and will gladly do so!!
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I think we may see some action on Monday. There are several well connected individuals on Nitrateville who have been contacting some very big names in Hollywood. We shall see.
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Wonder if the reason is she had a very short career early in life and do to her father whom had a falling out (more a firing) with producer Sol Lesser. Baby Peggy got blacklisted by the studios. If anyone remember the comment in "The Elephant in The Room)...You do NOT say NO to the studio bosses! Hollywood can by ruthless regarding such.
Poor Diana has always and still paying the price for the bad decisions made by her father.
And her mother and step-father spent all the money she earned.
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Baby Peggy and Jackie Coogan were probably the first real child stars of American cinema. It's estimated she made more than 150 short films between 1921 and 1926. After a 6-year absence she returns to films... talkies. She made 9 or 10 films as an extra under the name of Peggy Montgomery. She left films in 1938 aged 19 or 20.
I've only seen her in Captain January (remade as a Shirley Temple vehicle), and she was very. good. Have not yet watched The Family Secret, which TCM recently aired.
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The Motion Picture and Television Fund recently denied Diana Serra Cary (Baby Peggy in silent films), a frail 97-year-old woman) non-medical in-home assistance. Founded in 1921 by Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and others specifically to help those associated with the art of filmmaking in their hours of need, it is as tragic as it is ironic that Ms Cary, who stood at Pickford's side at the opening ceremony of the original Motion Picture Relief Fund in 1921, and who made many films in the 1920s and 30s, was deemed not eligible for assistance.
There has been a flurry of activity on several message board sites devoted to silent films to force the MPTF to help this lady. Many of us have emailed the CEO to get personally involved in this case and help the last surviving star of silent films.
TCM recently aired a few of her films in connection with a DVD release by Ben Model. I think people should be aware of this story.
Diana Serra Cary is probably the only living person to have met Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, William S. Hart and other film legends.
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Norma Shearer would NEVER have co-starred with Bette Davis in Old Acquaintance because Shearer would never have worked for Warners. Up to her retirement in 1942, Shearer had spent nearly her entire starring career at MGM. While Crawford moved on to Warners with spectacular results, they didn't make the kind of films Shearer wanted to make. By 1942 other Warners queens like Miriam Hopkins and Kay Francis were winding down their starring careers. But Marion Davies had gone from MGM to Warners with so-so results. Jeanette MacDonald was about to end her MGM run in 1942 (although she returned after the war for a few films). A real changing of the guard. MGM was building up Greer Garson and Hedy Lamarr. Shearer, MacDonald, Crawford were all very expensive, plus Shearer had reportedly wanted to quit after Thalberg's death anway. LB Mayer was nothing if not consistent. As they approached 40 and their box office dipped, Mayer had no use for them.
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I didn't recognize dancers from Gold Diggers of Broadway and the jitterbug dancers from A Day at the Races.
Again, if you turn on the CC symbol, the names of the films are shown.
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Watching Two Weeks with Love tonight. Debbie just finished "Abba Dabba" with Carleton Carpenter. She steals every scene she's in.
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Great idea for trying to fund film preservation.....
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I added a list of stars in order of appearance on the YT page.... only a few I didn't know.
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ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.... turn on the closed captioning. It lists the movie titles.
Would love to have seen Ann Miller "Too Darn Hot" in KISS ME KATE and Carol Haney "Steam Heat" in PAJAMA GAME.
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And people forget that Debbie Reynolds was also a recording star. She had 4 hit singles in the Top 40 between 1951 and 1960 along with a couple albums and all those movie musicals. Her recording of "Tammy" went #1 and Gold in 1957 and was the year's biggest seller by a female vocalist.
Reynolds also starred on Broadway in 1973 in the musical Irene and won a Tony nomination as best actress. She starred in Debbie in 1976 and in the early 80s starred in Woman of the Year in the role Lauren Bacall created.
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Fingers crossed.
Dear Heart
in General Discussions
Posted
Geraldine Page was one of the great actresses of her time. Superb in Dear Heart, Interiors, and Sweet Bird of Youth. Also in the underrated Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?